Whenever I bring these refreshing spring rolls to a party, I am inevitably the most popular girl there. People ooh and ahh over this complex-tasting and fancy-looking appetizer. Little do they know that it actually took me 20 minutes to pull together and cost me less than $10.
I generally buy my ingredients for this dish from Trader Joe’s, since their organic broccoli slaw is so good (and features plenty of fresh carrots), and their sweet chili sauce is so inexpensive. They don’t have the spring roll wrappers though, so head to your local whole foods store or Asian specialty market for that one.
One more thing—when you are first learning to make these, I highly suggest buying extra ingredients and practicing on a batch before you make the ones you are going to serve guests. The delicate spring roll wrappers can break easily and assembling them can be somewhat difficult at first. But don’t worry—even broken spring rolls are delicious!
Ingredients
- 10 8" Vietnamese rice paper spring roll wrappers $1.50
- 2 cups store-bought broccoli slaw $1.50
- 4 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 2" strips $1.50
- 1/2 white onion, cut into thin strips $0.50
- 20 large basil leaves (use sweet Thai basil if you can find it) $2
- 1/8 cup Asian sweet chili sauce (I like the kind from Trader Joe's) $2
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil Pantry
Directions
- Heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a small frying pan. Fry onions for 3-4 minutes on each side or until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- Gently wet a spring roll wrapper under a faucet or in a bowl of water. Remove carefully and blot lightly on a dish towel. Lay on a clean, flat, dry surface and allow to soften--about 1 minute.
- As the wrapper softens, arrange the ingredients in the center in the following order: 2 basil leaves topped with a small handful of broccoli slaw, topped with 1-2 strips of tofu, topped with 2-3 strips of onion, and a drizzle of sweet chili sauce.
- Roll up the wrappers _very_ gently, tucking in the ends, being careful not to break the wrapper. Don't worry--this takes some practice.
- Serve the rolls cut on the bias with more sweet chili sauce for dipping or peanut sauce. Makes 10 whole rolls.
