Serve as snack or entree

Winter in Dubai is almost like a nice fresh sunny day in Melbourne. And what could be better than enjoying the season with our loved ones accompanied with some light enticing snack. Something you could eat with your fingers, get a little messy and have some afternoon tapas fun.

You should think of Vietnamese Spring Rolls as salad in a wrap which guarantee perfect bites every time. The rich crunchy texture of the lettuce, the beautiful fragrant of basil, brings out the distinct taste of the coriander. The prawns, rice vermicelli and wrap gives just enough weight to satisfy the appetite.

No salad will be complete without some dressing to go with it. The Hoisin sauce mixed with the tangy, slightly bitty dipping sauce enrich and smoothen the taste of all the ingredients.

Ingredients

• a handful of rice vermicelli
• 10 spring roll wrappers or rice wrappers
• 20 large prawns
• 2 tbs finely chopped basil
• 3 tbs finely chopped coriander
• 3 leaves lettuce, chopped

For sauce

• 4 ts fish sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbs fresh lime juice
• 1 finely chopped garlic
• 2 ts white sugar
• hoisin sauce

Steps

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli for 3-5 minutes
2. Mix basil, coriander, and lettuce.
3. Lay the wrapper flat, In a row across the center, place 2 prawns, a bit of rice vermicelli, basil, coriander, and lettuce, leaving about 4 cm uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
4. Steam the roll for about 5 minutes until the prawns is cooked.
5. In a small box, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, and sugar.
6. In another small bowl, put the hoisin sauce. You can add some chopped peanuts.
7. Serve rolled spring tolls with the fish sauce mixture and hoisin sauce.

This is my husband’s favorite food. Absolutely. No question about it. The dressing is inspired by sauce made in the China. It has a wonderful balance of sweet, sour, and salty, and the coriander, spring onion and ginger fill the sauce with lots of chewy, yummy bits!

Ingredients

• 2 tbs light soy sauce
• 2 tbs finely chopped coriander
• 2 tbs finely chopped ginger
• 2 tbs finely sliced spring onions
• 2 tbs sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 2 tbs malt vinegar
• dash of sesame oil

Wontons

• 9 uncooked medium sized prawns
• 1 tbs finely chopped coriander
• 1 ts finely chopped ginger
• 1 tbs finely sliced spring onions
• 1 ts light soy sauce
• 1 ts oyster sauce
• a pinch of white sugar
• dash of sesame oil
• 16 fresh wonton wrappers

Steps

1. For the wontons, peel and de-vein prawns. Note that most supermarket provide this service for free.
2. Dice the prawn meat.
3. Combine the prawn meat with remaining ingredients of wontons, except wonton wrappers, in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, coriander, ginger, spring onions, sweet soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.
5. Next, place a rounded teaspoon of the wonton filling in the centre of a wonton wrapper and shape the wontons.
6. Steam the wonton for 15 minutes until it’s cooked. To test the wontons you will need to remove one and cut into it with a sharp knife to see if the prawns are cooked through.
7. Heat oil in a pan fry, high heat. Put bottom side of the wontons into the pan fry so the bottom side of the wontons is brown and crunchy.
8. Arrange wontons on a platter or on top of noodles and serve immediately, drizzled with dressing.

A dish doesn’t have to be complicated, or take a lot of time, to be good. This recipe is very simple and easy to follow.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 500 grams prawns, peeled
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 80 grams feta cheese

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 240 Celcius.
2. Cut the onion and tomatoes into small pieces. Finely chopped the garlic.
3. Heat oil in a large pan, oven proof. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add tomatoes and bring to simmer, reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, prawns, feta cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Place pan in oven and bake until the prawn is cooked,
7. Serve immediately with rice or pasta.