Pan-fried Tofu Fresh Rolls

Preparation 

1. Thinly cut the Tofu block into rectanglular cubes. 

2. In a Tava, pan or skillet, pour EVOO (or Sesame Oil or any neutral cooking oil). Turn the stovetop to a medium-high heat. Place the thinly sliced Tofu one at a time with your Cooking Tongs. Sprinkle a pinch of Salt and Pepper. Pan-fry the tofu on all sides and until they are golden-brown in colour. Then set aside to cool down.  

3. If using pre-washed and pre-chopped Romaine Lettuce, put a handful or two into a bowl. 

4. If using fresh Romaine Lettuce, wash each leaf and put into a bowl. You want to ensure the size of each lettuce leaf will fit edge-to-edge when laying  in the Circular sheets of Rice Paper. 

5. Cut the Cucumber, Carrots, and Avocado into thin slices.

Assemble the Fresh Rolls with Filling

6. Have an assembling station where you have all your cut veggies, pan-fried tofu, Rice Paper circle sheets layed out and is easy reach. You will assemble the fresh rolls with fillings one Rice Paper sheet at a time. 

7. Two options of soaking each Rice Paper sheet in water: 

Option 1: Use a big bowl filled with lukewarm water to dunk each Rice Paper in the water

Option 2: Run each Rice Paper sheet through a small stream of running water adjacent to your kitchen sink. 

CTD Cooking Tip: I prefer Option 2 since I can assemble the fresh rolls with the fillings one at a time and right next to the kitchen sink (opening the kitchen tap only when I need the rice paper sheet soaked in water).  

8.  Take one Rice Paper sheet, gently soak in lukewarm water and place onto a working surface. Ensure there there is a firm-ness to the Rice Paper sheet when placing onto your working surface. They should not become soggy before adding your veggie filling, otherwise it will fall apart when rolling the rice paper. 

9. Add each filling (1 romaine lettuce leaf or 4 pieces of pre-chopped lettuce, 4 pan-fried tofu, 4 cucumber slices , 4 carrot slices, and 4 avocado slices) to the middle of the Rice Paper sheet. Place each filling aligning horizontally.  

10. The folding technique: lift the side of the rice paper sheet closest to you over the filling, fold the right side towards the middle, fold the left side towards the middle, and roll until you reach the opposite edge.  

CTD Cooking Tip: If you prefer a visual guide, go to timestamp 01:39 "How to Fold" of my cooking video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCkkaSB8yYo 

11. Brush each fresh roll with Sesame Oil to prevent it sticking together. Then place onto a plate. 

12. Repeat steps 6 to11 for each fresh roll. Four fresh rolls easily fills me up - but the choice is yours! 

Once your desired number of fresh rolls are assembled, enjoy your homemade Pan-fried Tofu Fresh Rolls!