Vietnamese Rice Rolls with Lemongrass Chicken

 

My post on Cold Lettuce Rolls is by far the most popular in my blog.  Maybe because of the ease in preparation, the fun in assembling and the prettiness of the whole thing :)

 

So now let me present to you Version Number Two - a Vietnam-inspired rice rolls wrapped with fragrant lemongrass chicken strips and paired with creamy avocado, cucumber and fresh mint leaves. Very yummy.

 

Whilst i like to think of Version One as a more homemade, Malaysian style roll with sweet pork mince, this Viet version is bursting with the fresh flavours of lemongrass and mint.   There really is no need for any dipping sauce as the chicken meat is well seasoned, but if you are a die hard sauce fan, then feel free to serve it with some sweet Thai chilli sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vietnamese Rice Rolls with Lemongrass Chicken

 

• 400g chicken thigh fillet, sliced into very thin short strips, sbout 1 inch length
• 1 packet of dried rice roll sheets
• 1/2 a cucumber, julienned
• 1/2 head of romaine or iceberg lettuce, rinsed and the leaves cut into thin strips/chiffonaded
• 1/3 carrot, julienned
• 2 cups of fresh mint leaves, rinsed
• 2 avocadoes, pitted and cut into slices

 

Marinade for the chicken meat

• Lemongrass paste (see below on instructions to make lemongrass paste)
• 3 tbspn sugar
• 2 tbspn fish sauce
• 1/2 tbspn soy sauce
• 1 tbspn oyster sauce
• Generous dash of white pepper

Lemongrass paste

• 3 stalks of lemongrass, white part only, roughly chopped
• 3 pip garlic
• 1 inch knob ginger, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced

1. Put all the ingredients for the lemongrass paste into a blender and pulse until fine.

 

2. Pour it together with the rest of the marinade and mix with the chicken strips.  Marinade for at least 3 hours or overnight.

 

3. Heat 2 tbspn of oil in a pan and fry the meat until cooked. Adjust the seasonings. Set side to let cool.

 

4. Assemble the ingredients.   Pour some warm water into a wide bowl or container, wide enough to dip the rice roll sheets.

 

5. Gently dip the rice sheets into the warm water until soften but not wilted. Spread onto a wide plate, put the toppings and wrap into a spring roll shape. Serve immediately.