• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Bake Offs
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • About
  • Work With Me
  • Nav Widget Area

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
The Pancake Princess

The Pancake Princess

A baking blog curating internet recipes.

You're here: Home > Pancake Princess

Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

by erika 4 Comments

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement.

Never again am I paying $3, $4…okay, let’s be real–$5, $6, $7 for spring rolls at a restaurant ever again. Neither is Lilly.

Spring rolls: things of joy.

You might think this is an exaggeration, but no. I’m never ordering them again because

a) they’re so super cheap and easy to make at home that dropping cash to buy 4 at a time is like flushing dollar bills down the toilet and

b) I’m going to make these every day for the rest of my life until I’m sick of them and decide never to eat them again.

(That decision might last…what, a week?)

So these rolls. They’re fresh and crunchy, with those paper-like rice paper wraps that turn chewy and translucent when you dip them in water bound around aromatic basil, juicy cucumber, elastic-y but tender noodles and cracking carrots. But the real kicker is the peanut sauce we made.

Oh. My. God. Best. Dipping Sauce. Ever.

It is literally a thick sludge of peanut butter that somehow tastes honey roasted and sesame-studded, heightened and brightened by lime, thickened and complexified by hoisin sauce.

It’s incredible. I wouldn’t recommend making these rolls without it. (Unless you make some other kick ass sauce, preferably lime-highlighted).

Notes

Are these thai? Vietnamese? WHO KNOWS?! Here’s my philosophy: you can literally make spring rolls with anything from crab to fruit to peppers to spinach to shrimp to tofu. I’ll tell you what I used, but I’ll also list a bunch of optional ingredients that I have either used in the past, dreamed about using, or eaten in some type of spring roll.

When considering how to craft your perfect spring roll, you, like me, might be tempted to dump everything in life inside those chewy little rice wraps. That will not taste good, just a caution. Generally, spring rolls = the following equation:

vermicelli + 1 protein + basil or other herb + 2ish vegetables

Generally, I like to think that the vermicelli and basil are non-negotiables in spring rolls. Then again, I’ve made spring rolls without vermicelli (not as good).

The best place to buy rice paper wraps or dried vermicelli is, by far, your local Asian mart. If you don’t have one, check out the international section of any other market.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

  • ~30 rice paper rolls
  • 1 small package vermicilli noodles (a little goes a long way!), boiled and drained
  • 1/2 Japanese cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
  • 10-15 baby carrots, sliced into matchsticks
  • 5-6 plush sprigs of fresh basil (approximately 1/2 cup loose leaves)
  • 12 sticks imitation crab

Other options:

  • Proteins: shrimp, tofu
  • Herbs: fresh mint leaves, cilantro
  • Veggies: julienned bell peppers, thinly sliced avocado, lettuce leaves, bean sprouts, cabbage, mushrooms, scallions, chiles
  • Noodles: cellophane, bean thread and glass noodles are all the same as vermicelli. Note that most noodles require soaking before cooking.

You can also add aromatics like ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, peanut oil, etc. to flavor the rolls themselves, but I find that if you use a flavorful dipping sauce, it’s not necessary.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
Adapted from here.

  • 3/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 1 1/2 medium limes)
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Thin with additional tablespoons of water or lime juice if the sauce is thicker than your liking.

You can make the sauce a day ahead. Keep in a refrigerated covered container and let sit at room temperature before serving.

To make these, you’ll need:

1 wide, shallow bowl or container full of warm water
A plate or cutting board to roll the spring rolls
A plate for finished spring rolls

Now that you have all your ingredients, are you ready to roll?

Lilly is.

1) Dip a rice paper wrap into the warm water and swirl until softened. You want all hints of the papery-ness to melt away, but you don’t want it to be so sticky that its unmanageable.

2) Lay the wrap flat on a plate and mound a little bit of vermicelli on the bottom third closest to you. Add herbs, veggies and protein.

3) Fold the left “flap” of the wrap over the filling, then the right. Then lift the bottom of the wrap (the “flap” closest to you) over the roll and tuck it tightly under the filling as best you can.

4) Continue rolling away from you, keeping the ends neatly contained as you do so.

5) Uhh…that’s pretty much it. I like to rest the spring roll on the crease to pretend like that will help it seal, but the rice paper wraps are honestly pretty sticky even if you don’t do that. Make sure you leave a little space between each roll when you lay out your spread of finished rolls (or, let’s be real–IN YOUR MOUTH!)

Spring roll high five!

Yes. We are dorks.

FacebookTweetPin1.1k

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Nicole

    January 9, 2022 at 10:51 pm

    How do these do if you make ahead? Does rice paper dry out?

    Reply
    • erika

      February 22, 2022 at 10:56 am

      Hi Nicole! I’ve found depending on the rice paper (I think how fresh vs. stale it is), I can typically make these ahead and they’ll stay relatively soft and pliable for a couple days in the fridge. Only a couple times have they gotten a little hard and crunchy.

      Reply
  2. Ariane @ Bitchetarian

    August 16, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Oh HELL YES I am making these! Love the blog – nice work 🙂

    Reply
    • ekwee

      August 16, 2012 at 2:25 pm

      Oh my gosh thank you. I feel like a celebrity just replied to my fan letter!!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Baking recipe curator and tester.

I’m here to give you confidence that you are finding the recipe that’s right for you.

I test recipes side-by-side and use a data-driven approach to analyze and rank the “best” recipes and put it all together for you.

Get to know me.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Subscribe to get the latest

Popular Now:

9 vegan brownies on a white background Best Vegan Brownie Bake Off
12 different vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes lined up on parchment paper Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off
The 2022 Holiday Cookie Guide
9 ginger molasses cookies on a white background Best Ginger Molasses Cookie Bake Off
Best Cheesecake Bake Off
Best Apple Cider Donut Fry Off
9 pumpkin cookies on a white background with labels Best Pumpkin Cookie Bake Off
9 chocolate chip cookies on a white paper background Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off

Footer

Back to Top
Bake Offs
Recipes
Travel
About
Work With Me

Subscribe to get the latest:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Best Vegan Brownie Bake Off
  • Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off
  • The 2022 Holiday Cookie Guide
  • Best Ginger Molasses Cookie Bake Off
  • Best Cheesecake Bake Off

Privacy Policy and Terms of Service · © Pancake Princess · Site by Meyne