Spring Rolls with Asparagus and Chicken
I hope you are not bored with my asparagus posts yet because… here is my most recent discovery! I have already tested – and with no regrets – asparagus as a filling in maki sushi, then in filo rolls… now the time has come for spring rolls! Asparagus, the spring vegetable par excellence, thoroughly justifies the name of these snacks. I am glad to add them to my growing list of asparagus dishes and at the same time to my collection of spring rolls, which will once more become a staple during approaching hot days. I strongly recommend these to all the asparagus lovers.
If you don’t like asparagus, here are some other spring roll filling ideas:
TIPS: I have added here mung bean sprouts because I like them and buy constantly, but since the asparagus is already crunchy, you can skip them and add more of other ingredients instead.
These rolls can be served with any sauce of your choice (or without any sauce too!), but I particularly liked it with a mixture of soy sauce, chilli oil and vinegar (my ratio is usually 3:1:1). They were also delicious with the sesame salad dressing I have posted here. (The one you see above is a Vietnamese sweet, sour and hot sauce, but finally I didn’t find it the best for the asparagus).
Preparation: about 30 minutes
Ingredients (8 rolls):
8 (22 cm or 8 3/4 in diameter) rice paper sheets
1 x 40 g (about 1,4 oz) package of glass/cellophane (mung bean) noodles
8 rather big lettuce leaves (or the equivalent of other green leaves)
two small handfuls of washed fresh mung bean sprouts or more glass noodles/more asparagus
12 green asparagus spears, blanched and still crunchy (the lower hard 1/3 – 1/4 part trimmed)
1 big baked, grilled, boiled or steamed chicken breast
(mayonnaise)
(chili paste or sauce)
Put the glass noodles into a bowl.
Cover with boiling water and soak them about ten minutes until they soften and become limp.
Drain them with cold water.
Cut the asparagus into halves or smaller portions, so that they are as long as your spring rolls will be.
Cut the chicken breast in two horizontally and then into thin strips.
Fill a big wide bowl with warm (not hot) water.
Divide the lettuce leaves, the chicken breast, the asparagus spears, the glass noodles (and the mung bean sprouts if you use them) into ten equal portions.
Dip rice paper sheets one by one in the water, immersing them delicately so that you don’t break them. As soon as the sheet softens (after about ten – twenty seconds), put it onto a big chopping board.
Place first the lettuce leaf in the middle, horizontally (at the edge which is closest to you) the asparagus, a piece of chicken breast, mayonnaise, mung bean sprouts and chili paste if you choose to do so.
Roll tightly starting from the edge which is closest to you.
Proceed in the same way with the remaining rolls.
Serve them immediately as they are or cut in two horizontally with the sesame paste dressing/dip or with a mixture of soy sauce, chili oil and vinegar.
If you wish to serve them later, wrap them individually in cling film because they dry out very quickly.
Your post has reminded me that it’s time to start making spring rolls again. Asparagus is a great filling addition although avocado is still my favourite.
Thank you, A_Boleyn. I also love avocado, but asparagus is a nice change.
My next post will be featuring asparagus dish also. Mine doesn’t look so pretty like yours but it was good. I definitely printing this recipe though, I’m craving your asparagus tempura very much.
I have just seen your asparagus dish. It looks fantastic! Strangely asparagus tempura is very easy (compared to other tempuras).
Is there anything to not love about these rolls? I wonder! They look very appetizing Sissi!
Thanks a lot, Katerina.
Well I’m certainly not tired of your spring inspiration Sissi — (although if you ask my boys they would say it must be asparagus season all the time around here with the frequency in which I serve them 😉 ). I love the look of these little bundles and I bet they are super light, crunchy and refreshing. What a great idea to add the mung bean sprouts too. Perfect warm weather nibbles indeed. Lovely rolls Sissi!
Thank you so much, Kelly. I also sometimes skip the glass noodles if I want to have the rolls super light (a bit like a replacement of a salad).
I still love the cucumber and soba spring rolls that you made for me a couple of years ago (has it really been that long!?!). Did I tell you that I made them last summer? Loved them and will be making them again this summer once the heat sets in. I love your spring rolls because they are so light and healthy during the hotter months. These sound perfect for a dinner main dish with the asparagus and chicken! Another great spring roll!
Hi, MJ. I do remember very well! I was so scared of choosing something for my guest post… It was an honour to be your guest. I am so happy you liked them! Thank you so much for all the kind compliments.
I’m definitely not tired of your gorgeous asparagus posts; I’m starting to see some local asparagus here and there but it’s not the thin, delicate ones we prefer so I haven’t bought them yet. I love the fresh rolls to (here they call them fresh rolls if they are not deep fried). Your suggestions for dipping sauce sound lovely too.
Thank you so much, Eva. The thicker asparagus is a bit more limited when it comes to cooking options, indeed. Actually here they call these “summer rolls” and spring rolls are fried; funny isn’t it? But logical.
Great asparagus dish. I still have quite a bit of asparagus left and this dish is PERFECT for the warm weather (and my eating light menus)! Probably making this tomorrow or very soon before those asparagus go bad! The soy, chili, vinegar sauce sounds good too! Did I tell my tolerance for spicy food (and kids too) got improved? 😉
Thanks a lot, Nami. You didn’t tell me about the hot food tolerance improvement! That’s great news (I have always thought it was just a question of training 😉 ). We should visit Korea together one day 😉
Yes, spring rolls are such a nice option for hot summer days (though slightly more time-consuming than salads for example). Let me know if you make these. I hope you will like asparagus here too.
Our asparagus is winding down a little bit now, but I think there is enough out there for one more indulgence & this looks so good! I don’t think I would have thought to use it like this.
Thank you, Donalyn. I have noticed that slowly the asparagus season tends to stretch every year here… so I still have at least several weeks to enjoy it.
Hi! Your dishes look very delicious,including Japaneseones are very cool too. Do you eat them with 焼酎?
Thank you so much, Minoru. Oh, yes! I would eat any snack with shochu (actually I don’t even have to eat any snacks with shochu 😉 I like it so much!).
I could never get tired of your creative use of asparagus…your pretty spring rolls sound terrific.
Thank you so much, Karen.
Very appetizing. This recipe is really wonderful.
Thank you so much, Kiki.
I’ve been eating LOADS of asparagus recently… it’s been super cheap here (thankfully it’s the green variety, not the terrible, bitter white one :p) although I haven’t been doing anything as exciting as this Sissi – mainly just steaming, boiling, or stir-frying it and eating it as it is.
This looks like a great creation… I bet the chicken goes really well with it. As you know, I’m not a huge chicken fan, but there’s just something about cold chicken that gets me all fired up! 😀
Thank you so much, Charles. I buy asparagus so often now, I am regularly tempted to experiment with it. Chicken is quite neutral (especially the breast), so it’s just a question of having some animal protein here 😉 I bet any meat would be good instead too.
Very intelligent recipe. Asparagus is a spring vegetable, so naturally spring rolls are the best way to serve it:)
I recently bought asparagus for the first time – bought white ones. They are fantastic veges.
Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies. You are so right! (Actually, the strange thing is that they call here these rolls “summer rolls”; spring rolls are the fried ones…). White asparagus has something elegant and sophisticated in it, don’t you think?
That makes sense. Its less interesting to eat fried stuff during hot summer days, so summer roll is not fried:) People there are intelligent!
My daughter makes these and the only thing that kept me from trying it is the peanut sauce she serves them with. [I HATE the taste of peanut butter] But the sesame salad dressing I can relate to. Thanks Sissi!
Hi, Zsuzsa. You can serve these with any sauce you wish (or without sauce). I like peanut butter but only in savoury sauces. I don’t like it when it’s sweet (used in cookies for example).
I do love asparagus any way it can be made. Never had them in spring rollls…well, the ‘skies are the limit’ for the healthy and pretty stalk of goodness. Love your creative cute and yummy spring rolls, I would eat the entire batch and not feel guilty about them!
Thank you so much, Elisabeth.