Summer Rolls and Fish

First up where the Crunchy Summer Rolls adapted from "500 Chinese Recipes" by an unknown author but Contributing Editor Jenni Fleetwood

You will need:

12 rice-paper roll wrappers
1 lettuce, leaves separated and ribs removed
2-3 carrots, julienned
1 small cucumber, peeled, halved and seeded, then julienned
3 spring onions, julienned
8 oz beansprouts
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
1 bunch cilantro leaves
dipping sauce (we used sweet chili sauce)

Soak the rice paper until pliable. Place a lettuce leaf towards the edge nearest you. Then place a mixture of the remaining vegetables and herbs on top. Ford the edge nearest to you over the filling, tuck in the sides and roll tightly. These were okay, but if I made them again, I would leave out the cilantro. I'm in the camp that thinks it tastes like soap.



We then moved on to "The Flavors of Asia" by Mai Pham. We made the Pan-Seared Alaskan Black Cod with Ginger-Lime Sauce

For the sauce, you will need:


1-2 garlic cloves
2 thai bird chiles or 1 serrano chili, chopped (all we had on hand were red chiles)
3 tbsp minced ginger
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp water

Put the garlic, chiles, ginger and sugar in a mortar and pound into a paste. I do not own a mortar and pestle so I just used the food processor. Then stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and water and set aside while cooking the fish.

For the fish, you will need:
1/2 cucumber
1 cup of ginger-lime sauce
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
4-6 oz pieces of black cod (we used swordfish)
4 garlic cloves left whole

Slice the cucumber thinly and place them into the dipping sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the fish and cook until golden on each side. Halfway into the cooking, add the whole garlic cloves and cook until they are golden as well. Remove the fish and garlic and drain on paper towels. Arrange the fish on the serving plate. Remove the cucumber strips from the dripping sauce and arrange on top of the fish. Drizzle some sauce on top of the fish and serve the remaining on the side. Finally, place a garlic clove on top of each piece.

I do not eat fish, but this was given a thumbs up. (It looks a little different than the picture in the book because of the chiles that I used).

Wonton Soup

Today, we made Wonton Soup ala "The Flavors of Asia" by Mai Pham. It was okay, but the wontons definitely needed more flavor.

You will need the following for the wontons:
12 oz ground pork
1 cup finely chopped Napa cabbage
3 tbsp sliced green onion
1 tsp minced ginger (I used dried as we had no fresh on hand)
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp white pepper (used black)
24 wonton wrappers
water - use to wet the outside of the wrappers so that they stick together
mix everything together and then stuff the wontons; I use a press that I got at the 100 Yen store (like a dollar store, only with a much better selection)



all finished making the wontons

For the soup you will need:
1 1/2 tbsp oil
6 tbsp green sliced green onions
1/2 tsp minced ginger (omitted this)
2 qts chicken stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper (used black)
2 1/2 cups spinach leaves (omitted this as we didn't have any on hand)
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup julienned ham (omitted this as we didn't have any on hand; I thought we had some leftover from Christmas, but K#1 finished it off)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat; add the onions and ginger, stirring until aromatic. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then add the soy, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and keep the soup at a simmer.

Then bring a pot of salted water to a boil; add the spinach and blanch, then drain and rinse in cold water. Chop coarsely.

Heat the remaining oil over low heat. Add the eggs and scramble until they begin to set. Spread the eggs in an even layer and cook until they have set but not browned. Roll the omelet out of the pan and cut into a fine julienne.

Bring another large pot of water to a boil. Add the wontons and cook until the filling is cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Put 3 wontons in a bowl. Add the spinach, ham and omelet to the soup. Ladle 1 cup of soup over the wontons.

This was our final product: