Recipe

Crunchy Chicken ‘n Vegetable Spring Rolls

Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Serves: 8

These refreshing rolls are crunchy and nutritious. For a crowd, arrange them on a platter. For a salad course, serve four halves per person, accompanied by a dollop of dipping sauce.

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) cooked chicken (about 1 large breast), cut lengthwise in matchsticks
1 tbsp (15 mL) canola oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup (125 mL) yellow or red sweet pepper, cored, seeded and cut in matchstick strips
1/2 cup (125 mL) carrot, cut in 3-inch/ 7.5 cm matchstick strips (about one small carrot)
1 , 3-inch / 7.5 cm piece greenhouse cucumber, cut in matchstick strips (do not peel)
8 to 10 leaves of arugula
8 to 10 large rice wrappers

Instructions

1 In small bowl, combine oil, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, sugar and pepper, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Gently stir in cooked chicken strips. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Gently stir occasionally, to ensure even marinating.
2 Before assembling the spring rolls, prepare the vegetables, making a grouping of each one on a large plate:
3 To assemble the rolls: place a cutting board, the plate of prepared vegetables, the marinated cooked chicken strips and rice wrappers near your cooktop.
4 Fill a large skillet about half-full of water. Heat the water to just above luke-warm (warm enough to rehydrate the rice wrappers, but cool enough so that you can put your hand in the water when removing each wrapper).
5 Place one rice wrapper at a time in the water, and when it is rehydrated (takes about 15 seconds), squeeze it firmly to remove excess water. Lay it flat on the cutting board.
6 At the edge of the wrapper nearest to you, place 2 strips each of chicken and the peppers, 3 or 4 of the carrot and cucumber matchsticks, and 1 arugula leaf. Beginning with the edge nearest you, roll the wrapper around the chicken and vegetables, carefully folding in the sides as you go. (Keep the wrap fairly tight, so that the finished rolls stay intact.)
7 Place completed rolls on a plate and keep covered with aluminum foil as you assemble the others. Rolls can be tightly covered and refrigerated for 3-4 hours, or served immediately. Just before serving, cut each roll in half on the diagonal. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.