Tony Zentgraf
If you have never had a Vietnamese Spring Roll, I think you will enjoy this recipe. The refreshing dressing along with the chicken, bean thread noodles, carrots, cucumber and other vegetables and herbs makes a refreshing salad wrapped in rice paper.
The spring rolls are served with a sweet chili sauce and a peanut sauce for dipping.
At the bottom of this post is a detailed video on how to roll them.
If you haven’t rolled them before give it a try, have a rolling assembly party with friends and see who can wrap them the best or fastest!
Vietnamese Spring Rolls can be made Gluten Free if the
Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette is made with Tamari instead of Soy Sauce.
Divide Origin of Vietnamese Spring Rolls
The history of where the Vietnamese Spring Roll is divided. Some say that the spring roll made its way from China to Vietnam over time.
A Chinese spring roll is rolled in a very thin Menlo Skin Wrapper made from a flour dough then fried once the filling is added and rolled.
The Vietnamese Spring Roll is rolled in a wrapper made from rice paper and not fried. Rice Paper was created in Vietnam and it is very different from the Chinese style of wrapper.
The Legendary King
Vietnamese have a legend about a Vietnamese King, Nguyen Hue Quang Trung, who wanted to be a military power in the region. He ordered soldiers to be on the move continually. Two soldiers would carry a hammock while one would sleep.
Legend has it that the soldiers came up with the idea to make spring rolls with different meats to eat while on the constant move since they did not stop to cook meals and the spring rolls are eaten at room temperature. It is also believed that it is called a spring roll because originally it was made with Spring vegetables.
Eating on the Move
I believe that the Vietnamese possibly created this style of spring roll out of necessity whether for military travel food or because they invented the rice paper making process. They then utilized the similar ingredients of a Chinese style spring roll to make their own version.
Either way you want to believe how the Vietnamese Spring Roll came to be, it is a refreshing change to a traditional salad or a fried spring roll.
Check out the Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp Spring Roll recipe too! The video with that recipe shows what to do if you have a blowout or a tear in the rice paper.
Enjoy!
Vietnamese Chicken Spring Roll
Print RecipeRecipe Multiplier
Cook Chicken, Cool and Shred
- 1 ea Bone in Chicken Breast
- 1 ea Finger Ginger
- ½ ea Onion
- 1 pot of water to boil
Prep for Spring Rolls
- 2 cup Bean Thread Noodles
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- ¼ cup Scallions ¼" cut
- ¼ cup Carrots julienne cut
- ¼ cup Cucumber seeded and julienne cut
- ¼ cup Red Bell Pepper julienne cut
- 2 tbsp Thai Basil julienne cut
- 2 tbsp Cilantro chopped
- 3 tbsp Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
- 4 pieces Lettuce (bib, green leaf, or romaine with bibs removed)
Instructions
Cook, Cool and Shred Chicken
- Cut the half onion in half.
- Smash the ginger with the side of a knife, allowing the flesh of the ginger to be exposed.
- Place the bone in chicken breast, onion pieces and the smashed ginger in a pot.
- Cover with water.
- Bring to a boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Cook the chicken to 165°
- Remove the chicken from the water and cool in the refrigerator.
- Once cooled, remove the bones and skin and discard.
- Shred the chicken into 2" – 3" pieces about ¼" – ½". Reserve to add to the salad mix.
Make Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
- Follow Recipe to make Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette Great as a Salad Dressing and Marinade too!
Cook the Bean Thread Noodles
- Cook the bean thread noodles according to the package.Generally I have found it takes about 5-6 minutes.
- Drain the noodles and shock or rinse in cold water to cool.
- Drain the noodles well again.
- Toss with the sesame oil.
- Cut the noodles into 3" segments. Pile the noodles on a cutting board and cut the pile in a 3"x3"quadrants. This will give the noodles a rough cut to allow to fit in the rolls. Reserve for assembly.
Cutting the Vegetables
- Cut the vegetables, julienne is specified because it is thin and in 1-2" segments. This will help to ensure that the vegetables won't pierce the rice paper. Watch the video on the Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp Recipe. I show what to do if you have a blow out or rip in the paper when rolling.
Mix the Ingredients for the Filling
- In a bowl, combine the vegetables and bean thread noodles.
- Add the Shredded Chicken.
- Add the Vinaigrette and toss to coat well.
- Set aside.
- Tear lettuce into pieces approximately 3" pieces.
- Set aside.
Assembling the Spring Rolls
- Your station should be set up with three towels soaked in hot water and rung out.
- You should have a bowl of hot water large enough to dunk the rice paper set to one side.
- Lay out one of the damp towels on the surface.
- Dunk one sheet of rice paper in the hot water for approximately 5-10 seconds. If your water is hot the rice paper should start to become pliable. Don't dunk too long as the rice paper will continue to soften in the hot damp towels.
- Place the rice paper flat on the first towel. Cover the rice paper with the second damp towel.
- Repeat the process in steps 4 & 5 for the second rice paper. (As you continue to dunk the rice paper the water will get colder. You may need to soak longer or replace the cooling water with hotter water to get the rice paper to the desired softness.)
- Let the rice paper rest in the warm damp towels to continue to soften for approximately a minute.
- Peel the top towel back slowly. The rice paper should be tacky to the touch. Hold the rice paper, if needed, to keep the rice paper from sticking to the towel you are pulling away. The rice paper should stay in place on the bottom towel as you pull away.
- Place a lettuce leaf down on the rice paper about ⅓ of the way from the edge of the rice paper closest to you.
- Place ⅓ – ½ cup of the chicken, vegetable and noodle mix on top of the lettuce leaf.
- To roll, the process is similar to rolling a burrito. Pull the rice paper closest to you up over the top of the filling. Tuck in the chicken, vegetable and noodle filling under the top of the rice paper as you bring the rice paper over the top.
- Fold in each side of the rice paper toward the middle. One side at at time, at the same time you are holding the rice paper on top to keep in place.
- As you continue to roll forward with the top of the roll, gently pull back toward you as you roll.
- As you near the end of the rice paper continue to pull gently as you roll. This will help to keep the roll tight. This is important because if you are going to cut the rolls it will help to keep the filling compact.
- Repeat the processes above to dunk more rice paper and assemble the rolls.
- Serve with Sweet Chili Sauce and Peanut Sauce
