BBQ Chicken Summer Rolls |Cooking With Amanda

It's a roll-able, dunk-able ASIAN INVASION.

In the most perfectly smoky-sweet and crunchy-fresh veggies kind of way.

I would like to introduce you to your face's newest, most best-est friend ever. Say "hello" to BBQ chicken summer rolls that are BURSTING at the seams with tender-crisp peppers, roasty-charred corn, zesty, JUICY lime and sweet pineapple.

WITHHHHH homemade (healthy what, what!) BBQ sauce for dipping, dunking, or even guzzling. If that's your thing, you know?

As someone who's goes a little crazy every time that smoky-sweet, thick sauce makes her "saucy-senses" tingle, well, that is MOST DEFINITELY my thing. I put that stuff on everything: BBQ chicken flatbread, barbeque chicken wings. You name it, it's THERE.

You. Guys. Throw every. Single. Notion. of the typical Summer roll that I know your brain is thinking about right now – the whole rice noodles, shrimp, peanut sauce thing – out the window. And then stomp on it.

That might seem a little excessive and dramatic. But, really. It's not.

Because typical Thai shrimp summer rolls with peanut sauce <<<<<<<< BBQ chicken summer rolls.

With pineapple. Because have you ever had BBQ chicken pizza and then added pineapple to it? If yes, you know that heaven-on-my-tongue that is currently happening while I sit here and think about how the sweetness collides with that sticky-smoky-saucy deliciousness in the definition of the most perfect food marriages that has ever happened to this place in the solar system that we call home.

So think of that, but Asian-i-fied to be turned into a summer roll. AKA: perfect finger food that you can shovel into your March Madness loving selves while you peep ALL the games.

I, for one, still am not really on board the train of this madness, but I will show my hungry little mouth if the aforementioned BBQ chicken summer rolls in question are present. Don't worry though, I will lie to you and pretend that I came because I really just enjoy spending time with you, and we are totally close-super-tight friends like that.

I know you want to get rollin' (ha ha, punny) BUT, few quick facts to file into your brain to achieve your ultimate, most-perfectly tight and non-exploding summer roll GOALZ:

Clean up your work space, and have everything in little bowls before you get going. I did not do this. I got frustrated and a few bowls of veggies met a sad fate of become floor sweepings. Not fun times for veggies. Not fun times for you.
Protip: Chop the inside of the lettuce OUT. You know that hard part that connects to the leafy, soft yumminess? I've found those little buggers ALWAYS poke out of my rice paper and cause the unwanted explosion of veggies and create non-dunkable rolls. SAD FACE.
Speed and agility: you must have it! Okay, maybe not agility so much, this is not the roll Olympics, but SPEED. Rice paper wraps get not-so-sticky ultra-fast. Channel your inner speedy Gonzales, so everything can stay happily tight and sealed.

And then you will be happily munching your way through the land of crunchy fresh veggies, and the ONLY kind of bursting that will be going on…

Is your taste buds. BOOM.

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BBQ Chicken Summer Rolls Recipe

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Ingredients

For the BBQ Sauce:

1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce, make sure it's gluten free
2 teaspoons sriracha chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke
pinch of black pepper

For the Rolls:

4 ounces chicken breast
salt
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup corn, thawed if frozen
1 cup carrot, grated, about 2 medium carrots
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup green onion, plus 2 tablespoons, sliced
juice from one lime, small
1 cup pineapple chunks, 24 chunks
2 small head boston lettuces, separated into leaves
8 rice paper wrappers

Directions

For the BBQ Sauce:

Combine all sauce ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce is thick and reduced, about 1 hour. Make sure to stir the sauce every so often.

To Cook the Chicken:

While the sauce cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the chicken and boil until it is no longer pink inside, about 10-15 minutes.
While the chicken boils, spray a grill pan with cooking spray and heat it on high heat. Add in the sliced peppers and cook until charred, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a small plate.
Once the pepper is cooked, add the corn into the hot grill pan and cook until charred, which only takes about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl.

For the Filling:

In a separate medium bowl, stir together the grated carrots, cilantro and green onion. Squeeze the lime into the mixture, along with a pinch of salt, and stir until combined.
Transfer the cooled chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Place the chicken into a small bowl. Additionally, place the pineapple into a small bowl.
Prepare you work station by laying out a damp tea towel, and placing all the ingredients around, so you're ready to work quickly once you get rolling. Additionally, fill a large rimmed plate with warm water, and place it onto your station.

To Assemble:

Submerge one rice paper wrap into the warm water until it's soft and pliable, about 30-45 seconds. GENTLY transfer it to your damp towel-covered work station and lay it out flat.
Place one lettuce leave in the center of the wrap, leaving a perimeter of space around the leaf so you can roll it later.
Lay 2 pieces of pepper in a line on top of the lettuce. You want the line going horizontally across the roll, not vertically.
Spread 2 heaping tablespoons of the carrot mixture, then 1 tablespoon of the corn mixture on top of the pepper. Spread 1 Tablespoon of shredded chicken on top of the veggies, and line 3 pineapple chunks on the side of the chicken (not on top of it.)
Roll the wraps by folding the bottom of the wrapper over the filling. Then, hold the whole thing firmly in place, and fold in the sides. Then, hold all the folds in place and roll the whole thing horizontally, from bottom to top, keeping it all tight and tucked in. Repeat with remaining wraps.
Serve with the BBQ sauce to dip and DEVOUR.

Notes

If you don't like spice, add 1 teaspoon sriracha and then taste the sauce once it's done cooking, and add the additional teaspoon if you want.
Make sure to cut the hard centers of the leaves out, which basically means you will be cutting each leaf in two. This makes it easier to roll. Also, if the leaves are really large, trim them down a bit.