Summer Rolls Madness

Today I volunteered to make dinner for my parents and brother, the only stipulation that I must use chicken as we happened to have a lot in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, as much as I love cooking I had a large lunch less than two hours prior and thus was really not feeling up to eating a lot of food.

As such I wanted something that would allow for a full meal for others eating and yet let me simply munch without wasting a lot of food. My vessel of choice in this endeavor: SUMMER ROLLS.


What I really love about summer rolls (and many East Asian dishes in general) is how flexible they are to modification, customization, and fusion with other flavours. With this in mind I decided on a Summer Roll sampler combining Vietnamese, Italian, and American palates which I paired with a simple salad and a rice dish. The meal was well received and tasted fine but ended up being too much food, which, all things considered is much better than the alternative.

Summer Roll Sampler
Ingredients*
3 large carrots
1 cucumber
3 chicken breasts
1/2 white onion
1 package rice noodles
peanuts
shallots
sundried tomatoes
lettuce
fresh chives
fresh cilantro
rice paper
olive oil
chili oil

*see below for specific summer roll recipes

- Kitchen Prep

1. Cut the carrots into thin strips (or shave them with a potato peeler).
2. Cut the cucumber into strips (slice lengthwise).
3. Finely dice the white onion.
4. Remove the white roots from the shallots. Cut them in half.
5. Drain the oil off the sundried tomatoes (if from a jar) or the water (if rehydrated). Slice the tomatoes into strips.
6. Shred the lettuce into small strips.
7. Finely chop the peanuts.
   
8. Boil the noodles for approximately seven minutes or until cooked.
9. Rinse in cold water and then submerge until ready to use.
   
10. Cut the chicken into strips and lightly fry in a frying pan with olive and chili oil.
11. Gently pat the chicken to remove the oil and cut into thin strips.

- Assembling the rolls

1. Submerge the rice paper in lukewarm water for 15 seconds or until soft.
2. Lay out rice paper on a smooth, flat surface.
3. Place the ingredients below onto middle the rice paper (forming a line across the center) in the order the are listed.
4. Carefully roll up the rice paper (try to make it as tight as possible).
   

Summer Roll #1
Carrots, cucumber, chicken, shallots, noodles

Summer Roll #2
Lettuce, chicken, onions, sriracha, chives, noodles

Summer Roll #3
chicken, sundried tomatoes, peanuts, cilantro, noodles.


NOTES:
When making the summer rolls, it is important to ensure you have enough of all of the ingredients so that when you go to roll them your ensure you do not end up with three rolls of what you wanted to create and a bunch of rolls with only cucumbers or carrots.

SUGGESTIONS
The Summer Roll #2 was especially popular but as I mentioned before feel free to add or subtract ingredients as you like.

Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
2 tsp Haosin Sauce
1 tbsp Sate Sauce
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Chili Oil
1/2 Lemon
1/2 tsp Chili paste
1/2 tsp Garlic paste
A dash sriracha
Warm water

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
2. Doctor quantities for taste.

NOTES:
This is a great peanut sauce, not just for dipping summer roles
If you are having difficulty mixing the sauce, heat the mixture up in the microwave for 20 seconds and try stirring it quickly with a toothpick.