Spicy Asian Chicken Spring Rolls! Packed with a spicy and flavorful chicken and lots of veggies. These spring rolls are fresh, delicious and so easy to make!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Just BARE Chicken. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for supporting me in partnering with the brands and products that I believe in, buy and feed to my family.
A friend of mine was hanging out with me and the girls the other day and was surprised that my daughters were eating fruit, grilled cauliflower and zucchini. My kids are far from perfect eaters but they do eat their fruits and vegetables. I am convinced this is because I have given them all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables since they were babies. I also know what they like and how to prepare foods the way they like them.
My kids are also big meat eaters: beef, chicken and pork; they eat everything but chicken is probably their favorite because this is the meat I buy and serve the most.
I like to cook with both chicken breast and chicken thigh meat (and even whole chickens for chicken soup and roasted chicken) but my family loves the dark meat best. They will always ask for the dark meat. Always.
So, to say I purchase a lot of chicken thigh meat is an understatement. I also pay close attention to the labels on the chicken I buy and care about how the chicken was raised, what the chicken was fed etc.
This is why I buy Just BARE chicken for my family. Just BARE chickens are vegetable and grain fed, certified under the Animal Humane Certified™ farm program, and raised with no antibiotics — ever. Just BARE’s caring and experienced farmers are committed to the well being and ethical treatment of all animals and they even put a unique traceability code on every package of Just BARE chicken. You can find out where your chicken was raised and meet the family farmers. It’s just one of the many ways in which they are raising standards across the entire supply chain.
I also love the fact that Just BARE chicken comes in sturdy, clear plastic containers that are easily recyclable, and you can see the chicken clearly through the plastic covering.
I usually serve chicken to my family with roasted or sautéed vegetables, with pasta, or in a spring roll. Asian spring rolls are one of my favorite things to make because of all the fresh vegetables I can put inside. The spicy chicken just takes these spring rolls to a different level. And you have to serve these with my spicy gochujang sauce. If that’s too spicy for you, I also have a great homemade peanut sauce that I love.
I hope you give these Spicy Asian Chicken Spring Rolls a try! And here’s a quick video to show you just how easy it is to wrap these! I hope you enjoy!
Spicy Asian Chicken Spring Rolls
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 1.25 lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs or breasts
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup gochujang
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons agave
- 1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
For the spring rolls:
- 1 package rice paper wraps for spring rolls available at all Asian markets; look for the large round ones, comes with 25 sheets of rice paper
- Large flat bowl of hot water
- 4 cups green leaf lettuce shredded or chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper sliced thin lengthwise
- 3 large carrots peeled and julienned
- ½ head red cabbage shredded
- sprouts or cilantro
For the spicy peanut dipping sauce:
- 1 tablespoon gochujang or more if desired
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water + more if needed
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 lime juice only + more if needed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce start with 1 tablespoon
- 2 to 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- roasted sesame seeds
Instructions
For the marinade:
- Place boneless skinless chicken thighs into a gallon sized plastic zip top bag. Combine the garlic, soy sauce, gochujang, coconut sugar, honey, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a bowl and mix well.
- Pour the marinade into the plastic bag covering the chicken. Feel free to massage/move the chicken from the outside of the bag a bit to ensure the marinade is evenly distributed. Seal the bag and lay it flat in a large, shallow pan or on a plate.
- Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight, flipping once halfway through.
For the chicken:
- When ready to cook, heat a large pan over medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and lay the chicken pieces down into the pan. Cook the chicken for about 5 to 8 minutes on each side, with the lid covering your pan. When the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside, and registers 165°F in the thickest part of the chicken thigh with an instant-read thermometer, it’s ready.
- Let the chicken cool for just a few minutes before slicing into strips.
For the spring rolls:
- Once you have all of your vegetables sliced, prepped and ready to go, set up a work station with all of your ingredients close by. If you’ve rolled spring rolls before, you can use a cutting board or any clean, flat surface but if this is your first time rolling, I recommend working on a non-stick silicone baking mat or something where the rice paper won’t stick so it’s easier for you to work, fold and roll.
- Next to the prepped and cut ingredients, you will need a large bowl (or baking dish) of hot to very warm water. I boil water, let it cool down slightly and then pour it into my bowl and then let it cool down slightly so it’s not burning hot. You will need warm water to work with.
- To begin, grab one sheet of rice paper and dip it into the warm water. Rotate the rice paper around until you have wet the entire sheet. Lay the wet rice paper down on your work surface and, working in the lower half of the rice paper, top with the spicy chicken strips and then top with the vegetables. Lay the chicken and vegetables on top of the rice paper sheet with at least 2 to 2 1/2 inches of rice paper showing at the bottom and leaving room on the sides as well to fold over.
- Start by folding up the sides over and then gently pull the bottom part of the rice paper, up and over your vegetables. Then, continue rolling the spring roll, firmly but gently so you don’t tear the rice paper, like rolling a sleeping bag until you have rolled to the opposite end. Because the rice paper is sticky, the spring roll will just close and seal on its own. Place the finished spring roll on a non-stick baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Be careful not to place the spring rolls too close to each other or they will stick to each other.
- Repeat until all of the rice paper sheets have been used. *Note: you may need to get more hot water to dip the rice paper sheets into as you work.
For the spicy peanut dipping sauce:
- To make the gochujang sauce, whisk together all of the ingredients in a small to medium-sized bowl. Taste and adjust any ingredients as desired. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with the spring rolls.
Notes
- use a baking dish or something flat and large so it's easier to soak the rice paper sheets.
- use hot or lukewarm water
- if you're worried about having your rice paper sheet sticking to your cutting board or work surface, lightly sprinkle on some water onto your cutting board or work area
- start in the lower half; don't over stuff. Make sure you have room on the sides to fold over
- place down the foods you want to see on the exterior of the spring roll. ie: often times, it's best to lay down the protein first (shrimp or chicken) and then the greens and veggies
- if your rice paper sheets are tearing, they are too wet or you may be pulling too hard or you are using foods with sharp edges
- keep your fingers slightly wet if you're finding it hard to roll. you can dip your fingers into the bowl or baking dish with the water that you used to wet the rice paper
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Just BARE Chicken. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for supporting me in partnering with the brands and products that I believe in, buy and feed to my family.
I am such a huge fan of chicken I don’t have to skin myself! That’s my least favorite part of food prep, so it’s awesome that these don’t require that kind of attention.
And spring rolls are definitely the best, especially right now when temps are rising. These look so incredible! And I’m a dark meat girl myself, so you’re speaking my language!
Yes, the dark meat!!! Gotta love it! Thank you, Mir!
Oh these rolls are so pretty, Alice! I love the zesty flavors in here. I’ve never actually thought to make spring rolls myself, so I need to try this. I hope you have a great weekend!
Gayle, I hope you try them!!! It’s fun and great making them at home because you can customize!
It’s so awesome that your daughters eat a bunch of fruit and veggies! And I love chicken thighs. I’ve always been into chicken breasts, but for the past year or so I much rather prefer the thighs….so much more moist. These chicken spring rolls looks delicious. So fresh, too. It’s definitely something I would gladly eat any day of the week. Pinned 🙂 Have a great weekend, Alice!
Thank you so much, Dawn!!! Hope you and your family have a great long, holiday weekend!
Oh my goodness, that chicken looks AMAZING and those spring rolls are even more gorgeous! These rolls totally need to be in my life this coming weekend! 🙂
Sarah, thank you so much!!! You are too sweet!
I would adore you in my kitchen making me fresh spring rolls. These look perfect!
Thank you so much, Melanie!!
I am determined to make sure that my little one eats lots of fruit and veg too. I hope they are not fussy!
I am loving all the colours that are going on here, it looks delicious.
Dannii, just start from the beginning! If a baby/child is always fed fruits and veggies, you will be fine! They usually go through a period where they turn everything away (age 3-4?) and do become fussy but just keep at it and set rules at your house! You’ll be great!! thank you so much!
These spring rolls look so delicious and healthy! I even shared it with my followers 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/lifequintessentials/posts/1144260262297447
Thank you so much!!!
These look absolutely wonderful. I love how fresh they are!
Thank you, J!!!! 🙂
I love how colorful these spring rolls are – perfect for this hot summer weather we’re having!
Yes, thank you so much Jeanette!!!
I must confess this chicken spring rolls recipe has me drooling, i can’t wait to try this!
Thank you so much, Jane! I hope you do!
These look and sound incredible! I’m with you and your family–dark meat all the way! I buy almost all chicken thighs too, and am always looking for new and fun ways to use them.
thank you so much, Elizabeth!
That is awesome that your girls love their fruit, veggies and chicken 🙂 These spring rolls look like the perfect way to showcase everything! They look amazing!
Thank you so much, Kelly!!!
Wow! Check out the glaze on the chicken – just fabulous! And you’re totally hitting my soft spot with these spring rolls! I eat these things like they’re going out of style during the summer months. I’m so glad to have this recipe to work into the mix!
Hi Kathleen, thank you so much! I hope you are able to try it!
Hi there! Can’t wait to try this recipe this week! Quick question on the gochujang – are you using the paste or a sauce? Thank you!!
Hi Adrienne, I use the paste, but then make a sauce with it for the spring rolls. For the marinade, it’s just the hot pepper paste (gochujang). I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
I love spring rolls, these look absolutely irresistible! The perfect meal to beat this weekend heat wave :).
I think this would be too spicy for my kiddos – any suggestions?
Hi Jaimie! Yes, for this marinade, you can skip the gochujang completely and maybe add a little more soy sauce and sesame oil. . OR you can just buy a rotisserie chicken or use BBQ chicken! make the spring rolls and you can use a peanut sauce recipe for the dipping sauce or any kind of sauce that you think they would like! 🙂 Let me know if you try this!
Do you have any recommended Asian markets in Madison or should I just consult google? I have tried spring rolls in the past but the rice paper was difficult. I’m sure it was due to the quality of the rice paper… also, I assume I can find the gochujang there as well?
hi Nicole! Yes! The only two Korean markets in town are 1) Oriental Food Mart, 1206 S Park St 2) Lee’s Oriental, 3240 University Ave and the only Asian market I’ve been to is Asian Midway Foods, 301 S Park St. You can find rice paper sheets for spring rolls and gochujang (I recommend the Chung Jung One Brand: “Sunchang Gochujang”) at any of these markets I have listed. The one on University might be the easiest to find? Metcalfe’s also carries the rice paper sheets for spring rolls but you’d have to go to an Asian market for the gochujang. I hope you try the recipe! 🙂
Nicole, also make sure you’re dipping the rice paper sheets into really hot water .. I will sometimes boil some water, let it cool just a tad and then will use that. The water helps them to become pliable and much easier to work with.
Good to know about the hot water. I don’t think I did hot water that the last time I tried them (years ago now). I am meal planning for my return to the US… vacation food makes me miss the variety we have access to in the states. 🙂 This is on my list for one of our first meals back!
Sounds great! Let me know how you like the recipe and have a safe trip home!