Grilled chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp over vermicelli and summer rolls are two dishes I order very often when I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant. I love the balance of flavors, textures, and color in both dishes. The base for the noodle bowl and summer rolls are fairly identical with the exception of the sauces served on the sides of both dishes. Both dishes have fresh, crunchy vegetables, grilled protein, and soft noodles. For summer rolls, the side of peanut sauce adds a nice creamy contrast to the rest of the dish and takes the summer rolls over the top. Kevin always orders a large bowl of pho, which is perfect to eat during colder months. It has been very cold in Ohio over the last week, but I’m excited for spring weather in the upcoming weeks. The days seem to be getting longer with more sunlight. Usually when I leave for work in the morning, the sky is still dark, but now, as we are approaching springtime, the days are getting longer. Springtime is a great time to test new recipes. I have been feeling more inspired lately to try different spins on classic dishes I love. Today’s dish combines my love of Vietnamese vermicelli bowls and summer rolls, two dishes I almost always order when I eat out at a Vietnamese restaurant. When I lived in Brooklyn, I always went to the local Vietnamese restaurant right by where we lived. The prices were cheap, food was delicious, and the atmosphere was very family oriented. Whenever I visit my family in New York throughout the year, I still stop by the Vietnamese restaurant for summer rolls and vermicelli bowls. In Ohio, Kevin and I have to drive quite a bit to get to our local Vietnamese restaurant. The restaurant we frequent the most is close to an Asian grocery store. We usually end up only going to the Vietnamese restaurant for dinner whenever I need to replenish the Asian sauces in my pantry at home. The best part of going there is I get to satisfy my cravings for Vietnamese food, and pick up some Asian groceries at the local Asian supermarket nearby. I often have to make a special trip to the Asian market there to pick up Thai basil, baby bok choy, and different bottles of Asian sauces. Depending on my mood, I may also pick up some vermicelli, Romaine lettuce, cilantro, and mint leaves to make some summer rolls at home. This weekend was one of those weekends when I needed to replenish my Asian pantry. I ended up picking up most of the ingredients needed to make summer rolls. Summer rolls with shrimp as the protein is often the traditional summer rolls I see at most Vietnamese restaurants. While I do love making traditional summer rolls, I also wanted to put a new spin on summer rolls by combining them with favorite grilled chicken vermicelli bowls. My grilled chicken summer rolls are pretty much a reconstructed version of grilled chicken vermicelli bowls wrapped in rice paper. They turned out so good, I just had to share my findings.
For the grilled chicken summer rolls:
· ¼ package dried rice vermicelli
· 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
· 1 small cucumber, julienned
· 3 large leaves of Romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
· ¼ of a red onion, thinly sliced
· 6-8 sprigs of cilantro
· 2 stalks of scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal, green and white parts separated
· 1 teaspoon fish sauce
· 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
· 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
· 1 teaspoon sugar
· 1 teaspoon soy sauce
· 2-3 chicken breasts, pounded thin
· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
· 8-9 circular summer or spring roll rice paper
· Warm water (about 160°)
For the peanut dipping sauce:
· 3 tablespoons peanut butter
· 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
· 1 teaspoon soy sauce
· 2-3 tablespoons water, used to thin out the sauce
Directions:
1) Cook the rice vermicelli according to the package instructions. Set aside. Prepare all of the ingredients that will go into the summer roll (carrot, cucumber, lettuce, red onion, cilantro, and green parts of scallions). Set aside.
2) In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, wince, hoisin sauce, sugar, and soy sauce. Pour the sauce over the thinly pounded chicken breasts. Allow the chicken breasts to marinate for 5-10 minutes.
3) Heat a grill pan on medium heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and the white parts of the scallions to the skillet. Let the scallions infuse with the oil for about 30 seconds. Add the pounded thin chicken breasts. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until the chicken breasts are browned and cooked through. Let the chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes. Cut into thin strips. Return the thinly sliced chicken breasts back to the pan and brown the chicken for about a minute or two on each side. Remove the twice cooked strips of chicken breasts to a plate.
4) Prepare a large plate to use for cooking the summer or spring roll circular rice paper.
5) To cook the circular rice paper, pour a thin layer of warm water onto the large plate. Wet the rice paper until softened.
6) To assemble the summer roll, add a layer of chicken strips, julienned carrot, julienned cucumber, Romaine lettuce, red onion, cilantro, green parts of scallion, and cooked rice vermicelli. Fold two sides of the rice paper towards the center and then roll the other two sides around until you form a wrapped summer roll.
7) To make the peanut sauce, combine the peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Slowly add water to loosen up the sauce until you reach your desired consistency. Serve the peanut sauce alongside the summer rolls.
Takeaways: The summer rolls are delicious on their own with any meat of your choice or without meat. If you prefer beef or pork, you can follow the same marinating and cooking process above. You can also just use cooked shrimp to go for the more traditional summer rolls. If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can substitute tofu or just omit the protein altogether. Summer rolls are great throughout the year and makes for the perfect refreshing appetizer during the warmer months.