Sunday, January 2, 2011

Rice paper rolls with free and easy filling serve with soy, mirin and coriander sauce

I think rice paper sheets is a must have item in a kitchen pantry as it is so versatile and can be filled with almost any fillings.  Also, it is quick and easy to prepare and can be serve as an entree item or a meal if one is in a hurry or feel lazy to cook up a storm just like how I feel tonight..lol.

Rice paper rolls is a typical entree item in most Vietnamese restaurant.  It is shape like a spring roll however rice paper rolls skin is soft and translucent and not deep fried.  The most common fillings used are prawn, vermicelli and lettuce.

Fillings that I decided to use is none of the above.  Again, am trying to be resourceful and used whatever that is in my pantry.  At the end, I opted for mixed salad greens, chicken tenderloin strips, enoki mushrooms, raisins and chopped hazelnuts.  As for the sauce (note: dipping sauce is important with rice paper rolls as without it, it is basically tasteless!), I came up with this idea of combining soy, mirin and coriander which was not too bad.  Anyways, recipe as per below - enjoy trying!

Ingredients:
(makes 8 rice paper rolls)
8 rice paper sheets - can be bought from Asian grocery stores or the Asian section of major supermarkets, usually comes in a packet with more than 20 sheets in a packet.
2 chicken tenderloin strips
A handful of mixed salad greens, roughly chopped
A handful of raisins
A handful of roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
A handful of enoki mushroom
1 stalk of Coriander, chopped to small pieces
4tbs of light soy sauce
1tbs of mirin
A pot of boiling water - to soak and soften the rice paper sheets

Method:
1) In a small bowl, combine coriander, soy sauce and mirin.  Set aside to allow the coriander to infuse in the sauce.
2) In a small pot of boiling water, cook the chicken tenderloins for 5 minutes.  Drain and soak in room temperature water for 5 minutes.  Cut or tear into small strips and place in bowl.
3) In a small pot of boiling water, cook the enoki mushroom for 5 minutes.  Drain in a sieve and rinse with room temperature water.  Squeeze access water and place in bowl.
4) In a baking sheet (deep and wide enough to hold 1/2 - 1 cup of water and rice paper sheet) - place 1 rice paper sheet (you have to do this process 1 at a time or the sheets will stick to one another) on the baking sheet, pour about 1/2 cup of boiling water on to the sheet (ensure enough to cover the sheet).  Wait for 1 minute for the sheet to soften.  Remove from water and place sheet on to a plate.  At this stage you can start assembling.
5) To assemble the roll, place 1/8 quantity of salad greens, chicken strips, enoki mushrooms, raisins and chopped nuts in the middle of soften rice paper sheets and wrap them up as you would a spring roll.  Repeat step 4-5 for the remaining sheets.  Serve with dipping sauce.

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