Ideally, I should have posted these ground chicken spring rolls yesterday… you know, with it being the first day of Spring and all. But hey, I’m not perfect. SO HAPPY 2ND DAY OF SPRING with… spring rolls!!!!!!!!!!!
Spring rolls and I have had a very long and difficult relationship… only just recently did we actually become friends.
Have you ever made spring rolls?! Rolling them is kind of a b****. BUT I finally got it down and I’m here to help you do it too. The key for me? DON’T OVERSTUFF THEM. I’m a middle child so I’m always like “give me mooooore”. But with spring rolls… it’s WAY EASIER to roll them up if you don’t overstuff them. Also, you need a good mix of both soft and firm ingredients. Too many soft ingredients and it’s impossible to eat because the spring roll is just super limp. Too many firm ingredients and it’s hard to bite into and chew. A mix of soft and firm ingredients gives structure plus ease of eating. I totally get that I’ve analyzed this way too much but Tom and I have eaten some funny homemade spring rolls over the past year. Oh and my last trick is… putting sauce in the spring roll rather than dipping it in a sauce. Because guys, spring rolls are messy… and you don’t want all that messy stuff in your sauce container (because you want it in your mouth, duh). JUST PUT THE SAUCE IN THE ROLL AND IT’S ALL GOOD.
ground chicken spring rolls
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- healthy pinch of sea salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce gluten-free if needed
- juice from one lime
- 4 oz vermicelli noodles
- 1 1/2 cups matchstick carrots
- 1 large avocado pitted and sliced into 12 pieces
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 12 sheets rice paper
peanut sauce
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce gluten-free if needed
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk any milk will do
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- juice from one lime
Instructions
- Cook the ground chicken: In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat your sesame oil. Add the ground chicken then season with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ground ginger. Stir to completely coat chicken in spices and to break it up in little ground chicken pieces. Cook the chicken until it’s browned all over, about 8-10 minutes. Next, stir in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice then mix until the chicken is totally coated. The mixture should be glaze-like! Place ground chicken in a bowl off to the side.
- Prepare the noodles: Cook the vermicelli noodles in boiling water for about 2 minutes, until they soften. Drain under cool water (this is very important, otherwise they stick together like crayyyyy).
- Make peanut butter sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, coconut milk, hot water, and lime juice. Whisk until completely smooth. Don’t freak too soon, it will come together!
- Assemble spring rolls: Submerge one rice paper sheet into a shallow bowl of hot water. Once the paper has softened (about 20 seconds), lay it on a flat work surface (like a cutting board). Blot with a paper towel to absorb excess water. In the center of the rice paper, add a small chunk of vermicelli noodles, a spoonful of ground chicken, a small hand full of matchstick carrots, one slice of avocado, a few sprigs of cilantro, and a spoonful of peanut sauce. Bring the sides of the rice paper in, then carefully and tightly roll up each spring roll. Place them seam-side down on a serving platter or plate. Continue until all the spring rolls are done!
- EAT EAT EAT
Y’all this ground chicken is GOOOOOOD. It gets all glaze-y from the soy and hoisin sauce… asian flavor city. Also, per usual, this peanut sauce is drinkable. I would straight up drink it (#peanutbutterslut). So are y’all going to make these?! MAKE THEM. AND if you do… let me know! Leave a comment or tag a photo #appetitesanonymous on instagram!! I’d love to see your spring rolls in action. Hopefully, they will be rolled slightly nicer than mine ha! Happy 2nd day of Spring. Peace, friends!
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