Baked Vegetable Spring Rolls
Zucchini, carrot, mushroom, spring onion and fresh mint rolled in rice paper and baked instead of fried, for a crisp result with none of the deep-frying. Served with a light Vietnamese-style dipping sauce.
Prep
30 min
Cook
40 min
Total
70 min
Servings
3
Ingredients
- 12 rice paper sheets (you'll use 10-12)
- 1 medium zucchini, finely julienned (filling)
- 2 medium carrots, finely julienned (filling)
- 200 g mushrooms, finely chopped (filling)
- 4 stalks spring onion, finely chopped (filling)
- 10 leaves fresh mint, finely chopped (filling)
- 1 clove garlic, crushed (filling, optional)
- ½ tsp ground ginger (filling)
- 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce (filling)
- 1 pinch black pepper (filling)
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (filling, optional)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (filling, for sautéing)
- 1 tsp olive oil (for brushing on top)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (sauce)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (sauce)
- 1 tsp honey (sauce)
- ½ clove garlic, crushed (sauce, optional)
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (sauce)
Method
Gluten-free option ↓Prep the vegetables
- 1
Finely julienne the zucchini and carrots. Chop the mushrooms small, thinly slice the spring onion, finely chop the mint, and crush the garlic. Zucchini releases a lot of water, so we'll cook everything over high heat to keep it from getting soggy.
Make the filling
- 2
Heat a wide pan and add the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release all their water and it evaporates, then add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
- 3
Add the carrots and zucchini and sauté over high heat for 4–5 minutes — the vegetables should stay slightly crisp, not go fully soft.
- 4
Turn off the heat. Stir in the spring onion and mint — adding them last keeps their flavour fresh. Add the soy sauce, black pepper, red pepper flakes and ground ginger and mix. Let the filling cool completely before rolling.
Roll the nems
- 5
Fill a wide bowl with warm water. Dip a rice paper sheet for 5–8 seconds, lift it out, lay it on a flat surface, and let it soften for 20–30 seconds.
- 6
Place about 1–1.5 tablespoons of the vegetable filling in the centre. Fold the bottom edge over, tuck in the sides, then roll tightly. Don't overfill — a thin, tightly rolled nem turns out crispier.
Bake
- 7
Heat the oven to 200°C. Arrange the rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush them very lightly with olive oil.
- 8
Bake for 15 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10–15 minutes (25–30 minutes total). For extra crispness, switch on the fan for the last 2–3 minutes.
Sauce
- 9
Stir together the soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Serve the rolls warm, dipped in the sauce.
Gluten-free swap
This recipe is almost entirely gluten-free already — just swap the soy sauce for a gluten-free (tamari) soy sauce.
Nutrition per serving
240kcal
Calories
7g
Protein
40g
Carbs
7g
Fat