Life | Night Noodle Markets

As a part of Good Food Month that is happening in Brisbane this July, there is a two week (11 days) long celebration of local Asian food vendors. I love noodles and when I saw the Night Noodle Market advertised I was pretty keen to go. However, the dreamy abundance of noodles I had imaged was lacking; there was about one place vending noodles at the markets. 

Recipe | Super Easy Rice Paper Rolls

I was feeling particularly domestic last night and after cleaning my entire house decided I would prepare this delicious and easy to share meal. Much like other recipes I've posted it is entirely open to interpretation and I only work with the ingredients I have on hand. Your favourite ingredients may differ so feel free to use what you like. The most important thing to make this process easy is preparation. 

Makes 15 

Ingredients

a packet of 22cm round rice paper sheets

1 skinless chicken breast, cooked and sliced

1 carrot, cut julienne (into thin sticks)

1/2 cucumber, cut julienne

handful of fresh bean sprouts

handful of fresh coriander

100g vermicelli noodles  

fried shallots

Recommended dipping sauce

2tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1tbsp soy sauce

1/2tsp fish sauce

1 drop pure sesame oil

The most efficient way of creating these little rolls of joy is to prepare everything before starting assembly. I like to get my chicken in a grill or fry pan first and cut up the vegetables while it is cooking. Then cook your vermicelli noodles as per instructions on the packet (generally a few minutes in boiling water does the trick and then drain well).

Once the chicken is cooked all the way through, slice it up in a similar style to the carrot and cucumber so it fits in the roll.  

Now the next step is entirely up to you. In a social gathering it is really fun to lay out the ingredients for everyone to create their own but because I was alone I set up my own production line. You'll need a large bowl of close-to-boiling water either way you do it to soften the rice papers. I like to take the, now floppy and translucent, rice paper and lay it as flat as I can on a round plate and start to get the ingredients in a quickly as possible. Start with a small amount of vermicelli and then layer on the ingredients in small amounts. I used about two pieces of the chicken, carrot and cucumber per roll. Follow with a small portion of the bean sprouts, a sprig or two of coriander and a sprinkle of fried shallots.

The step that scares some people is the rolling. If you've put the right amount of ingredients in the paper it should come very easily i.e. if you have great difficultly change the filling size. Start by covering the ingredients with the bottom of the paper, fold in the sides and continue to roll through the middle. The first few are a little tricky but you find what portion sizes work and get into a good rhythm (especially if you're making them all yourself).  

Making the sauce is exceptionally easy - put all the ingredients in a jar, shut the lid tight and shake until combined. Feel free to alter the quantities to taste and if you have a lime on hand, half or a quarter of that would be brilliant in it too (sadly, I had no lime for mine). 

These are probably one of my favourite summer foods because they taste good with all the ingredients slightly cooled. Beware of putting them in the fridge though because the rice ingredients do tend to harden up again as I just discovered eating my leftovers. They work great as entrees and as party food and are less messy than you think. 

As a side note, this is our 200th post! We've almost been blogging for a year now so look out for something special as we approach that milestone. Thanks for reading our rambles, we really appreciate people joining us on the journey that is life. 

Erin xx

Recipe | Rice Noodle Salad

Weekend lunches growing up were always a bit of pot luck in my household. This isn't to say they weren't always amazing but because she was home my mum would get crafty with whatever was left in the house after the week or with some bits and pieces she had picked up on the weekend grocery shop. One of many dishes she excelled was a healthy vermicelli rice noodle salad with a variety of different ingredients. As it gets hotter here I've been trying to cook dishes that require a lot less cooking and this is one of them. 

Recipe | Pan-fried Dumplings

Since moving into my new home I've tried to make Sunday evenings a night for friends (who I consider my family) and good food. A few weeks ago Tara, Ruby and myself made these scrumptious little dumplings and my freezer is still aplenty with them for late night noshes. I'm no master at making these and so I won't go into great detail with ingredients as I usually do (also it was pretty experimental so I can't remember exact measurements either). It will also depend on how many you want to make; I made about 120 in the end (in three different flavours) and still had a tiny bit of left over mixture. 

Ingredients

dumpling/wonton wrappers

vegetable oil for pan-frying 

a selection of ingredients for fillings

        e.g. pork/chicken mince, tofu, chopped leek/shallots/carrot etc

crushed or grated ginger and garlic

a variety of sauces commonly used in Asian cooking

        e.g. oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, chinese cooking wine etc

So this is going to sound super vague but if you hadn't realised I am no expert. Separate your wonton/dumpling wrappers out and put about a teaspoon of your dumpling mixture in the centre of each one. Now the next part is entirely up to you depending on how you want them to look but I found the easiest way is to fold the wrapper in half and, starting at one end, gather the dough in pleats (see picture). 

Once you've made your dumplings you need to pop them in some boiling water for about three to four minutes to ensure your filling is properly cooked. Then, with a small long-handled strainer (see picture) or slotted spoon, transfer your boiled dumplings into a hot fry-pan with the vegetable oil. Cook your dumplings, turning occasionally, until they are a crispy golden brown and you can't resist picking one up and burning your mouth on their incredibly hot inside (I speak from experience). 

These are served best fresh hot with some asian greens cooked in oyster sauce, soy sauce and chinese cooking wine (portions vary on your preferred serving size). If you made these in bulk, like myself, you can put them in the freezer before cooking them.

Once again, if you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out. I know this wasn't very precise but that is simply a reflection upon the nature of the dish. 

Enjoy!

Erin xx

Review | Jackpot Noodle's New Home

Jess and I spent some quality time together last week taking photos, shopping new and cheap beauty products, and investigating the new location of one of our favourite places for cheap eats; Jackpot Noodles. We are frequent visitors to its other locations and thought we should check out it's new home Elizabeth Street.