Probably my favorite spring rolls!
Time: 30 minutes (20 to cook + prep, 10 to assemble)
Makes: 4-6 spring rolls
Chicken:
1/2 lb ground chicken
1 teaspoon oyster sauce or fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili flakes or paste
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Thai chile pepper, thinly sliced (optional, spicy)
6-8 Thai basil leaves
1/4 cup frozen peas (optional)
Spring rolls (pretty much all optional, use what you have and what you like):
4-6 sheets of Rice paper
1 block Vermicelli noodles
thinly sliced mango
julienned cucumber (1-2 Persian cucumbers)
thinly cut green bell pepper (1/4 of a bell pepper)
julienned carrots
green onion shoots (the top parts, not the stem)
fresh Thai basil leaves
microgreens or sprouts
Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon minced green onion (stems)
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic
Instructions
Mix all the liquids under “Chicken” together in a small bowl
Heat a skillet over medium, add a drizzle of oil and add in the chicken. Break the chicken up as it cooks. Once it’s cooked on the outsides, add in the sauce, garlic, thai basil, red chile, and frozen peas. Cook until the sauce is soaked in and thickened up.
Turn off the heat, put the chicken in a bowl or on a plate and put it in the fridge to cool down. If the chicken is warm or hot it can cause tears in the rice paper so we want it to cool down to room temp at least
While the chicken is cooling off, prep your mango and veggies for the spring rolls. Cook the vermicelli noodles and run them under cool water to cool them down, I like to add a drizzle of sesame oil to keep them from sticking to themselves too much . Then I like to set up a station where I have everything i’m adding to the spring rolls in a half circle around where i’ll actually be filling and rolling them. I also have a plate ready to put the ones that are finished.
Once everything is ready, we’ll make them one at a time! Take a piece of rice paper and either under the faucet or in a dish with cool or room temp water, get each side completely wet for 5 seconds each side (also consult the package they come in, it may vary) The rice paper should still be structured when you move it to your flat surface to start adding ingredients, it will soften up quickly though!
Start by adding a spoon or two of the Thai basil chicken to the center but slightly closer to you, then vermicelli then veggies and other fillings. Fold the paper like an envelope - fold the bottom closest to you over the filling, then fold in the sides, then roll to seal and close the spring roll! these take some practice but just play with it!
you can adjust the filling ratios and what you include as necessary. I typically make as many as will be eaten and then save the ingredients (if there’s any leftover) to make more spring rolls later. I haven’t tried saving them once they’re already made but it could work for a day if they’re covered well so the rice paper doesn’t dry out.
Enjoy! Either serve with the sauce recipe above just by themselves.