Despite the abundance of fabulous fresh, in season, local produce which becomes readily available in the summer, I find that it can be a difficult time to eat healthy. It's the beach picnics, the barbeques, the lazy patio afternoons sipping cold beer and nibbling on nacho platters. It's also travel time for a lot of people, and very often those long road trips, train rides, and airplane adventures are coupled with eating a lot of crappy food.
When I recently took off for a week at a holiday house, I was determined to eat as healthy as possible both on the road and at the beach.
Embarking on what should have been an eight hour drive south (due to car troubles it turned into a two day drive!) I had to remind myself several times that I wanted to eat not because I was hungry, but because I was bored. I addressed this by watching the clock, reminding myself how long it had been since I had last eaten, and really checking in with my body to determine whether I was actually hungry. And, I packed an arsenal of healthy food for the road.
These salad rolls are the perfect thing to pack for a long car ride. Or a beach picnic. Or a barbeque. The rice paper wrappers turn salads into hand held, portable meals that can be enjoyed practically anywhere. I've paired some leafy greens and thin sliced veggies with an oven baked miso glazed tempeh to make these salad rolls a complete meal. Yum!
One more quick note; Paul and I have nipped over to Italy for 5 days of warm weather, spectacular views, and lots and lots of wine and olives (here in lies the reason I was so determined to stay healthy on the previous trip - preemptive damage control!). I may not be able to respond to your comments as quickly as normal, but I'll get to them, I promise! If you're interested in seeing where we are and what we're up to you can follow my Instagram feed (@muffinmyth) or 'like' The Muffin Myth on Facebook, where I'll be postings some pictures. Ciao!
One year ago: Baked Eggplant Parmesan Caprese Sandwiches
Two years ago: Cold Rice Noodles with Cashews
Salad Rolls with Miso Glazed Tempeh Recipe:
Salad rolls aren't so fussy to make once you get the hand of it. You can use any veggies you like, or even fruit, and fancy them up with any number of sauces and spreads. The perfect portable meal!
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For the tempeh:
1 250g package of tempeh
3 tablespoon miso paste
2 tablespoon grape seed or other vegetable oil
2 tablespoon soy sauce (I used Bragg)
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes.
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Preaheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the tempeh into squares or rounds (mine came in a log, so I sliced 1 cm rounds off of it). Whisk together all remaining ingredients for the miso glaze. Arrange the slices of tempeh on your prepared baking sheet, and using a pastry brush, liberally brush one side of the tempeh with the miso glaze. Place the baking tray in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, turn the slices over, and liberally brush the other side with the glaze. Reserve remaining glaze for the salad rolls. Put the tray of tempeh back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove, and set aside to cool.
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For the salad rolls:
1 pkg rice paper wraps (my package had 12 wrappers)
mixed seasonal greens of your choice, washed and dried
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
½ long English cucumber, cut into thin strips
green onions, sliced into strips
Any other veggies you may want
Miso glazed tempeh (recipe above)
Reserved miso glaze
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Arrange all of your salad roll ingredients on a plate beside you, a cutting board or other work surface in front of you, and a plate or vessel for completed salad rolls on your other side. Fill a large pie plate or cake pan with cold water.
Take one sheet of rice paper and dunk it in the cold water for a minute. You don't have to wait for it to get soft - in fact it's better if you don't as the rice paper will continue to absorb water as you work. Place the wet rice paper on your work surface, and use your pastry brush to paint a smear of miso glaze down the middle. Arrange a few slices of tempeh, some greens, and some veggies over the top. Less is more when you're first figuring out how to roll these. Now roll it up like a burrito. I generally fold one broad side over, then fold the two narrow ends up over that, and finish by rolling over onto the remaining broad side, using my fingers to keep the ingredients inside. Place the completed salad roll onto the waiting plate, and repeat until you run out of wrappers or filling.
These salad rolls are full of good stuff! Tempeh is a good source of protein, is high in dietary fiber, and the fermentation process makes digestion easier and nutrients like zinc, calcium, and iron are more bio available than in non-fermented soy products. No matter which veggies you choose for your salad rolls, they're going to be full of great stuff, like dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Eat your veggies! We know that the white rice paper wrappers aren't the best for us, but they're thin and only a small part of our salad rolls. We're moderating!
Do ahead: these salad rolls are best eaten within of a day of making them. If you're packing them to take on a long car ride, line a food storage container with a sheet of paper towel that is just ever so slightly damp (remember, the rice paper will absorb moisture, so if you make it too damp they'll turn mushy), and line the salad rolls on top. You can separate them with parchment paper if you wish. Top with another sheet of just barely damp paper towel, and close the lid.
All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2012
jackieofmarinmamacooks
I have a package of tempeh in my that has been sitting in my fridge for sometime and I haven't known what to use it for. This looks like the perfect recipe as I love miso as well. Wish me luck on rolling up those spring rolls!
I love all your nutritional advice and info. I have been trying to feed my family seasonally when I can, and I'm a huge fan of kale, veggies and "green" juices. I wasn't a fan of veggies till about 8 years ago though. I think having kids made me realize how important they are and how good they make you feel inside and outside!
themuffinmyth
I love tempeh in these rolls, but if the rolling is intimidating (just don't worry about messing them up! you can eat the rejects and they'll be just as delish) you can enjoy the miso glazed tempeh on a salad or on it's own as well.
Tessa
A visiting friend caught this on her ipad this morning and was delighted with the recipe. She assured me they were easy to make and worth the effort. I think she may have hoped I might have them ready for their next visit in a few weeks.
themuffinmyth
You totally could have them ready! Let me know if you try them out.
Leanne
These look way better than most road food! I might have to make a batch up for our upcoming move ...
themuffinmyth
Perfect moving food! It's so hard to stay healthy when your entire kitchen is packed up, but these don't take up a lot of space or need a lot of equipment.
Ridha
Oooooh.. this is a very clever way to use tempe 🙂
themuffinmyth
Thanks! I hope you try it out!