Vietnamese Summer Rolls: Light and Fresh

It’s 38°C! I’m almost tempted to break and egg on the pavement and see if it gets cooked! My house feels like a mini sauna and I have officially stopped wearing pants at home. (I wear cotton dresses - go wash your dirty brains :P). So it goes without saying that summer is here! Which is both a boon and a curse depending on which part of the world you live in. I, for instance live in a city that has salubrious climate for 80% of the year so any extremes in temperature is treated with great disdain. (Yes, Bangaloreans are spoilt that way!). Every year we just whine and crib till the first showers of April hit the sands and then we whine and crib that it’s monsoon already. This year is no different except that I learnt how to make some Vietnamese Summer Rolls. It’s fresh, light and all kinds of colorful. Just what summer should be? 

This recipe is more about getting your mise en place and rolling technique right. Once you master than, you can churn out a gazillion of these with a flick of the wrist. (Ok, as usual I’m exaggerating, but you get the drift no?). Also since it’s a fresh roll, its best prepared and served just in time to eat. It doesn’t lower the temperature or anything, but I assure you summer will be more bearable – at least while you’re eating it!

Pathway to Heaven with Bacon Wrapped Prawns

There are many pathways to heaven they say. With most ending with some bearded gentleman manning the pearly gates. (Or in my case a portly gentleman sitting on a Buffalo who has a really long ledger of life events). And you would have to be good and do good and all that jazz to really even be considered for a chance to get there. Then steps in bureaucracy, where they make you wait at the gates (in a queue mind you…) before they proceed to check your files and then certify your eligibility to enter. Why, some may even be turned away due to a totally negligible mistake (Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, apparently!). So the chances to enter heaven for people like us are slim to none.

Since the final destination seems like a distant dream, are we to moan and groan about its inaccessibility? Hell No! (Oops… swearing I’m sure is not allowed. Especially when it involves Heaven’s direct competitor!). So again, you see the chances are really-really teeny-weeny. As I am a doer not a cribber, I have decided to create my own piece of heaven instead of waiting in line. It’s called Bacon wrapped Prawns. They come as a pair and are extremely adept at recreating the hallowed space. (You can thank me later for the cheat sheet). The gentlemen ‘above’ are welcome to some as well. After all, standing at the gates all day, can’t be that exciting :P

Asian Grill Festival @ Shiro (UB City, Bangalore)

UB City has become one of my favorite places to hang out. The open air cafés and restaurants, the dancing fountain, the easy relaxed pace in the evening under the stars – I always feel like I’m out of Bangalore. Sunday brunches at Shiro – the pan Asian restaurant, is an indulgence that I often dip into. The Zen like ambience with the giant statues and the serene Buddha never fail to get me into a happy and peaceful mood. So when Shiro invited me to their Asian Grill Festival, I was more than happy to pay them a visit. Bangalore winters have started, so we chose a table inside right next to the Buddha. I was feeling good already!

Quick Fried Rice - A Lifesaver, literally!

Chinese Cooking is an art (At least for me). So attempts of Chinese cuisine at home are few and far between. We do visit the fancy Chinese restaurant for a nice meal, but nothing beats ordering greasy Chinese food from the neighborhood restaurant and settling blissfully on the couch to watch reruns of ‘How I met your Mother’ (Or CSI Miami, if that’s your scene :P). At the end of the meal however there’s always a faint feeling of regret. And regret tastes like a swollen tongue because of the amount of MSG/ Ajinomoto that the local guys use, to kick up the taste of the food. Not nice… not nice at all!

When such derailing urges strike these days, thankfully I don’t need to call the Ajinomoto joint anymore. (No, I don’t have a Chinese chef at home.) But I recently found this brand called Blue Dragon, which makes some amazing stir fry sauces. All I need to do is cut up some chicken and veggies and stir fry them quickly and toss the sauce in to finish! It tastes brilliant :) and even though I know there is some MSG in it, the level is not as high as leaving my mouth feeling like a barren wasteland! The only problem with this situation is that I only have the main course bit covered. Now if I order the noodles or rice from Ajinomoto Joint (that’s not their real name!), it defeats the purpose. That’s when I came across this fantabulous (yes, it’s that satisfying) Quick Fried Rice recipe. It looks and tastes like the real deal and helps complete the meal! Win win! Feels as good as Superman saving the day… well almost!

Singapore Black Pepper Prawns

Singapore’s most famous dish is undoubtedly the Chili Crab and the Black Pepper Prawns. When you walk down Clark Quay or Boat Quay you will find innumerable restaurants and street café’s serving up these super fiery dishes. The Chili crab is generally made with huge Sri Lankan crabs. If you put both your palms together, the crab will probably be larger than that! I’ve spent quite a bit of money on many many nights in Singapore digging into these critters! Another one of my favorites is the Black Pepper Prawns – buttery, peppery, hot awesomeness! They generally use Tiger Prawns for this with the tails (and sometimes the head on.) You yank the head off and start slurping down the sauce and the prawn meat, then finish by digging out whatever else in left in the tail. At the end of the night you have steam coming out of your ears and are sticking your tongue out and downing litres of beer but you can’t stop smiling, because it was so awesome! So here’s my little imitation black pepper prawns. I used medium prawns with the head and tail off. I cooked them skewered on a bamboo stick. This way it makes for an excellent appetizer or cocktail snack. Don’t expect your guests to behave themselves and eat just one skewer… they are irresistible!

Honey Chilli Chicken

This is the first Asian style dish that I have posted online. Shall we say in honor of the Year of the Metal Tiger, which starts in the month of February. The year of the Tiger is supposed to bring in dramatic changes but a lot can be accomplished if we are resilient. But enough of the astrology advice...this recipe actually doesn’t require much resilience. It’s very accommodating …gives you enough time to watch an episode on the telly while it cooks away contentedly. I use chicken thighs which have a darker meat which is much more flavorful and suited for this recipe. Also I leave the skin on, which results in a crispy outside but moist inside meat. The co-resident’s not much of a fan of honey in savory dishes, but I love the caramelly glaze and the sweet, pungent and tangy combination.. Drool drool!

Honey Chilli Chicken

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

8 Chicken thighs / 20 Chicken wings

2 tsps minced Ginger

1 tsp minced Garlic

2 tsps Red Chilli Sauce

2 Tbsps Honey

2 Tbsps Lemon juice

2 Tbsps Soy Sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/425ºF. Place ginger, garlic, honey, chilli sauce, lemon juice and soy sauce in a bowl and mix well. Brush the chicken generously with the mixture and place in a greased baking dish. Cook for 30 mins or until chicken is cooked through and skin is crispy. Baste frequently with sauce during cooking. Its done!

P.S. New potatoes, broccoli and carrots are an ideal accompaniment to this dish. I also served egg noodles with garlic, you know I need my carbs!