I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

January 10, 2011

Spring Rolls



Crunch!!

Textural eating is such a delight. Sharp shards of pastry that quickly crunch away to bitey bliss. This can be somewhat missing from the glutenly challenged diet. Spongy pasta, with no al dente effect, cardboardy toast that tastes funny, and yes- I suppose that rice cakes do have a crunch, but not the sharp little splinters that make a cool noise when bitten into.

But fear not, dear Readers! Today we have crispy crunchy deep fried spring rolls. O.K, O.K, I know they're not something new. I was going for drama, building anticipation, just trying to make myself sound more interesting (sigh).




Anyway... these are very yummy spring rolls. I like to use my favourite Thai flavour profile, rather than a Chinese one, but the beauty of making your own recipes is that you can mix and match to suit yourself and your personal taste.




I won't give exact measurements for this recipe, if you like more meat, use more. If you like just veggies, leave the meat out. As long as you season the filling well it will still taste delicious.

















Filling:



I like to use a variety of meats to add a variety of flavour! Today I chose chicken mince, pork mince and a few prawns. (I only used about half the amount shown in the photo).These are have quite a mild, sweet taste, I wouldn't use beef or lamb as they would easily overwhelm the rest of the ingredients.




These are some of my favourite noodles. They are mung bean or cellophane noodles. They retain some springy texture when done, and to prepare I just soak them in boiling water for a few minutes then drain really well. They also help keep the filling light and not too dense and meaty.




Now, the veggies. A bit of wombok- less sulphurous than other varieties, shredded carrot, a red chilli, corriander roots and stems, finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, a tin of drained and chopped water chestnuts for a nice crunch, ditto the chopped nuts, and a couple of spring onions.




Flavour to taste with ginger, garlic, a good few slugs of fish sauce, and a decent spoon of castor sugar. I know, but it makes a big difference and draws flavour out of so many ingredients.




Last but not least, an eggwhite to help bind it all together lightly.


Mix everything together thoroughly and let sit awhile to develop flavours.


Casing:

Dried rice paper rounds. The kind you use for fresh ricepaper rolls. Actually it's the same technique too, just make sure to use less filling and roll thinner so they cook quicker and through evenly.












Technique:


Place rice paper in some warm water and leave for just a few seconds. Place on mat or a teatowel is good too. The paper will soften a bit more, but don't let them get too soggy or they will split and not roll properly.


Put a line of filling about 1/4 way up the paper, but leave a gap at each end to fold over when rolling.


Roll up a couple of turns, then fold in edges at a bit of an inward angle. Continue to roll up untill finished.


Place seam side down and let the surface dry off in the fridge for a couple of hours.




Deep fry in hot oil until nice and crispy,a bit browned and filling is cooked through.



Drain them on a cake rack so they aren't oily and soggy.


Enjoy with a nice dipping sauce and crunch away!




So Readers, what's your favourite flavour profile?



15 comments:

  1. Chef, my fave flavour profile changes with the wind....(but at the moment if its vaguely Thai then I'm in big time.... you've got me hooked on these, so easy peazy & moorishly delectable :)

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  2. Thank you so much for posting this! This reminded me that I HAVE to go to the Asia store tomorrow and get rice paper! :D And yes: a good crunch in your eats is pure delight! :)

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  3. Asian!!! Satay-Wontons-Steamed dumplings-Steamed rolls-Sushi-Any kind of coconut curry. Thai would come out on top.

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  4. Mm I love spring rolls! I love crunchy food too but Mr NQN doens't (so more for me! :P).

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  5. nice presentation of Springrolls. looks yum.

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  6. Chontelle @ BrookfarmJanuary 11, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    These spring rolls look delightful and everyone in the office can't wait to give them a go!
    We are huge fans of your blog with some of our team members sharing your InTolerances.
    I would love to send you some of our gluten free muesli which we all devour on a daily basis and I am sure that you could absolutely love. If you are keen to have a taste please email me: cbailey@brookfarm.com.au. :-)

    PS. I'm ALL about Japanese!

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  7. I love spring rolls but never made them at home cos of the deep frying I have to do :O

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  8. Hello darling Readers!
    I hope all my Australian friends are dry and safe, or in the west, safe from the bushfires.
    Asian seems to be the consensus so far, flavour wise, though I can't imagine not liking crunches Lorraine. I'm glad you get his share too. My BigJ is very kind and always lets me have the first bite of his spring rolls for the crunchiliciousness.
    Hello all at Brookfarms.Chontelle,I'll shoot you out an email today. Thanks for the support!
    Tigerfish, if you use 'normal' wrappers, you can just bake the spring rolls in the oven. I do that all the time. It's not quite as crispy, but if your oven is hot they really good. Don't worry about deep frying,(I'm a bit scared of pressure cookers)-but let's keep this our little secret OK?
    Happy Eating, InTolerant Chef x

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  9. Yum! These look wonderful, Chef!! I love a bit of crunch - very addictive and hunger-inducing. My favourite flavour profile? Definitely Malaysian.. :)

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  10. YUMMO! I must make a batch of these stat.

    Oh and I hope that your family are able to return to their farm soon. It must be so very frightening :(

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  11. Oh my! These look delish. How could I choose a favorite flavor profile? It's like try to choose a favorite pair of shoes or a favorite kid. So many flavors, so little time :)

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  12. The spring rolls look fab but you didnt give us the recipe for the sauce on the side, keeping something from us?

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  13. Yummmyyy!!!!!! Those look delicious - thanks for sharing! I will have to make these one night soon!

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  14. I love crisp spring rolls, and these look like what I need right now. YUM!!

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