Vietnamese-style chicken parcels recipe

Serves 4 (Makes 16)

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

 

 

30 g rice noodles

250 g skinless chicken breast fillet, roughly chopped

1 small carrot, coarsely grated

50 g shiitake mushrooms, chopped

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

 

600 ml chicken stock, preferably homemade 

5 cm piece lemongrass, split open

1 small fresh red chilli, split and seeded

4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, lightly crushed

2.5 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced

a few fresh coriander stalks

2 tablespoons fish sauce

 

1 small fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons lime juice

4 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon caster sugar

 

16 lettuce leaves, all about the same size

3/4 cup (25 g) fresh coriander leaves

11/4 cups (25 g) fresh mint leaves

1. To make the chicken rolls, start by soaking the rice noodles in hot water for 5 minutes until softened, then drain. Put the soft noodles and all the other ingredients into a food processor and blend until they are finely chopped, but not puréed, and start to bind together. Turn the mixture out onto a work surface and shape into a roll. Divide into 16 equal portions. Form each into a small rugby-ball shape. Set the chicken rolls aside on a plate.

 

2. Put all the ingredients for the poaching stock in a medium-sized pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon in 8 of the chicken rolls and simmer for 6–7 minutes, turning them every so often with a spoon. Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in a serving dish. Keep warm. Add the rest of the chicken rolls to the pan and simmer as before.

 

3. Meanwhile, mix together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter. Put some of the coriander and mint leaves inside each lettuce leaf; garnish the platter with the remaining herbs. Serve the platter of leaves and the bowl of sauce with the warm chicken rolls.

 

4. To eat the chicken parcels, take a lettuce leaf, fit a chicken roll inside and roll up tightly, then dip the parcel into the sauce and enjoy. Alternatively, the sauce can be spooned over the chicken roll before rolling up, if preferred.

 

 

Each serving provides 715 kJ, 170 kcal, 20 g protein, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 15 g carbohydrate (7 g sugars), 2 g fibre