CookingAndRecipeTips.com

Posts Tagged ‘finger food’

There are many variations in spring roll recipes. This one originates from Vietnam and makes truly excellent spring rolls. The spring roll shells or pastry sheets used in this recipe are quite large and so are cut into quarters.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pkt spring roll shells – quartered

Filling:
1 kg finely minced lean pork
3 cloves garlic – finely minced (or crushed)
250 g carrot – grated
8 dried mushrooms – soak and sliced finely
2 medium onions -  finely minced
1 cup soaked mung bean vermicelli
2 ¹/₂ Tbsp sugar
1 ¹/₂ tsp salt
¹/₂ tsp pepper
oil for deep frying
a little plain flour and water made into a paste

Sauce

6 Tbsp Fish sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
juice of 2 lemons
6 Tbsp water
3 cloves garlic – finely minced
2 red chillies – finely chopped
1 small carrot – cut into fine julienne strips

Method:

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water until soft then drain and slice finely.
2. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl until sugar is completely dissolved and let stand for around 30 minutes.
3. While the sauce is standing, mix all filling ingredients together in another bowl.
4. Take approximately 1 tablespoon of mixture and roll up in shell.
5. Seal the edges with the paste made from water and flour
6. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown (around  7 minutes).
7. Serve with the sauce as a dip

Variations

If you don’t have mung bean vermicelli, you can substitute rice vermicelli.

This makes a great entree or finger-food. It can also be frozen after you have cooked it so you can either prepare it before you need it or just to have on hand for when you want a quick snack.  This can be prepared in around 45 minutes depending on the number of croquettes you are making.

Salmon Croquettes

Ingredients:

2  cups rice
1  large tin salmon, drained and flaked
1  egg
1/2 cup chopped parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1  tsp anchovy sauce
salt and peppre to taste
flour
beaten egg
breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Method:

1. Cook rice in boiling salted water (slightly overcook).
2. Drain thoroughly
3. Mix in salmon, egg, parsley, lemon juice, anchovy sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Shape into small balls or croquettes
5. Dip in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs
6. Deep fry until golden brown.
7. Drain well and serve as an entree or with pre-dinner drinks.

Serves: 6-8

Variations

If you wish, you can make the croquettes into flat “fish cakes” and then crumb them. That way when you cook them you can do it in much less oil in a frying pan.

Tips

Try and eliminate as much water as possible from the rice once it has been cooked. Be careful when adding the croquettes to the hot oil as it can bubble up if you add too many too quickly and can overflow and catch fire, or splash and burn you.

This is delicious and versatile recipe. You can serve it as finger-food or as part of a meal. The meatballs can be made the day before and then cooked on the day you need them.

Island Meatballs

Ingredients:

500g topside mince (or ground beef)
black pepper
1   finely chopped onion
1   clove garlic
1   tsp chilli sauce
1/2   cup chopped parsley
1   tbsp soy sauce
3   tbsp plain flour
2   eggs (lightly beaten)
2   cups dessicated coconut
oil for frying (I do NOT reccomend canola oil)
toothpicks for serving

Method:

1. Mix meat, pepper, chopped onion, crushed garlic, chopped parsley, chilli and soy sauces until well combined.
2. Shape  mixture in to about 50 small balls. (You need reasonably small balls to ensure that they cook evenly. If they are too large, the meatball needs to be cooked longer and you run the risk of burning the coconut coating you applied in step 4.)
3. Stir flour into egg and dip meat balls into this mixture.
4. Roll the balls in coconut.
5. Put the meatballs in the fridge for a while to firm up. This makes them easier to handle. If you are preparing them the day beforehand you can put them in a sealed container until you are ready to cook them.
6. Put about 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) deep oil in a frying pan. Heat gently. You need to ensure the oil is hot before putting the meatballs in to prevent them sticking. (No you don’t want to use a teflon coated pan – the teflon is not good for you.)
7. Fry the meatballs moving them to cook on all sides. Keep warm and serve with sauce.

Sauce

Ingredients:

3   tsps dry mustard
2   tsps vinegar
6   tbsps chutney (chopped)
1/3   cup red currant jelly
2   tsps sugar

Method:

1. Combine ingredients.
2. Heat gently
3. Serve hot with Island Meatballs.

Tips

This recipe can be prepared and frozen – provided you are using fresh mince that has not previously been frozen. You can then thaw it out and cook it on the day you need it. To prevent the meatballs from bcoming a frozen mass of meat, put them in layers separated by greaseproof paper.