National Chicken 2

My in-laws are not hoity toity but they have a certain sophistication. Take the guest bathroom in their new apartment in Boston. It has a lovely ornate mirror above the sink and a delicate lavender tinted glass bottle of scent sitting next to the faucet. The label on the bottle is in French and so naturally I sprayed it all over myself. When I walked into the breakfast room, my mother in law said, "why darling you smell delicious!" Not wanting to take the credit for her eau de cologne, I modestly explained that it was all thanks to the perfume she kept in the bathroom. "You mean the room spray?" she said.

It wasn’t the finest way to impress the new relatives, but aren’t these fresh rolls dandy?

47TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CHICKEN COOKING CONTEST

The Rules: Submit a recipe using chicken as the main ingredient. Judging will be based on: (1) taste (2) appearance (3) simplicity and (4) appeal.

The Prize: Grand Prize: $100,000; Second Prize: $10,000; Third Prize: $5,000; Fourth Prize: $2,000; Fifth Prize: $1,000.

The Entry: Mighty Chicken Fresh Rolls with Mango Sauce

16 Bahn Trahg 8 ½” round rice paper wrappers
1 pound cooked chicken breast strips
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 avocados, sliced in ½” wide long strips
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, cut in a 4” julienne
24 large basil leaves
1 cup diced mango
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 tablespoon lime juice


Toss the cooked chicken strips with 1 tablespoon lime juice and soy sauce. Fill a skillet with water and heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and soften a rice paper wrap in water until just pliable. Flatten rice paper wrap on a clean surface directly in front of you.

Center two basil leaves in the bottom third of the wrap with the pointed tips of each leaf pointing towards the outer left and right edges of the wrap. The tapered bottoms of the leaves should be touching in the center. Carefully lay a strip of chicken and a strip of avocado side by side on the basil leaves. The longest sides of the strips should be facing towards you. Layer the 4-5 pieces of julienne cucumber on top of the chicken and avocado.

Bring the bottom edge of the rice paper wrap up over the filling. Fold the side edges over the filling (by doing this you will also cover the folded bottom edge of the rice paper). Roll the wrap upwards to form a burrito-type package. Repeat process with all rice paper wraps.

In a food processor, blend the diced mango, wasabi and remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice to form a dipping sauce. Cut rolls in half and serve with dipping sauce and chopsticks.