I Eat All the Pies: March 2005 Archives

Today's low (high) calorie, low (high) fat scrumminess has been tested by your host on a number of occasions, and comes recommended as a tasty starter to a larger meal, or an easy to eat snack when you're glued to the box because Hugh Jackman is on-screen.

The dish, cha gio -- pronounced tchah djaw -- is one of Vietnam's takes on the spring roll, which appears in the local cuisines of almost every continent in one form or another. Consisting principally of white meat (pork is traditional but not something I eat, chicken a good alternative and turkey even better) augmented with a touch of greenery and a splash of ocean, the ingredients of these spring rolls are ground down to a greater, oxymoronic whole. The seafood component may disturb the culinarily boring (yes, my cooking is opinionated), but is undetectable in the finished product whilst nudging the flavour in a good direction. Ditto for the sauce, which is perhaps the most interesting flavour component of all.

The Filling:

2.5 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp chopped dark mushrooms (tree ear mushrooms are ideal, appetisingly sold in Asian supermarkets as "dried black fungus" in vacuum packs of julienned mushroom - any fresh, meaty alternative like shiitake is fine if you're stuck for the real thing)
250 g ground turkey or chicken
2 tbsp finely chopped dried shrimp or 100 g fresh shrimp, chopped
4 chopped spring onions
3 tbsp chopped bean sprouts
2.5 tbsp hot water
1.5 tsp chopped chili
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup rice vermicelli (cellophane noodles)

Extras:

20-25 sheets rice paper (banh trangh, usually pre-cut as large quarter circles or triangles)
Large leaf Lettuce
Mint leaves

Sauce (nhuoc cham):

2 dried red chillies finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped and pounded (garlic and chillies can be substituted with two teaspoons of good sambal paste)
0.5 tsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (nom pla - any UK supermarket, and all Asian supermarkets)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Mix meat, shrimp, onions, coriander, bean sprouts, chillies, sugar, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor and pulse to obtain a coarsely ground mix

  

Break rice vermicelli into short pieces and soak in hot water for 5 minutes; when soft, drain and add to the filling mixture. Soak the mushrooms in 2.5 tbsp hot water for ten minutes or until reconstituted, and add to mixture with water (if you use fresh mushrooms, just chop finely and add the water before blending). Massage the filling with clean hands to mix it all together thoroughly, whilst grimacing and making squelchy noises if you have an audience.

Immerse a couple of sheets of rice paper into water for a second and place on a flat working surface; they'll need a minute or two to soften, otherwise they'll simply crack when you try to manipulate them.
Next, place three or four teaspoons of the filling at base of rice paper -- you'll get a feel for how much is optimal based on the size of your sheets of rice paper -- fold the bottom edge up over the filling, tucking it into a cylindrical shape, then draw in the left and right corners and, holding them in place, roll up the rest of the sheet to the top. The rice paper should self seal when lightly pressed, but if not, moisten the last bit with water or beaten egg if it needs convincing.

Prepare subsequent rolls in the same manner, and set aside on a lightly oiled or floured tray to prevent sticking; freezing should be carried out at this point if desired. When they're all done, prepare the sauce by combining the ingredients, and then either shallow or deep fry the spring rolls till they're golden brown (if well rolled, no oil will get inside), then remove them with a slotted spatula and place on a thick layer of paper towels to remove the excess oil. They should stay crispy for at least an hour.

Traditional consumption involves placing the fried spring roll at base of a leaf of lettuce, along with bean sprouts and mint leaves, rolling this up in turn, and then dipping it into the sauce for a flavour explosion in the mouth.

Yes, Terreus, this is for you:

Provided you have the right type of sushi rice (sumeshi), it should look after itself provided you get certain things right.

i) Ensure it actually is the right type of rice; in a moment of desperation, any short grain, high starch rice like Arborio or Carnaroli might work, but you really want the real McKoy; Shinode or similar (i.e. a real Japanese rice) from an Asian supermarket is perfect.

ii) Regular cooking routine; the rice needs to be washed five or six times to remove powdered starch, and the right quantity of water added. On a regular gas hob, the formula for rice:water applies for all types of rice except green and black rices, which can be cooked for just a little longer with more water:

Measure your rice out by volume, for example, two bowls. Add the same volume of water, plus half; in this case two bowls of water, plus one, totalling three.

The water should be cold - Europeans tend to boil their water, then add the rice, which is a quick path to yucky rice - and the lot brought to boil on a high flame. Once it starts boiling, turn down the heat slightly to maintain the boil. Keep it boiling for ten minutes exactly, stirring only occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.

Once your ten minutes has elapsed, turn off the gas, stir the rice once more, and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid or dinner plate. Give it another ten minutes, remove cover, stir and serve, but if you leave it for longer, it just gets fluffier and better.

This is exactly what a rice cooker does, and if you have one of those, just follow the directions!

iii) In the case of sushi rice, the water will acquire a thick glutinous texture not unlike... oh can I say that here? Meh. Anyway, this is normal, and stirring the rice will coat the grains in this sumptuous starch glue as it reduces.

As soon as you've removed the cover from the cooked rice, add your sushi-so (rice vinegar); about one tablespoon per cup measure of rice. Mix it in throughly, and with a slight slight chopping motion, air out the rice so that it begins to cool down really quickly (transferring it to a cold mixing bowl will help). Set aside to cool completely after a good minute or so of this rice karate (overdoing it risks breaking up the rice, so be gentle).

By the time it is cold, you'll wonder how you can make the rice not stick to everything it touches, including your fingers; a good homosexual will probably keep a bowl of tepid water and a little sushi-so to the side. Dip your fingers into it before working the rice and it'll all be a lot simpler.