My Supposed “Mistaken Identity” Rouleau de Printemps (springrolls)
There are a lot of Chinese people in France. There are a lot of Vietnamese people in France. There are a lot of Vietnamese people of Chinese descent in France. However, it does not mean that we all have the same cuisine.
In France, the folks from the Middle East and Turkey have been recognized for their kebabs, an alternative to MacDo fast food. And for me, somehow, I was asked to make Vietnamese Springrolls... So, here I am sharing an adulterated version that I came up with to please the folks.
Ingredients
1 packet of Vietnamese rice wrappers
Boiled shrimp/chicken
Shredded Lettuce
Shredded Carrots
Bean Sprouts
Mung Bean Noodle
Fish Sauce
Sugar
Vinegar
Instructions
- Prepare a large shallow plate and fill it with warm water.
- Place the dry rice wrapper in the water, and in about 15 seconds it should be pliable. Soak it too long it will be too sticky and will break.
- Hold the wrapper by the side and lift it high so it preserves its shape and gently lay it down on a clean surface. Place the ingredients in the middle and roll. The spring roll ideally should look long and slender, not fat and squat like a burrito.
- Eat it with a sauce, here:
- This depends on your preference. Roughly, add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Mix and add water until you are satisfied with the taste.
Mahite’s Yogurt Cake
My second host mum who lived in the French mediterranean was a superb cook as well. Here's a quick-and-easy cake recipe from France that I'm picking out from a little recipe notebook she wrote me. (I'm translating so some things may be off.)
Ingredients
1 pie crust
1 small plain yogurt, about a cup
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon of baking powder (if you're displeased with the quality, use yeast)
3 eggs
1/2 a cup of rum, or any other perfuming agent
(optional) sliced pears, apples, or other fruits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F
- Mix all the ingredients and pour it onto the pie crust.
- Bake for around 40 minutes.
- (testing for readiness) Place a knife into the pie, if the blade comes out dry, the cake is done.
Nelly’s Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of mustard
3 tablespoons each of balsamic and cider vinegar
(About a cup) Equal amounts of canola oil and olive oil (amount added dependent on how acidic you want your vinaigrette to taste)
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add mustard, and the vinegar while mixing.
- Add oil very slowly while constantly stirring to achieve a thick smooth body for the vinaigrette.
- Salt and pepper can be added to the vinaigrette to be mixed in, or to the salad before tossing.
Steamed Egg Custard (season 2, episode 3)
Steamed Egg Custard. Photography by Danny Y. Huang.
Ingredients
4 Eggs
500 ml whole milk
4 tablespoon sugar (approx. 100g)
Cost: <$2.00
Instructions
- Warm 500 ml of milk and be careful not to let it boil over. Melt the 4 tablespoons of sugar in it. Let cool.
- Prepare a steamer with a bowl in it on high.
- Whisk 4 eggs and add to the cooled milk. Pour this into the bowl in the steamer and use a paper towel to remove froth on the sides. (Cover the bowl with plastic wrap for a better looking egg.)
- Steam for 10 mins. Serve immediately or chilled. If chilled, consider adding fresh cold fruits.
Tomato Omelette (Season 2, Episode 2)
Tomato Omelette. Photo by Danny Y. Huang.
Ingredients
2 Tomatoes
2 Eggs
Oil
a little Sugar and Salt
Cost: $1.50
Instructions
- Pop a beer, warm the wok with 3 tablespoons of oil. Slice tomatoes, crack and whip eggs, add a pinch of salt to the egg -- make sure egg is not completely whipped smooth i.e. you can still see transparent blobs.
- When oil is hot, pour egg into wok, and rotate wok. Add tomatoes. Stir for around 20 - 40 seconds.
- Serve.
Red Bean Cake
[Read how I failed at making it, initially]
Red Bean Cake. Photo by Steven P.S. Cheng.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
1/2C Glutinous Rice Flour
1/4C Corn Starch
1/4C All Purpose Flour
1/4C Sugar
For the Soup:
250 g of Red Beans
(go to a health store and ask for Japanese Aki beans, the big ones, about 1/2 the size of a red kidney bean)
4 cups water
Sugar, to taste (use rock candy ideally, cf. Honeydew Melon Soup)
Optional: Coconut, Dried Citrus Peel, Lotus Seeds, Lily bulbs
Cost: $5
Instructions
For the red bean soup:
- Soak the optional dried lily bulbs and lotus seeds.
- Wash the beans and bring to a boil with around 4 cups of water in a pot.
- Let boil for around 10 mins, uncovered, then turn to simmer. Put the lid back on. Add sugar, dried citrus peel, about the size of a quarter, if you have it. Let it simmer for 4 hours.
(If you have a crock pot, put it in on low and leave overnight) - When you're ready to serve it, bring to a boil, add the canned coconut milk.
(shake well before opening, or mix well after opening before you add it to the hot soup, otherwise, clots will form) - Serve as a soup, chilled or hot, or in our case, use for the Red Bean Cake.
For the Dough
- Prepare a steamer. Add water and put heat on high. Ensure you have enough water for an hour's worth of steaming.
- Combine the flours and sugar and mix well before slowly adding in the hot red bean soup.
- Form a dough.
- Add in the remainder of the beans in the soup to the dough. ( Either drain the beans and add it to dough, or make sure your dough is a little on the dry side before adding in the beans out of the pot.)
- Place the mixed dough in a receptacle and steam for an hour.
(I used a pyrex bread tray and filled it halfway; if you're using something more shallow, reduce steaming time) - Remove from steamer and place in the fridge overnight.
- Slice and serve directly, or microwave the sliced pieces for 10-20 secs before serving. Alternatively, as I have done, pan fry it on a lightly coated pan and then serve with a mixture of sugar, and roasted sesames.
Mapo Tofu (season 2, episode 1)
Mapo Tofu. Photo by Danny Y. Huang.
Ingredients
Ground Pork/beef (2 burger patties would be nice, just remember to loosen it first)
Tofu (the firmer the better)
Spicy bean paste *
Garlic
Ginger (optional)
Scallion
* or fermented black bean paste + your favorite chili sauce
Cost: $4**
**A whole bottle of bean paste costs around $3, but we are using only a small amount; the same applies to vegetables. The pack of tofu I bought cost only $1.09.
Instructions
- Heat oil in wok.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and some of the spring onion stems (it should sizzle if the oil is hot enough).
- When you can smell the garlic-ky goodness, add the ground meat and stir to loosen it.
- When the meat starts to change color and become more opaque, and when the smell hits the 'sweet spot', add the spicy bean paste and the remainder of the spring onion stems.
- Salt in the bean paste should cause the meat to release its juices. As the liquid evaporates, the flavors will be more concentrated and the meat will be partially steamed. Add tofu when most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Stir gently and let stew for about 3 minutes. This ensures the meat is cooked and heats up the tofu.
- Serve. (garnish with cilantro, optional)
Dining Hall Specials: Microwave Simulated Stir-Fried Vegetables (season 1, episode 6)
[Watch the episode]
Ingredients
Vegetables from the salad bar.
(Mainly romaine/iceberg lettuce. Some onion and mushrooms if you have them.)
Oil
Salt
Lee Kum Kee fermented black bean paste, optional
(if you add this, go easy on the salt, or no salt at all)
Cost: None, if you are on a meal plan at school. If not, it should be <$1.
Instructions
- Take 2 plates and a soup bowl, add vegetables to the soup bowl.
- Coat well with oil and add some water if necessary.
- Microwave on high for 3 minutes. The trick to avoid scalding yourself is to use the plates to sandwich the soup bowl, thus providing a cool surface to move your setup in and out of the microwave.
- Add salt to taste. Stir and serve.
Honeydew Melon Dessert Soup (season 1, episode 5)
[Watch the episode]
Ingredients
No set quantity, all to taste.
Honeydew Melon*, diced (important to let it ripen before use, otherwise the soup will be tasteless)
Coconut milk
Chinese Rock Sugar (sometimes called "Rock candy" or "lump sugar")
Tapioca
Cost: <$5 for a pot enough for at least 4.
*Instead of dicing the melon, if you have a melon-baller, use it to create those intricate spheres to impress; to help your melon ripen, wrap it in a cloth with ripe bananas (should work, like with most fruits).
Instructions
- Bring pot of water to boil, and prepare another pot/kettle of boiling water.
- Add honey dew melon to pot, let it boil for 5 minutes, then put on simmer.
- In a separate bowl, soak tapioca in hot water (from kettle) for 30 minutes.
- The tapioca should be translucent on the outside, though the core might still be white, it is fine. Sieve, or at least remove majority of the water.
- Bring the pot back to a boil, add the tapioca. Let it boil for 3 -5 minutes.
- Turn heat to low, add coconut milk, mix well, and serve. (to avoid clumps, trick is to mix the coconut milk well before adding to the pot).
- Serve immediately hot, or cold after a night of refrigeration. Serve as dessert or as breakfast.
Dining Hall Specials: Spinach Egg Drop Soup (season 1, episode 4)
[Watch the episode]
Ingredients
One egg
Some tomato
Spinach
Onion and mushroom (optional, only to add a little flavor)
Salt
Cost: None, if you are on a meal plan at school. If not, it should be <$1.50.
Instructions
- Put as much spinach as you can in the bowl, add hot water and sliced tomatoes (about 3-4 thumbed-sized pieces for a small bowl). Add mushroom 2 heads, and onion, 3 or 4 slivers if you have them.
- Microwave covered on high for about 2 minutes. (Tip is to sandwich your bowl with 2 plates, so you can take the hot soup out from the microwave easily.)
- During this time, whip your egg.
- Uncover the bowl after 2 minutes, add whipped egg to bowl of soup, cover, and microwave for another 30 seconds.
- Salt to taste. Pepper optional.