Vietnamese chicken rice paper rolls

Chicken rice paper rolls recipe

Roast chicken gets a delicious makeover with this rice paper rolls recipe, chicken edition. Rice paper rolls are fresh, light and moreish. While it is quintessentially a Vietnamese dish, the idea of wrapping veggies and meat in a paper-thin skin originated from China. When Chinese immigrants settled in Vietnam, they brought with them spring rolls, and the Vietnamese people adapted it to suit their tastes, creating the beloved rice paper roll. Each bite into one of these allows you to experience the flavours of multiple, carefully chosen fillings, one after the other. But it isn’t disjointed in the slightest. You get the hit of spring onion and coriander first, followed by the sweet and umami-packed dipping sauce, the mildly sweet and rich aroma of crushed peanuts, the salty and succulent roast chicken, and the fresh crunch of veggie strips. This is all buoyed by the very mild rice flavour of vermicelli and, of course, the rice paper, both of which serve mainly as a textural component, with their chewy and bouncy consistency.

How to wrap chicken rice paper rolls like a pro

Here are some tips for using rice paper to make these Vietnamese chicken rice paper rolls without tearing the sheets:

• Soften the rice paper sheets by getting them moderately wet on both sides, in a shallow bowl of cold water. You use cold water so that the sheet is moistened at a slower rate. Slower softening rate equals more time for you to work with it, without it becoming overly soft or sticky. Don’t wait until the sheet is soft before taking it out of the water and working with it. It should be like a quick baptism.

• After wetting the sheet on both sides, shake off any excess water and place on a clean, damp chopping board or paper towels. The sheet should be placed with its smooth side down and the rough side facing you. To wrap your rice paper rolls with chicken, work quickly to assemble the ingredients in the sheet, then wrap as you would a burrito (see step 2 of the recipe) – firmly, but not too tightly. It’s important to start filling with the soft vermicelli first, so that the sheet is protected from punctures from the other ‘harder’ ingredients. 

• Make sure you finely slice all veggies that you want to put in the roll, so that they are soft and won’t pierce the rice paper. 

How to serve these rice paper rolls with chicken

• It is always a must serving these rolls with a punchy dipping sauce. There are multiple sauce combinations you can choose from, depending on what you’re feeling like on the day. For a lighter sauce that is a celebration of umami, follow the recipe below and mix together a sauce of brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, thinly sliced chillies and grated garlic. Or try this peanut sauce for a richer, creamier option. You can also serve hoisin sauce on its own. 

• These chicken rice paper rolls will be a hit at gatherings, potluck, BBQs, picnics or parties. If you’re making these ahead, place the rolls spaced apart on a tray and place a clean, cool, damp tea towel over the rolls – leave the rolls in a cool, dark, dry place for a maximum of 2 hours before serving. Make sure the tea towel stays cool and damp throughout. 

Love this recipe?

These easy chicken rice paper rolls will be the first to be polished off at any gathering you bring them to. Keen to hone your rice paper wrapping skills? Try your hand at these recipes for Vietnamese prawn and mint rice paper rolls, vegetarian rice paper rolls and Vietnamese lemongrass beef rice paper rolls.