THE CANNY COOK: Prawn rice-paper dumplings
I'm a huge fan of summer rolls – the Vietnamese soft rice- paper rolls stuffed with prawns, herbs and rice noodles, and these use the same rice-paper wrappers but are fried till crispy. Most videos I've seen make it all look very easy, but it did take me a few attempts to get the dumpling assembly right. You need to work quite quickly because the wrappers continue to soften after soaking and you want a roughly even layer on all sides, as they'll tear during cooking if too thin. Making the dumplings bite-sized proved the easiest method (and great for eating), but you can make them bigger if you prefer.
In terms of the filling, you could add some grated ginger or shredded cabbage, swap the prawns for minced chicken or pork, or use chopped shiitake mushrooms for a vegetarian option. The recipe here is a very simple but satisfying option.
METHOD
Finely chop the spring onions and grate the carrot. Tip into a large mixing bowl.
Chop the prawns using a large, sharp knife. Keep running the knife through them until they're really chopped. Add to the bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper, 1½ tsp soy sauce and ½ tsp toasted sesame oil. Mix well.
Fill a large, rimmed plate with cold water and have a chopping board ready. Soak a rice-paper wrapper in the water for 5 seconds, then lay it on the chopping board. Cut in half.
Add a teaspoon of the prawn mixture to the middle of each half. Wrap the dumplings one at a time, folding the top and bottom edges over the filling, then folding one side of the wrapper over the top to seal and the other side underneath, so you have an even layer of wrapper all round. Repeat the process to make all the dumplings (brush the outsides with oil if they're sticking).
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the dumplings for about 4-5 minutes on each side until golden. Serve with extra soy sauce for dipping.
*This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. prices taken from aldi and correct at time of going to press.
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