VIETNAMESE CHICKEN ROLLS,healthier, partlymake-ahead

A Vietnamese Roll with a twist - more protein, less veg...

Chicken Vietnamese Roll
'My favourite; it's tidier and the layers are good' 'It's perfect!  Love the peanuts with the chicken.' Tasters

 67's Vietnamese Chicken Rolls dispenses with many of the garden vegetables.  It makes the delicate poached chicken - a flavourful and surprisingly tender boiling fowl - the main focus.  

Chicken Roll has just a few veg: crunchy lettuce, thin sticks of celery and raw mushroom.  The sauce is a a fragrant mix of spring onions, ginger, garlic and oil which allows the chicken to shine.

The sauce can be prepared ahead of time, adding the spring onions at the last minute.

Cost: Variable esp. if using leftover chicken
Serves: 7-8

Ingred:
   1 package 22 cm Vietnamese rice paper wraps
   1-2 mugs shredded poached chicken, marinated in the sauce (below) 1 hour
                                                                                      
   several leaves crunchy lettuce, eg purple or baby gems, rinsed and dried
   1/4 cup finely sliced bamboo shoots (tinned, at major supermarkets & Chinatowns) (opt)
   1/3-1/2 mug thin matchsticks celery
   1/3-1/2 mug thickly sliced mushrooms, pref chestnut but white are fine
    
   1/3 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts, with most of the oil & salt rubbed off with a paper towel/serviette

Sauce:
    4 1/2 tbsp groundnut oil
    1 1/2 generous teaspoons grated garlic
    4 1/2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
Stir well; refrigerate

Just before marinating chicken, add 7 1/2 tbsp finely sliced spring onions, white & green & a couple of tbsp sherry (opt)


Method:

The rice papers are available in Chinatowns, on the shelf or in the chiller.  The dry papers cost a pound and a bit for 20 22cm papers - 1/3 the price of the chilled. The brand used was Longdan, in a green packet.  A smaller  size is available; they can be easier OR more difficult to work with.  

Fill a flat baking dish with warm water (67 found this easier than a bowl.)  Dip the paper into the water for 5 seconds only (one potato; two potato...).  Don't worry if they still feel like paper; they'll continue to soften.
  

The smooth side of the paper is the outside.  Place a lettuce leaf in the middle; add some sauce to the hollow, then a layer of chicken, celery sticks & mushrooms.  Add another layer of chicken and a bit more sauce.  One wrap should be enough for this recipe.

Roll the paper over the chicken and veg, firmly tucking in the ingredients to keep the roll tight. Halfway down fold in the sides and roll to the end.

If making in advance:

Place the finished roll obliquely on a strip of greaseproof paper.  Scatter a layer of peanuts underneath the roll.

Roll it, pressng down on the peanuts, until the bottom of the paper extends and can be twisted or folded under.

To eat, tear a wide strip off the top; take a bite; continue until you reach the bottom of the role.

         
Tip: Don't make this more than a couple of hours in advance and eat on the day.  

     
Comments:   
'Incredible; I loved the contrast of soft chicken and crunchy peanuts.  It's perfect.' Mature constituency organiser
'It's tidier and the layers are good.  Much easier to eat by hand.' Political Agent   

For more Chicken recipes, go to RecipesChicken on the Nav Bar

(Questions & comments, pls email  b67goingon50@yahoo.co.uk 

and say if they can be included in the blog)

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This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.