Chicken and Vegetable Rice Rolls

Name: Chicken and Vegetable Rice Rolls
Yield: makes 12 rolls, serving 4 to 6 as a light snack
Ingredients: 2 pinches of salt; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons water; 5 1/2 teaspoons canola oil; 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into matchsticks; 1 teaspoon light (regular) soy sauce; 1 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 1 pinch of white pepper; 2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted (see page 13), stemmed, and cut into thin strips (1/4 cup); 2 1/2 inches carrot, cut into fine matchsticks; 1 rib celery, strings removed with vegetable peeler, cut into matchsticks; 1 scallion (white and green parts), cut into thin strips to match the celery; 1 1/4 cups Rice Sheet Batter (page 154); 1/2 cup Sweet Soy Sauce (page 217); 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or thinly sliced scallion (green part only); Chile Garlic Sauce, homemade (page 216) or store-bought (optional)

December 9, 2011

Chinese cooks use rice sheets as wrappers for not only shrimp and beef, but also tasty stir-fries like this one. The chicken and vegetable mixture here could be used as a filling for deep-fried spring rolls, but it is also wonderful in this delicate treatment: encased in rice sheets and steamed. The chicken and vegetables are cut into matchsticks to complement the shape of the oll. To cut the chicken, freeze it first for 5 to 10 minutes, slice it, and then stack the slices and slice again into thick matchsticks. Pork tenderloin or beef flank can be substituted for the chicken. For a vegetarian version, replace the chicken with 2/3 cup packed shredded bamboo shoots (boil for 1 minute first to eliminate the tinny flavor) and decrease the cornstarch to 2 teaspoons.

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