Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce


I've been making Vietnamese spring rolls for years. Almost every year in summer, I'll make a version of it for lunch. It's the perfect cooling meal to have on hot days and if you prepare the poached chicken ahead of time, it's a breeze to put together. I prepped all of my veggie components ahead of time as well along with the peanut sauce and it literally took 5 minutes to assemble them before each meal. This peanut sauce is one of my favorite sauces for Asian cuisine. You could toss a Chinese chicken cabbage salad with it or you could dress Asian style noodles (even cold noodles) with it along with some shredded veggies. Or you could dip some cucumber spears in it for a little snack (which is what I did with the leftover sauce). The vegetables can be varied in the rolls. You could add bell pepper spears, shredded zucchini or shredded cabbage for example. Go nuts with it!

Recipe my own
5 servings

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
10 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 rice vinegar
1" piece ginger
1 garlic clove
2 serrano

Procedure:
Blend everything together until a very smooth sauce forms. Set aside.


Spring Roll Ingredients:
15 each 6" (or 9") rice paper rolls
15 pieces of lettuce leaves, each about 6" long
1 lb poached chicken breasts, cut into long thin strips 3" long
2/3 cup shredded carrots
1/2 lb cucumbers, cut into 3" long thin spears
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup cilantro leaves

Procedure:
Soak each rice paper roll in warm water for 5 seconds (do it one at a time and finish making the roll first). Lay the rice paper roll flat on a plate and lay lettuce leaf in the middle by folding it in half so the lettuce is only 3" long at the max. Add chicken breasts strips, shredded carrots, cucumber spears, mint, basil and cilantro. Fold the bottom of the roll first by holding on to the filling tightly. Then roll the sides over so they stick to the rice paper roll. Then continue rolling it into a cigar like shape until it meets the end and then stick the end onto the paper roll and set it aside. Don't make these more than an hour or so in advance or the rice paper rolls will sticks like crazy to each other. It's best to make them fresh right before eating. Dip the rolls into peanut sauce and enjoy!


Comments

  1. This is one of my favorite things in the world to eat, especially in the summer. It's light, refreshing, herbaceous and just addictive.

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