Chicken nems


Chicken nems
Nems are probably the best known Far Eastern dish in France. These small crispy rolls can be made in different flavours: chicken, crab, pork, etc. Making your own is not very complicated, the only difficulty is in the rolling stage. You will find in this recipe full details on how to successfully make chicken nems.

[Translator's note: the "rice paper" used here is not the same as the rice paper used in England under macaroons, it's sold in packs of thin round translucent wafers, rather like papadoms].
521 K 3.7/5 (103 reviews)
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Last modified on: April 6th 2017
For 120 Chickens nems, you will need:

Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 35 min.
Resting: 35 min.
Cooking: 15 min.
All in all: 2 hours 25 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 30 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 1
Rehydrate 300 g dried chinese black mushrooms (shiitake).

Drain and dry. If they are not already in strips, cut into small pieces.

Set aside.

Stage 2 - 15 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 2
Wash, peel and grate 3 carrots.

Set aside.

Stage 3 - 10 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 3
Wash and thinly slice 3 leeks.

Set aside.

Stage 4 - 10 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 4
Peel and thinly slice 3 shallots and 3 cloves garlic.

Set aside.

Stage 5 - 2 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 5
Chop 3 bunches fresh coriander (cilantro) .

Set aside.

Stage 6 - 5 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 6
Lightly cook 3 chicken breasts in a little chicken stock.

Note: don't discard stock after cooking, it's going to be used for cooking the noodles.

Stage 7 - 5 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 7
Cut chicken into very small pieces.

Set aside.

Stage 8 - 1 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 8
Cook 300 g fine soya noodles one minute in chicken stock.

Drain and set aside.

Stage 9 - 3 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 9
In a large bowl, put everything you've prepared so far: mushrooms, carrot, leek, coriander, chicken, noodles, shallot and garlic.

Keep back a teaspoonful of grated carrot for the sauce.

Salt and pepper.

Stage 10
Chicken nems : Stage 10
Mix everything well, the best way is to use both hands.

Note: This mixture can be made in advance, and kept in a sealed container in the fridge.

Stage 11
Chicken nems : Stage 11
Rolling nems.

Get everything you need ready on your work surface:
  • a big clean cloth
  • a dish of cold water
  • Rice paper sheets
  • a non-stick baking sheet for putting finished nems on

Stage 12 - 5 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 12
Dip 10 rice paper sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes, to soften them.

Stage 13
Chicken nems : Stage 13
Remove one softened rice paper sheet from water and place on the cloth.

Stage 14
Chicken nems : Stage 14
Remove excess water on top with the cloth.

Stage 15
Chicken nems : Stage 15
On the edge of the rice paper, put a tablespoon of mixture.

Stage 16
Chicken nems : Stage 16
Roll sheet up around filling.

Stage 17
Chicken nems : Stage 17
Midway across sheet, fold sides inwards.

Stage 18 - 45 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 18
And finish rolling to create a small roll, as neat and even as possible.

Make sure you keep the rice paper tight against the filling when rolling to exclude as much air as possible from the nem.

You nem is now ready, put it on the tray, and make the next one. Do this with all the filling.

Stage 19
You can see how to do it in this short video.

Stage 20 - 5 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 20
Prepare sauce: in a bowl mix 9 tablespoons soy sauce with 3 tablespoons of water and 9 tablespoons vinegar.

Add the remaining grated carrot and pepper generously.

Your sauce is ready.

Stage 21 - 5 min.
Chicken nems : Stage 21
To cook your nems, you can use a frying pan with a little oil in, or put them in a deep fryer (in which case they will be very crisp but fattier).

Stage 22
Chicken nems : Stage 22
Serve with lettuce, fresh mint and sauce.
Remarks
You can vary your nems by repacing chicken with something else. You can also omit it totally to make vegetable nems.

Nems, cooked or not, can be frozen.
Keeping: Once cooked, a few minutes.
Source: JP in his time.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe190 RDI=70 %430 RDI=40 %50 RDI=8 %2,940 RDI=150 %12,330 RDI: 150 %
Per 100 g5 RDI=2 %10 RDI=1 %1 RDI=0 %90 RDI=4 %370 RDI: 4 %
Per piece1 RDI=1 %3 RDI=0 %020 RDI=1 %100 RDI: 1 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Soybeans, Sulfites
How much will it cost?
  • For 120 Chickens nems : 28.55 €
  • Per Chicken nems : 0.25 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Dried chinese black mushrooms (shiitake)
Dried chinese black mushrooms (shiitake)

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Fine soya noodles
Fine soya noodles

Like these other recipes: Chinese Soup, ... See them all 1

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