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Rice paper dumplings
Makes 24 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 24 garlic chives, white root removed (or long spring onion stems, halved lengthways)
- 6 x 22cm squares rice paper, each cut into quarters
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten approx.
- 500ml vegetable oil
- 200ml chilli pepper mayo (see recipe, right) or regular mayo
For the filling
- 100g dried shiitake mushrooms
- 100g garlic chives or regular chives, chopped
- 300g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
- 100g fine asparagus spears, finely chopped
- 2tsp sugar
- 2tsp ground black pepper
- 4tsp sesame oil
- 1tsp fish sauce
- 1tsp light soy sauce
- 2 good-quality chicken stock cubes, crumbled
- 2 spring onions, roughly chopped
- 3tsp cornflour
Chilli pepper mayo
- 120ml good-quality mayonnaise
- 30ml sweet chilli sauce
- 15ml sriracha chilli sauce
- 15g ground black pepper
Method
For the filling, put the dried shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof bowl, add boiling water to cover and leave for 15 minutes to soak. Drain, squeeze dry and finely chop.
If using the 24 garlic chives, remove the white roots and put the stems in a bowl. Pour boiling water over to cover and leave to soak for 1 minute, then drain and set aside to dry. Put all the filling ingredients, including the chopped mushrooms, and 2 pinches salt in a food processor and blitz for 7–8 seconds, ensuring the texture remains lumpy rather than reducing to a paste. Chill in the fridge for 1–3 hours.
Half-fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip a piece of kitchen paper in the water and make a single wipe across both sides of a rice paper quarter. Wait for 10–15 seconds until it is soft enough to bend, then add 1tbsp filling to the centre of the paper. Dip your index finger into the beaten egg yolk and wipe it in a thick line along each outer edge of the paper. Now lift two opposing corners of paper up over the filling and squeeze together at the top. Repeat with the other two corners, squeezing all four together at the neck to roughly close. Tightly pinch the neck and twist the dumpling round to close firmly, then use a chive to tie a knot. Repeat with the remaining squares of rice paper and filling.
Pour enough oil into a small, heavy-based pan to partially submerge the dumplings, then bring to 170C. An easy way to tell when the oil is ready is by placing a wooden chopstick into the oil and waiting until bubbles start to form around it on the surface of the oil.
In batches of three or four, carefully place the dumplings in the hot oil one at a time, making sure they aren’t touching or they will stick and tear. Shallow-fry for 2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and put on kitchen paper to drain.
Serve with a bowl of chilli pepper mayo or regular mayo for dipping.
Chilli pepper mayo :
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and store for up to 2 days in the fridge.
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