A few years ago, our new group of friends decided to have a latke party for Hannukah. Jenn had the wonderful idea to make spring rolls since we would already be frying things. This became an annual event. Last year we even expanded to making soufganiyot (jelly-filled donuts). This year we decided to forgo the donuts in favor of tempura (more on that later).
Latkes are potato pancakes traditionally eaten during Hannukah. The recipe we used was equal parts potato and onion plus a little flour, egg and salt. We grated the potatoes in our new Cuisinart food processor. The opening was bigger than the food processor we had used in previous years. This meant that the whole potato fit (instead of having to cut the potatoes into chunks). Although this sped up the process, it resulted in much longer potato strands and a more hashbrown-like latke.
This year we tried a new technique to make the spring roll filling. In previous years we've had issues with the oil spitting because we used corn starch to thicken the filling. Once it hits the hot oil, the corn starch liquefies again and goes everywhere. Since I'm the one who is frying this year, I thought a change might be good. This year we salted the shredded cabbage and carrot, let it sit, and then wrung out all the liquid. To this we added the cooked chicken and onions. No corn starch. Raw cabbage and carrots. The result was quite tasty. We will make more soon, but we will bake them instead of frying them (much healthier that way).
Spring Roll Recipe:
1 green cabbage, shredded
2-3 large carrots, shredded
4 chicken tenders, very thinly sliced -- almost roughly ground
3 green onions, chopped
salt and white pepper to taste
Generously salt the cabbage and carrots in a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight. The next day, taste the veggies. If it is too salty, rinse with water. Drain out the water in the bowl and wring out the veggies in batches using a cheese cloth. Really squeeze! Stir fry the green onions in some oil until fragrant. Add the chicken. If it starts to stick, use some cooking wine (Chinese is best!) to scrape up the bits. Add salt and white pepper. If there is liquid left over, drain it out. Let the chicken cool and then add and mix it into the veggies.
We use store-bought spring roll wrappers (NOT egg roll wrappers -- these are much thinner). We find them in the frozen section and leave them in the fridge overnight to defrost. When wrapping the spring rolls, it is important to keep your filling as compact as possible. It is better to be long and skinny rather than short and fat. To seal the end of the wrapper, we use a mixture of cornstarch and water.
We don't really deep fry them so we just fry on one side until golden brown and then flip.
Tempura is a whole discussion so it will come in the next entry ;-)
