TrailFinders Canada Newsletter

Vietnamese Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon)

This recipe should make about a dozen rolls, but it really depends on how far you stretch the filling ingredients and how many wrappers you ultimately use.

Ingredients
1 package rice paper wrappers
1 head lettuce
1 bunch cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
1 bunch thai basil (leaves only)
1 carrot, julienned into thin strips
1 cucumber, julienned thin
Optionally add fried tofu
Serve with hoisin sauce sprinkled with crushed peanuts

Wash and slice the vegetables and lay everything out on a cutting board. The lettuce leaves should be sliced into manageable strips and discard any of the cores that are too tough or crunchy. The basil and cilantro leaves can be left whole or coarsely chopped.

Fill a large bowl with hot water to soften the rice paper wrappers. Submerge a single dry wrapper in the warm water completely for a few seconds. You have to soften and wrap the rolls one at a time. For the first few, keep your fingers on the edges and feel the wrapper as it softens and begins to turn transparent. It may help you to count-off the seconds so that you know how long it takes for the following wrappers. Once the wrapper is supple, gently lift it out with both hands. It will get sticky quickly, so take care not to let it fold in on itself. Place the wrapper flat on the plate. Put a bit of lettuce on the lower edge of the wrapper and create a little mound of filling items on top of the lettuce. (It may take one or two to get the quantities just right.)

Wrap the roll up by taking the edge closest to you and flipping it up over the little mound of filling. Gently roll the filling up until you've just past the halfway point, then pull the sides in and roll it the rest of the way. You can eat the rolls whole or cut them into two or three pieces.

Serve with hoisin sauce sprinkled with crushed peanuts.

Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Kiow Wan Gai)

One of our favourites!

While you can certainly prepare this dish from scratch by making your own Green Curry Paste, you can save time and effort by using a commercially available curry paste. While we prefer Blue Elephant brand pastes, there are many other brands available. Some brands require that you use a larger amount of paste with the recipe than what is called for. You may have to experiment and taste the mixture as you go along, adding more paste if necessary.

Ingredients

½ cup coconut cream
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp green curry paste
2 tbsp fish sauce (nap pla)
1 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken breast cut into thin strips
½ cup chicken stock
2 lime leaves, chopped
3 small green Thai eggplants, quartered (Usually available in Ottawa at Produce Depot)
Clump of Thai basil leaves

Preparation

In a small pan, gently heat the coconut cream, but don’t boil it. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic and fry until golden brown. Add curry paste and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the warmed coconut cream and stir until it thickens in the oil. Stir in the nam pla and sugar. Add the chicken strips and turn the mixture until the meat becomes opaque.
Pour in the stock and simmer gently for three or four minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the lime leaves, then the eggplant and basil. Cook for one minute more or until you are happy with the eggplant. Turn into a serving dish and serve with Thai rice.