Golden Spring Rolls

From The Vegetarian Table: Thailand, Jacki Passmore, Chronicle Books, 1997.

I took this recipe as a starting point and I am afraid that as I was working at it I was gradually changing the ingredients to suit what I had with me. Actually I do think it is the type of recipe that works well in this way.

I took a little thread vermicelli and soaked it in water for about 10 minutes while I prepared the other ingredients.

I cut some firm tofu into thick slices and placed it in a bowl. With it I added a spring onion sliced, a carrot sliced into thin slivers, three button mushrooms sliced finely, a handful of salted peanuts chopped, a large red chilli cut into thin slivers, salt, white pepper, chopped coriander and some finely shredded ginger. I now added the vermicelli drained and cut into shorter pieces. About a tablespoon of light soy sauce was stirred in.

I now took some spring roll skins. I placed a quantity of the filling in the centre of the sheet, folded over one corner diagonally to the other corner to make a triangle, folded the two side corners in and then rolled the whole thing up to make the roll. I moistened the final corner to aid it in sticking and then laid it final side down while I made the other rolls.

These were all fried in some hot oil, turning them bit by bit to ensure they were browned all over.

They were eaten with a dipping sauce made by placing in a small saucepan ½ cup white vinegar, about 4 tablespoons sugar and enough chilli sauce to suit my heat level. This was brought to the boil, then taken off the heat to cool. Chopped coriander and grated cucumber was now added and the sauce was ready.

I was surprised at how good this turned out to be. I had memories of spring rolls from fish and chip shops and, with my limited background of cooking with Asian ingredients, I was not expecting much of a result—though I wanted to try it to learn a little more about Asian cuisine. The spring rolls were crisp and had plenty of flavour, all enhanced by the sweet/sour dipping sauce. I must make more and vary the ingredients to see what will eventuate.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Eggs in Sweet and Spicy Sauce (Kai Look Koey)

From The Vegetarian Table: Thailand, Jacki Passmore, Chronicle Books, 1997.

I was making a green papaya salad and wanted something to accompany it so settled on these eggs.

I first hard-boiled six eggs and left them to cool. While they were cooling I mixed up the batter in which to fry them. This was made with a half cup of plain flour and a half cup of rice flour. A half cup of coconut milk was added and the mixture stirred to make the batter. It was a little thick so water was added until it felt just right.

I then made up the sauce before I fried the eggs. This was made with a tablespoon of brown sugar, 1½ tablespoons of kecap manis, 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice (have you ever noticed how difficult it is nowadays to get a plain fruit juice instead of mixed fruits?), 2 teaspoons of burnt chilli sambal which I made the day before when making a spinach sambal tempeh, and one crushed garlic clove. This was heated on the stove until it had thickened slightly and it was ready.

Now the eggs were shelled and cut in half before being dipped in the batter and deep-fried until golden. They were served on a lettuce leaf and the sauce spooned over. They were topped with finely chopped red chilli and some crisp-fried shallots.

This is definitely a dish to make again. The crisp batter on the eggs gave a little crunch and the sauce was a wonderful mix of flavours. They make a great appetiser.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Corn and Capsicum Stir-Fry

Spicy Stir-Fried Corn and Peppers

from The Vegetarian Table: Thailand, Jacki Passmore, Chronicle Books, 1997.

Looking for a vegetable accompaniment to go with some rissoles, I decided on trying out these stir-fried corn and peppers. I have not been overly excited by anything that I have so far cooked from this book. They have been reasonable meals but have not seemed to really capture Thai cooking.

This stir-fry was a breeze to make and it went well with the rest of the meal. It was colourful and the spices added flavour to the corn and capsicum. It was a reasonable accompaniment which I will remember for future meals.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔