Spring Rolls

These are a favorite at our house. We love egg rolls, too. But these definitely hold their own in the flavor department. And they ARE NOT fried. I got this recipe from a friend in my women's church group, who is from Thailand. She taught some of us how to make them, and a few other yummy Thai treats. They work well as a main dish, served with some fried rice for a light meal, or as a side dish too.  

 The wrappers: stiff, like thin plastic, and has a weave design.

The sauce: sweet and spicy!

1 Chicken Breast, cut into thin slices
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tb. Soy sauce
2 Tb. Sugar

1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup bean sprouts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 bunch glass noodles, soaked at least 20 min. and cut roughly
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

1 pkg. Spring Roll Wrappers
1 bottle Sweet Red Chili Sauce
chopped peanuts

Cut chicken and mince the garlic. Toss into hot skillet with a little bit of oil, and sauté until done. Add the soy sauce and sugar. Get the noodles soaking in hot water while you chop up the vegetables. 

Tip: I like to chop everything super thin. I just like it better that way, and it rolls up easier. Mix the vegetables together, along with the chicken and soaked noodles and toss to coat everything with the sauce from the chicken . I like to cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour to help all the flavors come together. 

This is the tricky part. Wrapping it all up. I put a pot of water on the stovetop, almost bring it to a boil, and turn the heat to low, dip just over half of the stiff rice paper-stuff, until it goes soft and elastic, turn it carefully with both hands, so it doesn't stick to itself, and dip the other half until it's soft. It only takes a few seconds on each end, if the water is hot enough. Then I put it carefully on a plate, spoon in the vegetable chicken filling, fold in the ends, and roll it up tightly. It takes a little practice to manage the wrapper, so if it starts sticking to it's self, which is hard to pull it apart again, just keep practicing. I like to imagine it with four sides that I grip with the tips of my fingers and palm of my hands and hold it just so it stretches slightly to keep it from falling into itself, as I turn it from one end to the other after dipping the first end. Did that make any sense? 

Then serve it up with the Sweet Red Chili Sauce mixed with the chopped nuts. This is completely necessary. Don't serve these up without this sauce. I'm telling you. You NEED this sauce. 

This recipe made 16 rolls for me- but that depends on how full you fill your wrapper.