Food Friday: Fresh Salad Rolls with Peanut Sauce

These are not mine - We ate ours too fast to get a good pictures :)

These are not mine - We ate ours too fast to get a good pictures :)

If you are looking for a fresh and delicious meal this summer that requires minimal stove time look no further! These do take a little longer to make than the average meal but I find it a little meditative and you can make a big batch all at once to last you a couple meals. So perhaps choose a night you aren’t in a rush, or prep things ahead of time. You can get creative with these salad rolls depending on what vegetables you like. You can swap out chicken as well for marinated and sautéed tofu or shrimp.

What you can prep ahead of time - marinated chicken, peanut sauce, julienned veggies.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally to make 4 cutlets

  • zest and juice of 1 lime

  • 1/4 cup fish sauce or 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 2 tsp coconut sugar

  • 2 slices red/green jalapeño - optional

  • 1.5 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced

Peanut Sauce:

  • 1-2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter

  • 2-3 tbsp lime juice

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce/tamari

  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp ginger, diced

  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • 4-6 tbsp water (more if needed)

  • hot sauce or Sriracha to taste - for a kick if you want

Wraps:

  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red cabbage

  • 2 carrots, peeled and julienned

  • 1/2 red pepper, julienned

  • 1/4 cup basil leaves

  • about 1.5 cups vermicelli noodles

  • rice paper wraps

Directions:

  1. Chicken: Add all ingredients including the chicken to a bowl or ziplock bag and marinate for 10 minutes to overnight. Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken to pan and cook until evenly cooked and browned on each side, about 5 minutes/side. Alternatively BBQ the chicken. Set chicken aside on a wood cutting board and slice thinly.

  2. Peanut sauce: Add all peanut sauce ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth adding water by tbsp as needed. Add more water as needed to get the consistently you want. This peanut sauce will keep in the fridge up to a week.

  3. Noodles: Cook noodles accordingly to package, drain and rinse in cold water and place in a bowl.

  4. Wraps: Set all salad roll ingredients up so to easily grab. Fill a shallow bowl, that is slightly bigger than the rice paper wraps with warm water. Soak a rice paper wrap in the water just until pliable, 30-45 seconds (depending on thickness of rice papers); remove and lay flat on a tea towel lined cutting board (the towel will absorb excess water and help to keep it not sticking). Layer vegetables, chicken, a few basil leaves and noodles across the bottom third of wrap. Fold bottom end up, both sides in then roll up tightly. Be careful not to overstuff the wrap or it will be harder to roll. You quickly learn how much to fill. Repeat for remaining ingredients.

  5. Eat! Dip in or drizzle peanut sauce over the wraps while you enjoy!

These are always a hit at my house and the peanut sauce is always a treat. Any leftover peanut sauce can you used in a stir-fry.

In health & happiness.

Dr. Karen