Saturday, April 3, 2004

What to do with January's Tempeh marinade - spring rolls

(Originally posted on Saturday, April 3, 2004 by Cathy)
Waay back once upon a time, I posted a tempeh marinade, but never got around to posting a recipe to go with it. Here's one we've made a bunch. (You may want to add dark sesame oil or ginger to the tempeh marinade as well.)
  • 5 romaine lettuce leaves, sliced into thin strips
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 1/2 bunch mint, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 bunch basil (Thai basil if the asian market you visit for the wrappers has it), chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1 carrot, shredded
Mix all the salad stuff together in a large bowl.
Also prepare:
  • 1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts
  • 3 oz cooked bean thread noodles (asian market, or maybe the grocery store) - drop into boiling water, let stand a few minutes, and drain.
  • 12 oz marinated and baked tempeh, cut into strips
Now here's the fun part. Obtain a package of Vietnamese rice-paper wrapper sheets. These are NOT eggroll wraps, these are dried and come as large (8 inch), very thin dry noodle disks. You may need an asian market for these, unless your grocery store is really stocked. Ours is, Mom's isn't. YMMV.
The rice-paper wrappers are softened by sitting them in a large plate of hot water for a minute or two. Plan to destroy the first few you try - you need it to be just *barely* soft enough to work, since it will get softer while you stuff it. If the wrapper is at all cracked before you soak it, don't bother. Toss it and use another. They're cheap and come in huge packages anyway.
Soak a rice paper wrapper. Put part of the salad mixture, a few noodles, a bit of peanuts, and a piece of tempeh onto the wrap, and roll it up like a burrito (except with more swearing).
Serve with dipping sauce of choice - I like soy sauce with a bit of garlic pressed into it, or we have a great recipe for a sweet sauce with hot pepper in it that I might post in another month or three.
Makes about 12-18 rolls, depending on how full you stuff them, and how many pieces of tempeh you eat as you go.

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