I know these lemongrass chicken crispy rice paper rolls aren’t not the prettiest dish you’ve ever seen (partly because of my sloppy rolling), but they are SO good. These use the rice paper circles that are used to make spring rolls and summer rolls. You can get these at an Asian market, or just order from amazon like I did if you don’t have a chance to go grab some.
These wrappers are typically soaked in warm water and eaten soft, but this recipe pan fries them in a little oil which adds a great crispy texture. I filled them with lemongrass and garlic marinated chicken, some rice noodles and sliced scallions. They went so well with the nuoc cham dipping sauce – which is a fish sauce/lime/chili sauce used in Vietnamese cooking.
Lemongrass Chicken Crispy Rice Paper Rolls
Lemongrass chicken and rice noodles in a crispy rice paper wrapper with dipping sauce
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cut into thin bite size pieces
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 stalk of lemongrass hard outer layers and upper stem removed, then minced
- 2 tbps fish sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 lime, juiced
- 8 oz thin rice noodles cooked according to package then rinsed under cold water and tossed with sesame oil
- 3 scallions sliced
- rice paper wrappers
- oil for frying
For the dipping sauce:
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 Thai birds eye chili sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Mix the dipping sauce and set aside. Combine the chicken and its marinade ingredients and marinate for 30 minutes or longer as desired.
- Cook the rice noodles according the the package and rinse under cold water until cool, then use kitchen scissors to cut into smaller pieces and toss with sesame oil.
- Heat a tbsp of oil in a skillet over medium high and add the chicken. Cook, stirring, until browned and cooked through. Since this marinade has sugar, it can start to burn, so add a bit of water as needed to keep the pan from getting too dry. Mix the chicken in with the rice noodles and add the scallions and toss it well.
- Set up a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprayed well with oil spray to set your rolls on. Once the rice paper is wet it is very sticky, which is great for keeping the roll together, but it sticks to everything else also. Also grease a plate or cutting board to use for forming the rolls. Fill a large bowl big enough to hold the rice paper rounds with warm water.
- Place one round into the warm water for about 30 seconds to soften. Spread it out on the greased plate and fill with about 1/4-1/2 cup of the filling. Roll it up like you would a burrito or spring roll, making an envelope and then rolling into a log. Seal the edge and place seam side down on the greased baking sheet. The roll will seal itself together while it waits to be fried.
- Once you have formed all your rolls, heat a skillet over medium high with about 1/4 inch of oil in the bottom. When it is hot, add the rolls, making sure they don't touch each other because they will stick. Fry on one side until crispy and starting to brown, then flip them. Serve on a lightly oiled platter so they won't get stuck to that also. 🙂 Serve with plenty of dipping sauce.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!