Jade Chicken Spring Rolls with Lemongrass,Scallions, Ginger and Coconut
LeBec Fin
- Serves
- 7-8 spring rolls
The chicken is cooked with a piquant aromatic lemongrass paste and coconut milk, which makes for a very moist filling, complemented by the freshness of the slivered scallion greens and the sweet crunch of the coconut and taro.There's so much flavor, you won't even be thinking about a dipping sauce!
Ingredients
Lemongrass Scallion Paste 3/4 cup
- Puree lemongrass through salt:
- 1 large stalk lemongrass, edible part, sliced thinly
- 1 piece Fresh Ginger 2x1" piece, peeled and minced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and chopped
- 3 scallions or shallots, sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon dried Red Chili flakes(no seeds)or 1 seeded dry red chile, chopped
- 3 medium Jalapeno Peppers, seeded chopped
- 3 Cilantro Stems(leaves and stems), 8“long, washed, dried and chopped
- ½ -1 tablespoons kosher Salt
- 1/8 cup Canola Oil
Spring Roll Filling Preparation and Assembly
- 1/2 cup sweetened coconut, carefully dry pan-roasted to medium brown
- 2-3 scallion green tops, sliced lengthwise into quarters, 4" long
- 1-2 tablespoon canola oil
- 7 ounce chicken breast, boneless, skinless, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup Lemongrass scallion paste from above
- 1/8 cup thick coconut milk (Chaukoh is excellent - see photo)
- 1 tablespoon bacon or duck fat
- 7 ounce optional- purple taro, peeled and cut into 1/16" x 3" long julienne
- 2-3 tablespoon water
- 4 scallion tops, green stems halved and cut into 6" lengths, steamed a few minutes til limp
- 7-8 spring roll wrappers, 8" square
- canola oil for deep frying
Featured Video
Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
In hot canola oil, stir fry chicken one minute, add lemongrass paste and continue stirring a few minutes just until firm. Transfer to bowl, add coconut milk and stir well. Cool and pulse briefly 2-3 times in processor. You do not want a pureed paste. You want pieces a little bigger than ground chicken. Place in bowl on counter, next to the bowls of coconut and sliced scallion tops.
- Step 2
Optional taro- Wipe out pan, heat fat til hot, add taro and stir fry a minute, add water and top with lid, turning down heat, til taro is tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl and place next to bowl of coconut.
- Step 3
Just before assembly, combine coconut with chicken (so coconut stays crunchy.) Keeping package of spring roll wrappers covered with a damp towel,separately lay out two spring rolls like diamonds, on the counter. Form 1 ounce of chicken mixture into a 4" long cigar shape and place horizontally, just south of the middle of the diamond.Place a scallion slice on either long side of the chicken. Place the optional taro on top of the chicken.
- Step 4
Fold up the botton point and tuck it tightly over and under the chicken. Fold in the left and right points and continue rolling the diamond til you have a tight roll. Set aside under a well dampened cloth.
- Step 5
In canola oil, deep fry the rolls at 375 degrees F until light brown. Do not crowd the pan. Drain on doubled paper towels over newspaper. For special presentation, tie a steamed scallion piece into a double knot around the middle of each roll before serving.
- Step 6
Note: I designed these so that the filling flavor is robust enough to not need a dipping sauce.
- Step 7
Note: I keep wrapped lemongrass, ginger root and jalapenos in the freezer. Surprisingly, they last forever without losing their potency.
- Step 8
Note: Purple taro, found in Asian and SouthEast Asian stores (and often Latin) tastes like a sweet nutty potato. I like the flavor and texture the taro julienne adds to these rolls, but it is optional. Though completely different, you could instead add chopped roasted cashews to the filling.
- Step 9
*Note: This paste freezes very well. Because of the oil, it freezes soft and a small amount can be removed frozen as needed. Thus, it makes for a handy instant poultry or meat marinade and coating for roasting or grilling.