Fresh Spring roll of herbs, cos lettuce and cucumber with a peanut chilli dipping sauce

I made these to take to a wee New Years shin dig. We make a similar thing at work. They are nice a fresh tasting and go well with the spicy peanut dipping sauce. You can add poached shredded chicken to the mix or poached prawns, sticky beef or if you really want to step it up a notch Confit duck!! The Cos lettuce, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil and chives all came from our garden.


Fresh Spring roll of herbs, cos lettuce and cucumber with a peanut chilli dipping sauce

12-14  large rice paper wraps
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup Thai basil leaves
1 cup mint leaves
20 Vietnamese mint leaves
a small bunch of chives, cut into 5cm lengths
1 small cos lettuce
half a cucumber, seeded and cut into thin batons

First pick all your herb leaves and place them in a bowl. Wash the lettuce and finely slice, prep the cucumber and cut the chives. Mix together in a bowl.

Boil the jug and fill a large bowl. Dip the rice paper wraps into the boiling water for about 2 seconds, drip dry and place on a clean surface or a chopping board. Place a small handful of the salad herb mix on the rice paper. Roll in the bottom then the sides and then keep rolling up to seal the herbs in.  Repeat until you run out of herb mix.

To serve cut diagonally in half and arrange on the platter with the dipping sauce.


Dipping sauce

1/2 cup boiling water
5 T coconut sugar
5 T fish sauce
3 T lime juice
2 T rice wine vinegar
1- 2 T Japanese soy
1 T Hoisan sauce
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 T coriander stalks, finely chopped (from the leaves you picked for above)
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts

Place boiling water and sugar together. Mix and cool. Add remaining ingredients.
This dressing is also nice for a Thai beef salad but just put the peanuts through the salad at the end.

Cured Fish

This has to be the easiest and yummiest thing I have ever made! It is definitely going to be on my list of things to make for christmas day. It barely involves any preparation and no cooking. It would be great as part of a plater, canape or entree for a party. Its tasty, fresh and easy.
In this recipe I have used salmon but you can also use trout. You could experiment with other fish also.
I used dill to flavour this recipe but you could use any flavour you want. For example, you could add the zest of lemons and/or limes, toasted fennel seeds, toasted coriander seeds, anything that tickles your fancy really.
The amount of sugar and salt doesn't matter so much, its more that you need equal quantities of them both. You can adjust the recipe to how big your fillet of fish is. Its important that you have enough salt mixture to cover the whole fish.

Ingredients

150g salt

150g castor sugar

a large handful of dill

1 fillet of salmon - no skin or bones

Mix the salt, sugar and dill together.

Place half the mixture in a tray that will snuggly fit your fish. 

Place your fish on top of the salt mixture. 

Use the rest of the salt mixture to completely cover your fish. 

Cover with cling wrap.

Cover the fish with another tray and place weights on top of the tray to weigh the whole thing down. I just use tins or jars from the cupboard.

Place the whole thing into the fridge for overnight (at least 8hours).

Using a paper towel wipe the salt mixture off as best you can.

And now you have a yummy snack!

I have served mine with slices of lemon and a horseradish cream, but again, the choice is all yours.