Paper Chef #49

Everyone has a creative streak in them somewhere, whether its a big streak or just a small gnawing urge to create.
Its there.
Its to be human.
& it needs to be fulfilled.
Otherwise you'll whither away, & you won't grow.
My little bit of creativity is cooking. I like cooking & creating something. Maybe its based on a recipe I read somewhere, or food I tasted somewhere, or in this case, the Paper Chef Challenge.
Not all of my attempts have been successful, tastewise or lookswise, but they have helped satisfy that creative urge.
This month's ingredients were selected Cath from ShowFood Chef. With the help of her son she selected Prawns, Sweet Pepper, & Fennel randomly from the list, and her fourth ingredient was actually a theme: Passion (I guess its because its almost Valentine's Day....)

As soon as I'd read the ingredients the first though that sprang to mind was "rice paper rolls". From past mistakes I've learnt to go with the first idea, sometimes too much thinking can be your downfall.

So here are my Prawn & Fennel Rice Paper Rolls. My creative streak shone through & I had to use one of my favourite native ingredients, Finger Lime (see here for what they are). I thought they worked in the rolls, but Paul didn't like the bursts of acidity from the popping vesicles. They were served with Kecap Manis, a dark sweet soy like sauce for dipping.

Ingredients: (for 12 rolls)
50g rice vermicelli
1/2 fennel bulb
sweet pepper, peeled & sliced into fine strips
small handful coriander leave
small handful mint leaves
small handful fennel sprigs
6 peeled raw prawns
1 finger lime
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
12 rice paper sheets

Method:
Skewer each prawn on a bamboo skewer (this is to keep them straight as they cook).
Place the skewered prawns into a steamer & steam over boiling water until just done (if you over cook the prawns they end up very dry).
Remove from the steamer & allow to cool, then slice each prawn in half lengthwise.
Prepare the vermicelli as per the packet instructions (normally soak in hot water until soft & clear), allow to drain of all water & then place in a bowl.
Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar & lime juice to the noodles & toss to coat them, adjust the balance to taste.
Finely slice the fennel, use a mandolin if you have one.
Roughly chop the herbs & add to the noodles along with the fennel .

Assembly:
Briefly soak each sheet of rice paper in hot water, soak it too long & it becomes a soggy mess.
Lay it out on a kitchen towel.


Place a halved prawn on the power 1/3 of the rice paper and place a couple of pepper strips either side.
Place a generous spoonful of the noodle & fennel mixture on top.
If you wish you can also add a sprinkling of crushed unsalted peanuts.
Fold the sides of the paper in, then fold the bottom up & tightly roll. Don't be upset if the first couple look wrong - it takes practice. The first few that I usually make I end up ripping open & starting again..
Repeat until all have been made.
Place some Kecup Manis in a serving dish. If you wish you can also have sweet chili as a dipping sauce.
Serve & enjoy.

Paper Chef non-entry

Well it was Paper Chef time the weekend just past.
We had some wonderful ingredients selected by last month's winner Kristina of Former Chef
they were:
Almonds
Chicken
Corn
& her selection of: Fish Sauce.
My initial idea was a type of Chicken Kiev dish, but with an almond butter center seasoned with Fish Sauce and rolled in polenta. But I was talked out of this & into a Korean style Chicken & Corn soup with chicken, prawn & almond dumplings.
Good idea, bad execution. :(
Dumplings were delicate in flavour but became overwhelmed by the soup which tasted fine while cooking but ended up way too rich. And to cap it all off the photo's were bad.
If that wasn't bad enough for the first time ever,I even managed to stuff up a Creme Anglaise later that day!

The stars must have been wrong that day......

Paper Chef - December Issue

Its my favourite time of the month - Paper Chef time!
Last months winners, MizD & Chopper Dave from Belly Timber had the privilege of selecting 3 random ingredients from the nominated list & one of their own choosing. So what combination did we get to cook with?
Rice
Brandy
Blood Orange
& their selection of Crustacean (lobster, crab, prawn etc).

There was a bit of leeway with the type of crustacean. I decided to go with prawns, though the Morton Bay Bugs I saw at the market last week had me tempted. As I usually do I went through a process of ideas that were quickly rejected (blood orange & prawn risotto?) and settled on an Asian influence with sweet & spicy flavours: Blood Orange & Brandy marinated Prawns with Coconut Rice.
After fighting the crowds to get to Prahran Markets I found my favourite fishmonger had some unusual prawns available, Schooling Prawns to be precise. these were quite small, about the size of your finger or smaller. Never having cooked with them before, & it being a Paper Chef challenge, I thought why not? Being so small I asked if they were easy to peel? & the response I got was - they can be eaten as is, like whitebait.
Next time I'm peeling them. While they were eatable with the shells, the texture wasn't that pleasant. Live & learn I guess.

Blood Orange & Brandy marinated Prawns with Coconut Rice.

For the marinade:

Ingredients:
30ml Brandy
juice & zest from 1 blood orange (about 1/3 cup)
1 tbsp Balsamic or sherry vinegar
1 ½ tsp capers
1 tbsp slivered almonds, roasted
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 cup finely chopped parsley
½ tsp dried chili or 1tsp finely chopped, de-seeded fresh red chili (add more or less to taste)

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
Let stand at least 1 hour.

Coconut rice:
Ingredients (serves 2-3)
½ cups water
½ cup coconut milk
1 cup jasmine or long-grain rice

Method
Rice cooker:
Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear to remove any starch.
Place all the ingredients into a rice cooker & cook.
When ready fluff with a fork.
Stove top (you will need to double the amount of liquid):
Place water and coconut milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add the rice, return to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and stir well.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside, covered, for 5 minutes.
Drain and fluff with a fork.

Blood Orange & Brandy marinated Prawns:
Ingredients:

200g uncooked whole prawns

Marinade made earlier
1 blood orange, segmented & cut into pieces & allowed to drain

Method:
Shell the prawns & place in a bowl
Add the prepared marinade & marinade for 30-60 minutes.
Heat a little oil in a pan & add the prawns & marinade
Fry the prawns until they are just cooked.
Remove the prawns & cook the marinade until its sticky & thick.
Add segmented orange pieces & heat through.
Return the prawns & coat with the sauce.
Serve immediately with the coconut rice & Asian greens or rocket salad.