Summery Spring Rolls
So this is a combination of various recipes I’ve happened upon, modified to fit what I had in my fridge last night. You could add and remove other ingredients as you see fit and easily make them vegetarian. They are actually very easy to make, keep well for a few days, and can be made with leftovers (as mine were). I happened to have a cooked chicken breast and some leftover plan brown rice, so that’s where I started! Here’s the rest of the recipe. It makes for a really great lunch sandwich alternative!
Prepare the different pieces first and have them set up in a “station” so you can just go down the line and assemble quickly and easily! Makes 6-8 depending upon the size!
In a small bowl, mix:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1 large carrot, grated length wise
season lightly with a dash of salt and pepper
Set aside in separate bowls:
1/3 cucumber, julienned
4 scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (can use mint or basil as well)
½ c cooked rice (white or brown)
Boston lettuce (or butter lettuce is fine too if you’re grocery store is as unfancy as mine)
6-8 Rice papers (found in the Asian section of the store usually, or an Asian market)
Sauce:
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 ½ Tbs chunky peanut butter
2 tsp sugar
Directions:
- Fill wide bowl with warm water. Soak 2 rice papers for 15 seconds. Remove papers and place on clean work surface. Lightly pat dry with clean towel.
- Assemble roll in this order: 1-2 pieces of whole lettuce (or pinch of cut up lettuce), 1-2 Tbs chicken mixture, several pieces of cucumber, pinch of scallions, pinch of cilantro, 1 Tbs rice. (basically just divide up the veggies to about 1/6 their amount per roll, or more if you like. I definitely went with an extra pinch of cilantro).
- Gently roll like a burrito (I guess this is basically the Asian equivalent of a burrito, right). Place on plate and cover with damp paper towel while assembling the rest.
- If eating right away, you could drizzle sauce over mixture before wrapping, otherwise just set in a dish on the side to dip!
(I forgot to take a pic of my own, this is from the interwebs, but looks similar to my rolls)
EAT!!
You can make these ahead of time as well, just be sure to lightly wrap in a barely damp paper towel and store air tight in the fridge until you’re ready to eat!
I guess if you really wanted to go crazy, you could bake or fry these up as well, for that “traditional” (and by that, I mean the corner Chinese take out) version… but they are fabulous as-is and a heck of a lot healthier! If you’re into spicy foods (I’m not so much), you could add some Asian chili sauce into the sauce mix and kick it up a notch!
