Vietnamese fried rice paper spring rolls simply heavenly

Thanks to my Vietnamese friends who are foodies and great traditional home cooks, I have opportunities to cook authentic home style Vietnamese favourites such as "chia gio" (deep fried pork in rice paper rolls).

It is a shame that most so-called Vietnamese nowadays resort to serving cheaper and easier to prepare spring rolls using what flour crepe commonly used in southern Chinese cuisines.

Differences between fried Vietnamese rice rolls and fresh rice rolls (or summer rolls as some call it):

1. Thinner rice paper that is more pliable to roll and doesn't break as easily.

2. No need to soak in hot water. Simply cover with damp cloth sprinkled with some rice wine.

3. Smaller and less filling rolled tightly to ensure that the raw meat is thorough cooked.

Filling

400 g pork mince marinate in soy sauce and pepper
100 g prawn (chop roughly)
Soaked wood ear fungus, slice thinly
Bean vermicelli soaked in warm water
Handful of sliced carrot and cabbage
1 chopped spring onion or garlic chives
Beaten egg
Season with a little salt

Method

Using the special rice paper meant for deep frying, roll prepared meat filling.

Be careful, the rice paper is sticky. Place them apart on greaseproof baking paper.

Deep fry in a heavy pot of hot oil (ideally at 170 degrees) till crispy and meat is cooked.

Drain oil on colander lined with blotting paper (not fluffy kitchen towel) that does not adhere to rice paper.

For balance, wrap hot spring rolls in lettuce (iceberg, cos or buttercup) and different types of mint leaves, dip in chilli fish sauce. Tuck in like the folks in Vietnam would enjoy them.

Easy and snappy Vol au vent - mushroom filling - tasty canape

For quick party canape, I used vol au vent cases bought from gourmet deli or health food store.  Alternatively, cut puff pastry and place in small cup cake moulds. Bake for 15 - 20 mins at 180 C.

This is a vegetarian filling : chopped button mushroom, garlic, white wine and butter.

Melt butter, fry garlic and mushroom slices. Add white wine and mix well. When slightly cooled, fill the cases and serve.

Empanadas Tapas - Latin American smoked ham, onion, cheese, tomato

Spanish influenced snacks or tapas. Besides South Europeans, South American and Filipinos make delicious empanadas with unique local flavours.

Here's an easy recipe inspired by my beautiful Latin American friend. She provided the basic recipe which can be expanded and tweaked to individual taste.

I have added more fillings to perk up the flavours to fit a fussy eater's main meal. Guess who's that?

Make from scratch or use good quality puff pastry. You'll need 2 pieces.
Blind bake one on both sides lightly at 150 C for 10 mins (preheated oven).

Prepare smoked leg ham, cheese, tomato, slice onion and line liberally on the baked pastry.
Cover with the uncooked pastry and bake at 180 C for 20 mins. Lower the heat to 150 C for another 10 mins. Do not burn the pastry.

Japanese / Korean Spring Rolls

My favourite spring rolls, the best in town, could be found in a suburban Japanese / Korean restaurant quite close to home. It's delicious because it tastes like what most doting grandmas or mums would cook for their loved ones on a cold evening or just for snacks to satisfy hunger panks and cravings. No excessive use of salty minced meat, spices and green peas (no-no, that's for curry puffs and samosas only).

Filling : cabbage, carrot, shitake mushroom, yam bean (if available), prawn (can be raw), minced meat (preferably steamed cooked or stir fried beforehand)


Herbs : coriander and spring onions (optional)


Seasoning : soy sauce, pepper, oyster sauce

Assembly : Put filling in an elongated fashion about 1/3 way of the spring roll pastry end 
(The wrapper should be softened from frozen pack and covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying up). 
Roll from one side, Fold the flaps on the adjacent two ends. Continue rolling lengthwise. 


Cooking :  Heat up vegetable oil till 160 degrees Centrigrade. Fry spring rolls on both sides for 3 minutes or till golden and crispy. Place cooked spring rolls on blotting paper to absorb excess oil before serving.


Dipping sauces : worchestershire and sweet chilli

Baked fig in proscuitto wrap

An easy appetizer recipe using sweet and savoury ingredients - fig and prosciutto. Only two main ingredients and two steps. No kidding!

1. Grease baking tray with a thin coat of almond or macadamia oil.
2. Bake in preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

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Chef Demonstration of Sang Choy Bao

I had the privilege to witness the cooking from a hotel masterchef who is trained in international, western and asian cuisines during a recent social event I helped to organise.

Pronounced Sang Choy Bao in Cantonese, shen cai bao in hanyu pinyin and written 生菜包. It means lettuce wraps.

The main ingredients are : waterchestnut, button mushroom, meat (diced chicken or minced pork),

Seasoning sauces : a little of dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce and sugar, adjusted to taste.

Of course, most run-of-the mill restaurants give you lots of chopped brown onions and carrots as these are cheap ingredients. It's up to you how much goodies you would like to add to whip up this healthy and delicious all time favourite.

Stir fry the ingredients in a medium high pan or wok quickly. Then stir through the sauces.

Prepare lettuce cups by washing lettuce and cutting them into bite size. Scoop the savoury filling into the lettuce cups and serve promptly.

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