Mandarin Chicken Spring Rolls

Introduce

Chef :

Maggie Conlon Martin

Mandarin Chicken Spring Rolls

Spring having finally arrived, I wanted to fix a meal that was light, fresh, crunchy, healthy and delicious. Thought about my favorite Chinese Chicken Salad, then decided to change it up by turning it into a spring roll using the yummy dressing as a dipping sauce.

Ingredient

chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

Toasted Sesame Dressing

lettuce (your favorite variety)

bok choy

green onions

1 cup

mung bean sprouts (approx.)

cucumber

1 can

mandarin orange segments, drained

1 packages

rice paper spring roll wrappers

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Marinade the chicken breasts in my Toasted Sesame Dressing for several hours or overnight.

* Step 2

Cook the chicken breasts on a grill (best method) or under your broiler, basting frequently with the marinade. You want them cooked through with a tasty char on the outside. Chill completely when done cooking. (I do this the day before I want to make the spring rolls.)

* Step 3

Slice the chilled chicken breasts in thin strips, and prepare and plate the rest of the ingredients as shown in the photo. The cucumber is partially peeled, seeded, and sliced in strips. The green onion tops are sliced in strips (I saved the white bottom part for a fried rice side dish).

* Step 4

Fill a rice paper water bowl (shown in the photo) or other container with warm water. Quickly moisten one rice paper wrap in the water. You don't want to leave it in long at all, just a few seconds to get it wet all over. It will still be somewhat stiff, but it continues to soften and become pliable as you're filling it.

* Step 5

Lay the moistened rice paper on a plate and top it with the fillings.

* Step 6

Roll it up tightly egg roll style.

* Step 7

Serve with a dipping dish of Toasted Sesame Dressing with some toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

* Step 8

About Mung Bean Sprouts: If you have a reliable source for sprouts, I recommend buying them rather than sprouting your own. My grocer no longer carries them because they were frequently contaminated, which he said is a fairly common problem. So I sprout my own.

* Step 9

It takes a full week to sprout the beans to a good size, as shown in the photo, rinsing and tending them 2 to 3 times a day. When fully sprouted, it's a tedious task to prep them my removing the sprouted seed and any root hairs. Took me over an hour to prep the amount shown in the photo.

* Step 10

They're healthy and delicious, and I love them, so I don't mind the time and effort. But if I could buy safe sprouts at my market rather than sprouting my own I would!

Note: if there is a photo you can click to enlarge it