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One of my favorite treats is the Vietnamese Chicken Salad Rolls at Pei Wei. They are an occasional indulgence. When I saw that Katie had made some summer rolls, I decided to try making them myself. I was amazed at how easy it was to do. And how delicious!
Years ago I had seen an article in Fine Cooking. Recently, I remembered it and used it as my basic guide for constructing the rolls, but instead of following their recipe I took the flavor components from my favorite Chinese Chicken Salad recipe and incorporated them into summer rolls. I made one dipping sauce similar to the dressing. And for good measure, I made a second dipping sauce, similar to the sauce in my kids’ favorite, Peanut Butter Chicken.
These rolls were so good! Our family loved feasting on them while watching a combination of Nascar, Golf, and Baseball on Saturday night, especially since our favorite flavors were featured. They are fun to serve with game night snacks.
In addition to the dipping sauce mentioned here, be sure to make the this tangy Dipping Sauce as well.
The trick to this recipe is to prepare all your filling ingredients ahead of time so that you can assemble rolls in quick succession of one another. The rice paper can dry out quickly. We’ve all been talking about them and wanting to enjoy them again soon. To become a conversation topic is to become a regular good. cheap. eat. around here.
More Take-Out to Make at Home
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Summer Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon wasabi powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast , sliced into ¼-inch slices
- 1 6.75-ounce package maifun rice sticks softened in warm water, according to package instructions
- 1 12-ounce package rice paper rounds
- 1 head romaine lettuce shredded
- 1 red bell pepper cored and sliced into matchsticks
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into matchsticks
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro (chopped)
- dipping sauces for summer rolls
Instructions
- Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, wasabi, and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the oils.
- Add the chicken pieces, turning to coat them in the marinade. Allow to marinade for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet and add the chicken. Discard the marinade. Cook the chicken over medium heat, stirring until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and chill until cold. Can be made up to 1 day in advance.
- Prepare the rice sticks according to package instructions for softening in water.
- Assemble all ingredients at your work station: chilled chicken, rice noodles, rice papers, lettuce, peppers, carrots, and cilantro. You’re going to assemble each summer roll one at a time.
- Heat 2-inches of water in a large skillet. Soften the rice papers one at a time by holding each piece in warm water for 15-30 seconds. Shake off the excess liquid and place it on a plate. Place small amounts of the fillings across the center of the paper.
- Fold over one edge, tuck in the sides, and roll until the filling is encased in the rice paper round. Place on a platter and cover with a damp cloth.
- Continue rolling rice papers with fillings until you have as many as you want or until ingredients are exhausted. Be sure not to let the sides touch as they will stick together and tear when removed.
Sharon
Love your site will be trying the spring rolls
I love a dish at mr favorite Thai/Hmong rest.
Called chicken laab and tried to make it at
Home and it tasted just like the org. It uses
Large ground chicken breast cilantro green
Onions hot sauce… So I will be making your
Spring rolls to go with it.
Thank you!
Sharon
@Sharon, sorry summer roll!
Patti
Can you make these ahead of time? If so, do you need to keep them covered with a damp towel to keep them from drying out? We love these at our local restaurant, thought they’d be easy, just didn’t know how to do it! Thanks
Jessica
You can make them ahead, but yes, they need to be covered. (Pei Wei’s are always made ahead of time.) I wouldn’t make them days and days ahead of time, but a few hours is fine. And I’ve eaten them leftover the next day, too.
Nicole
We make a similar roll but with shrimp. It’s been ages since we’ve had them. After reading this post, I’m inspired to whip up a batch. We’ll need to invite folks over as the recipe we have makes enough to feed an army. LOL.