That’s how we roll…

DSC00354

Ethel is my food partner in crime (FPIC).  We could talk about food all day long.  We do talk about food all day long.  She, too, is lactose intolerant.  So we wallow in our dairy free lives celebrate Daiya together.  However, unlike me, she does enjoy her meat.  ;)  I get the feeling from her that vegetarianism is one step away from criminal in the Filipino culture.  Anyways, now that I’m back in So Cal, we are uniting our passion for food.  She is showing me the ins and outs of Filipino feasting, and I’m veganizing it along the way.  We’re a perfect match!

Event-01

Like white brown on rice

We planned a dinner date last week and I was so excited I could hardly wait!  Quite literally in fact. 

IMG_3795

As she sat in LA traffic on her way to our apartment, my stomach was growling profusely.  I texted her letting her know I was about to chew my arm off, and she told me to have a snack (read: it may be awhile), so I dug into the white rice until she showed up (plus sauce…recipe to follow).

IMG_3802IMG_3806

Then I set the table and a short while later Ethel arrived with some goods from the Asian market. 

IMG_3786

Spring roll stuffing ingredients:

  • Green bell pepper
  • Red bell pepper
  • Cabbage (I used an organic pre-packaged cole slaw blend)
  • Carrots
  • Extra firm tofu

Grate the veggies (or use the shred setting of a food processor).

IMG_3787IMG_3788

Press the tofu.

IMG_3789

Add cabbage and grated veggies.

IMG_3791IMG_3796

Mix the stuff up.

IMG_3799

Spring roll dipping sauce ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Bragg’s apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp ginger powder (use less if you aren’t a ginger fiend like I am)

IMG_3792IMG_3793

Mix until it’s all smooth.

IMG_3794

Add 2-3 spoonfuls to the veggie stuffing.

IMG_3800

Cut pressed tofu into julienne-style slabs. 

IMG_3797

Drizzle with soy sauce and microwave for 45 seconds. 

IMG_3798

Afterwards, rotate tofu and recoat plain portions with more soy sauce. 

IMG_3803

Again, microwave for 45 seconds.

IMG_3804 

[This is a cheater way to cook tofu, but I was starving and thus lacked the patience to bake it]

Finally it was time to roll.  Hmmmm…

IMG_3805

A little help with the Tagalog Ethel?  At least the crucial things are translated (ie: rice flour, salt, water). 

So what do these spring roll wrappers look like before they are pliable and ready for rolling?  Well they are thin, hard, and shiny.  Plus, they crack if you don’t handle them delicately. 

IMG_3808IMG_3810

Also, they have a weird bumpy texture to them (that goes away once they are submerged in hot water). 

IMG_3809

To make them soft and stretchy, you dip them in warm (~90-100 degree) water.  We boiled water in a teapot then poured it into a big mixing bowl.  One by one, we dipped the rice paper wrappers in until they became soft, pliable, and ready to roll.

IMG_3813IMG_3814

Then, I put them on the plate as flat as possible.

IMG_3815

And Ethel scooped in the goods.

IMG_3817

This is when her lumpia making skills came in handy.  Holler!

IMG_3818IMG_3819

She was like a machine.

IMG_3820

Rolling and rolling away.

IMG_3821IMG_3823

I didn’t wanna interrupt the efficiency of her spring rolling, so I set up shop at the rice paper dipping station. 

IMG_3824

Kyle took photos. 

IMG_3826

After no time at all, the ingredients were gone and we had a whole plate of rolls!

IMG_3827

Holy rolly!

IMG_3832

Are you impressed?

IMG_3829

IMG_3831

All I have to say is YUM.

IMG_3833

I couldn’t wait to dig into my first two rolls…of several servings.  :)  

IMG_3834

Plus a(nother) bowl of white rice with soy sauce on the side.

The dipping sauce was soooo good and really complimented the rolls.  I loved the ginger pow.  All the flavors were perfect with each other. 

IMG_3836IMG_3837

By the time the rolls were gone, Kyle, Ethel, and I were all full and happy. 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Comments (6)

  1. Amanda

    What a fun dinner idea! And a fun one to make with a friend! (that isn’t as hard as sushi…)

  2. Puppy Dog Tales

    These look fabulous. I tried my hand at spring rolls a few weeks ago and was surprised at how easy they were.

  3. Jessie (Bites and Pieces)

    Those spring rolls look so good! Even better when you have a friend to help you make them. 🙂

  4. Nolita Morgan

    Oh wow! We’ve done vegetarian lumpia at my house before and it was so yummy! I am curious if you guys plan to veganize some pancit. I STILL have yet to master this dish which my cousin makes with pork, shrimp and beef. Also, any plans to adobo anything? Lastly, have you had The Pioneer Woman’s Asian Noodle Salad? I think you’d like it: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/03/my_most_favorite_salad_ever_ever_ever_ever/
    You could eat off of that for DAYS (so good!) — my whole family loves that dish.

  5. Gena

    These spring rolls look delicious. And I love foodie friendships. Chloe and I have vastly different palettes, but we manage to unite intensely when it comes to dining.

  6. Allison

    This looks so good!!! I saw those rice paper wraps at the store the other day but was too intimidated to buy them. Now that I see this recipe, I’m going to give it a try!

Comments are closed.