Tag: Thai

Salmon Rice Paper Rolls

Rice Paper Rolls

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Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

As you know I recently received a lovely box of goodies for the team at Huon Aquaculture to partake in their Huon Blogger Challenge. The Huon Blogger Challanage brings together 30 Australian Food Bloggers with the challenge for them to create and post a versatile, year-round recipe using Huon Reserve Selection. Lucky me!!

Which I sat pondering (and I won’t lie munching on some delicious salmon straight from the packet) I got to thinking about rice paper rolls – this healthy snack is the perfect weekend treat, fresh weeknight dinner, stylish finger food for guests or great for the kid’s lunch-boxes as an exciting alternative sandwiches. It’s also helpful to have a quick and delicious finger food recipe up your sleeve for when unexpected friends and family do the much feared ‘drop-in’. With Australia’s mild winters and the current craze of Vietnamese cuisine a refreshing rice paper is always a crowd pleaser. So plate up this bad boy and  you’ve got yourself a little celebration on a plate!

Ingredients – Rice Paper Rolls

  •  10 rice paper wrappers – there is over this amount in a standard packet
  •  250g of Huon Reserve Selection Hot Smoked Ocean Trout
  • 5 fresh, cooked Australian prawns – peeled and halved length ways
  • 3 carrots – cut into long, thin batons
  • 1 cucumber – cut into long, thin batons
  • 1 avocado – cut into long, thin batons
  • 20 sprigs of coriander
  • 10 shoots of green shallot
  • 100g rice paper noodles – cooked as per packet instructions

Ingredients – Thai Style Peanut Dipping Sauce

  • 2 tsp organic crunchy peanut butter
  • 2 tbs of sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 tbs of rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp of sesame oil
  • 1 tsp of fish sauce
  • 1/2 tsp of honey
  • the juice of half a lime

Method

  1. Fill a large flat bowl with hot water, I like to use my quiche dish, and place the rice paper wrappers in the water one at a time for about 30 seconds or until soft and pliable. Don’t leave for too long or the wrapper may tear.
  2. Place rice paper wrapper on a damp tea towel – the dampness is essential so the wrapper doesn’t stick. Top alternating wrapper with Huon Reserve Selection Hot Smoked Ocean Trout and 3 of the prawn halves. Top with coriander and add a little of the cucumber, carrot, avocado and a sprig of green shallot. Fold in sides, one end and roll up firmly to enclose filling. Place onto a plate and loosely cover with a another damp tea towel, repeat to make 10 rice-paper rolls.
  3. Meanwhile, to make the Thai Style Peanut Dipping Sauce add all ingredients to a small sauce dish and mix until well combined.
  4. Place rice paper rolls onto a large serving plate and serve with Thai Style Peanut Dipping Sauce.

Enjoy!

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15 Minute Monday – Chicken Larb Gai

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delicious. - March 2010, Page 102. Photography by Ian Wallace.

delicious. – March 2010, Page 102.
Photography by Ian Wallace.

Chicken Larb Gai with mint and basil is a Thai-inspired dish that is perfect for those midweek dinners when you want something quick, easy and light. It doesn’t need oil, so the meat has a lovely light, un-fried quality to it. Served with rice, it’s a satisfying main meal.

Ingredients

  • 150ml salt-reduced chicken stock
  • 500g chicken mince – you could also use pork mince if you’d like
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce
  • 5cm piece ginger, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbs lime juice, plus extra lime wedges to serve
  • 1 cup mint leaves
  • 1 cup basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 1 small butter lettuce, leaves separated
  • 2 tbs roughly chopped salted peanuts

Method

  1. Heat the chicken stock in a wok or large frypan over medium-high heat,  add the mince, fish sauce and ginger. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until the meat has browned and cooked through. It might stick at first, but keep stirring!
  2. Add the chilli and sugar and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
  3. Add the lime juice and most of the mint, basil and coriander to the warm mince mixture, then gently fold through, allowing the herbs to wilt. Taste and adjust the lime juice, fish sauce and salt to your liking.
  4. Arrange the cucumber and lettuce leaves on 4 serving plates. Use a slotted spoon to pile the larb gai over the top. Scatter with the peanuts and the remaining mint, basil and coriander, then serve with the lime wedges.

Enjoy!

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15 Minute Monday – Asian Steamed Sea Bream

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Image: delicious. - October 2012, Page 46. Photographer: Ben Dearnley.

 

Asian steamed sea bream with spring onion and ginger uses the bright flavours of Asia to make this fast, fresh midweek dinner irresistible!

Ingredients

  • 2 x 150g bream fillets
  • 2 tbs light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbs rice vinegar
  • 3cm piece ginger, finely shredded
  • 1 each long red and green chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced
  • 6 spring onions, finely shredded
  • Coriander leaves and steamed rice, to serve

Method

  1. Place a plate inside a bamboo steamer and lay the fish, skin-side down, on the plate. Place the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and vinegar in a bowl and stir to combine, then pour over the fish. Scatter the ginger, chilli and half the spring onion over the fish. Set the steamer over a large saucepan or wok of simmering water and cover with the lid. Steam for 6 minutes or until the fish is opaque and just cooked.
  2. Garnish the fish with coriander and remaining spring onion, then drizzle over the cooking juices and serve with rice.

Enjoy!

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15 Minute Monday – Speedy Massaman Beef Curry

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Fast and tasty – this speedy massaman beef captures the same spicy, creamy coconut flavours of a slow cooked curry. 

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs peanut oil
  • 1 large brown onion – halved and sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic – diced
  • 1 medium red chilli – seeds removed and diced
  • 600g beef rump steak – cut into thin strip
  • 150g massaman curry paste
  • 1 tsp of sesame oil
  • 1 tbs of raw sugar
  • 1 tbs of soy sauce
  • 1 tbs fish sauce
  • 1 red capsicum – cut into thin strips
  • 1 medium head of broccoli – cut into florettes
  • 125ml light coconut milk
  • 50ml of water
  • Steamed rice and fresh coiander leaves – to serve

Method

  1. Heat 1/2 the peanut oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chilli, stir until fragrant and translucent.
  2. Add the beef in batches to brown.
  3. Add the remaining peanut oil, sesame oil and curry paste, stir until fragrant – this will take about 1 minute.
  4. Return the beef and add the sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce. Stir until well coated.
  5. Add the capsicum, broccoli, water and coconut milk. Bring to the simmer and leave to boil for five minutes – this will allow time for the sauce to thicken and vegetables to soften.
  6. Serve with steamed rice and fresh coriander leaves.

Enjoy!

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Thai Chicken Meatball Soup

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Thai Chicken Meatball Soup

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of gunk 
  • 1 brown onion
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 bunch coriander
  • 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tbs of curry paste – you can buy it or make your own it really depends on how time you have
  • 1 tps salt
  • breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g snow peas
  • 1 red capsicum
  • 2L chicken stock – again, you can buy it or make your own it really depends on how time you have
  • olive oil
  • sesame oil
  • fish sauce
  • soy sauce
  • oyster sauce
  • brown sugar
  • 1 lime
  • tamarind paste

Method

  1. Add chicken thighs, 4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped, brown onion roughly chopped, curry paste, 2 eggs, the stalks of the fresh coriander, 1 tsp dried chilli flakes, 1 tsp salt and approximately 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs to a food processor. Blitz until will combined, but not complete mush. You may need to add more breadcrumbs to the mix depending on the consistency of the mixture – you could like it to feel like mince meat by the end.
  2. Roll into small balls, I made mine approx 2-3 cm wide so they could be eaten whole.
  3. Precook the balls, now you can do this a few ways but I would recommend either popping them in the oven as I did – oven at 180C, place them on baking paper with a light spray of oil and cook until golden, turning mid way through. Or, you can cook them in a pan – make sure the pan is on a medium to high heat and that the pan is well oiled and wiped clean between batches so it doesn’t smoke.
  4. Now, for the broth. If you have the time make a chicken stock it is worth it, if you don’t pay the little extra for something good, not full or numbers and made using actual chicken. Heat a splash of olive oil and sesame oil in a pot, add the remaining 2 cloves of garlic crushed and stir until it starts to sizzle, add the stock, using a cooking spoon as a meausre, you know the big kind you stir stuff with when you cook, add one cooking spoon of soy sauce, oyster sauce, 1/2 spoon of fish sauce, 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes, 2 tsp of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp tamarind paste and the juice of half a lime and allow to simmer.
  5. Add the meatballs, they should still be warm from the precooking, and whole snow-peas topped and tailed and the red capsicum cut into long strips.
  6. Taste the broth and adjust the flavours as needed, the precise measurements will vary every time depending on the flavour of your stock. Allow to simmer until the broth and meatballs are hot and the veggies are cooked to your desired tenderness, I like them quite crunchy so this is only about 2-3 minutes for me.
  7. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with fresh coriander and serve with lime wedges.

Note: I realise the Thai don’t actually use chopsticks I just like to eat the chunky bits with them and sip the broth from the bowl.

Enjoy!

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