These chicken spring rolls are the most delicious weekday dinner. They are the epitome of fresh food and endlessly customizable. Sweet, sour, spicy, crunchy, saucy, there's something for everyone! If you haven't made spring rolls at home yet, add them to the menu tonight! The best part of these bad boys is that the individual components (rice noodles, Hoisin-Honey chicken, quick pickles, cilantro and peanut dipping sauce) can all be prepared ahead of time. This allows everyone to not only eat at their convenience, but also customize their spring roll to their personal preference (though why you wouldn't want to pile it high with everything is beyond me)!
The chicken is dressed in a great sweet-spicy Hoisin-Honey sauce that is jazzed up with a little sriracha (to your spiciness preference). When you top some soft rice noodles with this chicken, a little cilantro, and those delicious pickles, it is a match made in heaven! Pro tip: if spring rolls aren't your thing or you are looking for a more travel-friendly lunch, these different components also make a fabulous rice noodle salad.
To top it all off, I strongly recommend making this peanut dipping sauce. Using the same flavors as the chicken, with a little peanut butter for creaminess, I made a dipping sauce for the spring rolls that is as close as possible to that delicious peanut sauce that comes with every Thai food takeout spring roll. It's a little sweet, really cream and still has the asian zing to it! Without a doubt it is the perfect finishing touch to these spring rolls (it also works as a great dressing for a noodle salad)! All in all, these spring rolls are seriously delicious! They are pretty easy and a great, fresh make-ahead meal for your next week night dinner.
Chicken Spring Rolls with Sweet & Sour Quick Pickles
Hoisin-Honey Chicken:
- ½ cup Hoisin Sauce
- ¼ cup Honey
- ¼ cup Sriracha
- 1 whole roasted chicken
Shred the entire chicken into small pieces (removing skin and bones). In a separate bowl combine hoisin sauce, honey and sriracha, stirring until evenly incorporated. Toss the shredded chicken in the sauce. Refrigerate until ready to assemble spring rolls.
Sweet & Spicy Quick Pickles:
- ½ cup White Wine Vinegar (or Rice Wine Vinegar)
- 2-3 Tbsp Honey
- 4 Tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tsp Dried Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 English Cucumbers, peeled
- 4 Carrots, peeled
Thinly slice English cucumbers into very thin strips (I like to peel and section my entire cucumber into 3 sections, then halve each section and slice lengthwise in thin strips). Finely chop carrots into thin strips as well (you can use a similar method to the cucumber prep or use a another method to julienne the carrots). The ultimate goal is thin, manageable, relatively uniform pieces of carrots and cucumbers that will make the spring roll easier to eat. In a bowl large enough to fit all your vegetables, combine white wine vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and dried red pepper flakes. Stir until the honey is dissolved and then add in the vegetables. Allow the pickles to sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours in the fridge before serving. The longer they sit the more “pickle-like” they will become.
Peanut Dipping Sauce:
- ½ cup Hoisin Sauce
- ¼ cup Honey
- ¼ cup Peanut Butter
- Up to ¼ cup Sriracha
In a small bowl combine Hoisin sauce, honey and peanut butter. Whisk until smooth and creamy. Add in 1/8 c. (2 tbsp) of Sriracha. Combine, taste and add more as desired (up to ~ ¼ cup).
Additional ingredients:
- 1 Bunch of Fresh Cilantro (Stems Removed)
- 1 pkg of Thin Rice Noodles (Prepared According to Package Directions)
- Rice Paper Wrappers (Round Versions for Spring Rolls)
Spring Roll Assembly:
Soften the rice spring roll wrapper in lukewarm water for about 30 seconds. It should be bendable and soft but not mushy. Gently remove from the water and place on a plate. Add ¼ c of rice noodles in a line down the middle of the wrapper. Top the rice noodles with ~ ¼ c. of chicken mixture. Top the chicken with desired amount of pickles and cilantro. Once you have the desired amount of filling, gently roll up the spring roll. This is best done by orienting the spring roll so that the line of filling is running horizontal (or as a kindergarten teacher would say like a hamburger not like a hotdog). Then take the bottom edge of the wrapper and pull it over the edge of the filling. Tuck in the outside (left and right) edges of the wrapper. By this point the filling should be completely covered by the rice paper and should form a tight roll. To finish the spring roll, roll from the bottom up onto the remaining rice wrapper section, tucking in edges where necessary to form a tight roll. If you are looking for more help or find my directions to be completely hopeless, check out this post.