Easy appetizers – Spring Rolls & Dim sum

A recent visit to one of the Chinese Grocers here was such a revelation, I found almost all the veggies that I’ve been missing here.It was actually my Bro’s engagement in India, I was feeling pathetic sitting here and to cheer up my mood P took me for shopping,which always helps me:-P. Apart from the other shopping,I thoroughly enjoyed my veggie shopping too.I picked up Banana Flower(Vazhai Poo),White Pumpkin,Small Green Brinjals to name a few. I also picked up Wanton wraps and spring roll sheets from there and made these yummy appetizers:-P

Dim sum which is a Cantonese word literally means “Touch the heart” .This appetizer has surely touched my heart,an all time fav one:) Remember Mainland China/Beijing bites in India???? These are served in small steamer baskets. In most of the places these are ordered from a menu,in few other places these are brought & served by the servers in a trolley, one such restaurant that I remember visiting is Civet in Bangalore,India which followed this.Dim Sum can be made by steaming or frying ,even pan fried ones are very common. The Chinese prefer having Chinese tea (Jasmine Tea to be precise) along with them, because it helps in digestion. Here in the US, the shallow fried ones are called “Potstickers”. Nowadays things are getting Indianized, but still Dim Sum rules! Its believed that making Dim sum is an art by itself.These days it’s a lot easier to make one,thanks to the wraps which are easily available. In India they are quite popular as “Momos”. I’ve personally known these as Momos only,which are mainly made with rice flour.Dim Sums however, use some kind of specialty rice flour.

They are called Wantons & Dumplings too. Momos are Tibetan name for Dumpling. And Wantons are type of dumpling common in Chinese cuisine.Huh…..confusing,eh? Well I made both steamed and the fried ones. As far as I’ve known Wantons are always associated with the fried and Momos with the steamed ones. Whatever the name is, it’s surely is a winner. For the sauce, I just randomly added the ingredients, didn’t actually have any definite recipe in mind, the outcome was super duper!

Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

Spring Roll Pastry Sheets – As many as u need. I used 10 of them
Cabbage – 1 cup(shredded)
Carrot – 1 (grated)
Noodles – ½ cup cooked (I used veg hakka noodles)
Capsicum – ½ cup(finely chopped)
Onions – ½ cup(finely chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste -1 tsp
Soy Sauce – 2 tsp
Green Chillies – 4 (finely chopped/crushed)
Oil – 2tsp + for frying
Salt – as per taste

For the sealing –

Cornstarch – 1 tbsp mixed with 5tbsp of water.

Method :

1.In a wok/pan,heat 2 tsp of oil.Add Ginger Garlic paste and Onion, sauté for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients one by one.Saute it well for 3-4mins,do not overcook the veggies they need to be crispy.Allow it to cool.
2.Remove each pastry sheet carefully and place a spoon full of mixture and roll it tightly. First from the end, then the sides and then the opposite side. Mix cornstarch with water and use it for sealing.
3.Deep fry in hot oil, until brown.

The filled rolls can also be frozen and fried as and when required.

Chilli Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 2 small pods
Red Chillies – 5-6(increase as per individual spice levels)
Onions – ½ cup(roughly chopped)
Soy Sauce – 2 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup – 2 tbsp
Salt – as per taste

Method –

1.Grind the onions,redchillies,ginger and garlic together.
2.Heat a cup of water,add the paste and the remaining ingredients.
3.Allow it to boil and switch of the flame when it turns thick.

This was actually red in color,because of the bright light it looks orangish.In the final display with the Dim sum it looks fine.

Steamed Dim Sum

Ingredients:

Wanton wraps – 10 (use as many as u want)
Cabbage – 1 cup (finely chopped)
Onion – ¼ cup (finely chopped)
Tofu – ¼ cup(crumbled)
Oil – 2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 4 (finely chopped/crushed)
Soy Sauce – 1 tsp
Salt – as per taste

Method

1.In a Wok/pan,heat oil,add ginger garlic paste,green chillies and onions, sauté for a minute,add the remaining ingredients. Sauté well, don’t overcook the veggies. Allow it to cool.
2.Remove each wrap carefully, place the filling in the centre and fold as per your choice.

Moisten the ends of the wrapper with a dab of water.Fold the wrap as per your choice be it a single fold/similar to our very own Modaks(Kozhakattai) or even fold it into half and press/crimp the edges forming a pleat(saree pleat) like structure.

3.Steam it for about 10-12mins.

Always serve these hot,else it looses its taste.

Fried Dim Sum

Ingredients:

Wanton wraps – as per requirement
Cheese – 3 tbsp

Method –

1.Place l’il bit of cheese in the centre and fold it as per your choice.Just like the steamed ones,a single fold would do good too ie., fold it diagonally than seal the edges using water. Ensure it is folded well, else the cheese would ooze out and melt.
2.Deep fry in hot oil until brown. Serve hot with the sauce.

Any kind of cheese can be used. Instead of cheese,the filling used for steamed ones can also be used.The Spring Roll Pastry sheets and Wanton wraps can be found in the frozen section in any Chinese grocers. Wanton wraps are available in different thickness; I used the thin ones.Instead of Frying these can be Pan fried too.

Mixed Rice Noodles

It has been days since I’ve written anything. Before I hit the bed, I keep thinking of all the things that I did during the day and there is nothing much I cud think off, coz “I did nothing”. I’ve been procrastinating blogging for days. I shouldn’t be saying that I was extremely busy and had absolutely no time for blogging…..this isn’t right as I have/had all the time in the world….its jes that “ I’ve become tooooo lazy” these days.

The winter here is killing me,temperature is like 0F…its horribly cold. Probably it’s the weather that’s making me lazy. However things go, the time I spend in Kitchen doesn’t change. I still enjoy cooking, my husband ends up being the guinea pig most times.:-P

I remember eating Noodles and Rice together in a Chinese Restaurant in India, I seldom remember the name. I came up with my own recipe by just keeping the taste in mind.

Anyways,I call this Mixed Rice Noodles.

Ingredients:-

Chinese Noodles – 1/2 pkt (I picked up the Veg Hakka Noodles from the Indian Grocery)
Basmati Rice – ½ cup cooked
Capsicum – ½ cup(sliced)
Cabbage – ½ cup(thinly sliced)
French Beans & Carrots – ½ cup ( thinly sliced)
Onions – 1 cup (diced)
Ginger Garlic and Green chillies paste – 1tbsp
Crushed peanuts – ¼ cup (optional)
Spring Onions – ¼ cup(finely chopped)
Oil – 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce – 2 tsp
Salt – as per taste

Method:-

1.Cook the noodles as per the instructions in the cover.
2.Heat oil in a large wok,drop in the ginger garlic and green chilli paste(I grinded all the three together)and saute the chopped Onions and Capsicum till they turn soft and glazed.Add the veggies on to it.
3.Once they are done, add the soy sauce. Saute it for about 2mins and add the noodles.Toss well.Peanuts can be added before adding the noodles(this is optional)
4.Now add the rice and salt.Sauté for about 5-6mins & garnish it with spring onions and serve hot.

This goes well with Gobi/Veg Manchoorian or any other gravy(chinese cuisine)!Ensure the cooked rice doesn’t stick to each other.Instead of Basmati Rice,regular rice can also be used.

This is off to Trupti‘s Winter Treat Event.