Chicken Spring Rolls

Chicken Spring Rolls

I was completely inspired by a new find today that a friend turned me on to - our local Asian foods market. It was tucked away in a secret strip mall that reminded me of a little Asian island right here in New Jersey. The market had the freshest sushi, fish, vegetables and fruit I have ever seen - and SO inexpensive. I have never seen so many different kinds of noodles in one place! I was like a little kid in a candy store - I went nuts. I was also recently inspired by a food blog that discussed the benefits of building appetizer only restaurants and doing away with the 'main dish' in America. One of my favorite appetizers are well made spring rolls. Not the overly greasy kind you get with carry out - I'm talking about fresh cilantro, citrusy ginger, crunchy bean sprouts all tucked away in a neat little package that is so light and crispy, it melts in your mouth! Spring roll wrappers are much lighter and crispier than egg roll wrappers which tend to be almost chewy inside. Unfortunately I did not research recipes before I found this little gem, so I have changed several ingredients. While most of these ingredients can be found in local grocery stores - they are not nearly as authentic or fresh as those you will find at an Asian market. The end result was delicious. I am embarrassed to tell you how many I consumed, so I will not.

origin - Tyler Florence
difficulty - medium
health meter - medium *surprisingly enough, there are only about 170 calories per spring roll. (that's an approximation....do not send the calorie police my way)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger *I increased to 1 tbsp
2 cups shredded Napa cabbage *I used bok choy, because that's what I had on hand
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup bean sprouts
2 ounces bean thread noodles, blanched and chopped *boil for 2 minutes and then rinse in cold water
8 ounces shredded cooked chicken breast *1 large breast
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce *I replaced with soy sauce and chili paste
1 tablespoon oyster sauce *I replaced with 'fish sauce'
2 tablespoons chopped coriander *this is cilantro
juice of one lime
1 package spring roll wrappers
1 egg, beaten

Vegetable oil, for frying

Heat oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, cabbage, carrot, and bean sprouts. Cook for 2 minutes or until the cabbage is just limp. Add the noodles and chicken; continue to cook until heated through. Stir in the hoisin and oyster sauces, toss to coat the mixture. The filling should be moist but not wet. Remove from heat, and allow to cool. Toss in the chopped coriander and lime juice.

Lay a spring roll wrapper on a flat surface on an angle so it looks like a diamond. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling near the bottom corner of the wrapper and fold up to enclose the filling. Fold in the 2 sides. Paint the top seam of the wrapper with beaten egg. Continue rolling up to form a tight cylinder. Most packages show you a diagram on the back!

Pour about 1-inch of oil in a skillet and heat to 350 degrees F. Fry the spring rolls for 2 minutes, turning to cook all sides. Drain on paper towels before serving. Serve with preferred dipping sauce. I would recommend a traditional thai sweet and sour sauce. We had a soy based sauce with lime juice, sugar, sesame oil and pepper flakes.