Indonesian fried spring rolls (Lumpia Goreng)

I don't often make Indonesian food because the ingredients are hard to find, but our local supermarkets are getting better at stocking ethnic ingredients. In the frozen section of Tesco, near the samosas, you can find the spring roll pastry.

Don't bother asking the branch in Chester. I was laughed at by the cashier when I asked for spring roll skin, because 'skin' is what we call the wrapper in Indonesian. Her more helpful colleague offered me filo pastry instead, which can be a good substitute. I'm afraid no one in Chester has yet to taste my amazing spring rolls as a result. Friends in Southsea are luckier!

Here are the ingredients to make 30 spring rolls (the packs come in 30 or 40 pieces)

1 medium head of cabbage, thinly sliced

2 carrots, julienned

1 red or yellow pepper, julienned

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 medium courgette, julienned

1 tablespoon of Oyster sauce (omit if cooking for vegan)

2 tbsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying the ingredients,

plus vegetable oil for frying the spring rolls

If you prefer to dice the ingredients, do, some people feel it tastes better that way. I personally prefer it to resemble the ones found in Indonesia.

Fry the ingredients in a large pan, a wok if you have one, on fairly high heat. You want to toss it around so that the juices all evaporate. You don't want the ingredients to be wet.

Defrost the wrappers and keep them moist by enclosing them in a wet tea towel.

When the filling has cooled down, separate a wrapper, and arrange it diagonally in front of you. Fill with 2 tablespoonfuls of the filling, roll the bottom edge around the filling, and pull it tight towards you to form a long pillow, roll to the middle and wrap the left and right edges to the middle to enclose the pillow from either side and then roll up to the top tip end. Wet the end with some water to allow it to stick.

Arrange them on a plate or roasting tin and keep the spring rolls covered with a wet tea towel to keep them moist, but not wet.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the spring rolls in batches until they are golden. Remove and place on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

A healthier option is to brush the spring rolls with oil and then bake them in the oven at 200 degrees Celcius for 30 minutes or until golden.

Delicious thinly sliced pork in Korean marinade

Sometimes you found a recipe and wrote it down on a piece of paper to try it out. Having done that, you forget where the recipe came from. Likewise this Korean recipe for pork, which turned out to be so delicious we have cooked it for everyone. The marinade is simple to make and yet really packed with flavours. For the Korean marinade you need 3 garlic cloves 1/2 brown onion 1/2 a pear or apple Blitz these ingredients together and then add 5 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman) 3 tablespoons caster sugar 2 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons mirin black pepper For dinner for 2 people, 200g pork tenderloin is enough. Slice this thinly, and bash it to an even thinner piece with a meat mallet. Marinade in the sauce and leave it in the fridge for an hour. Then heat a frying pan on medium heat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and fry the thin pork pieces until browned. You want some of the edges of the meat to be dark brown and caramelised, if you can. Don't cook too many pieces or ...

‘Southsea dinosaur’ returns

Luna Park 2021, an eagerly anticipated new public artwork for Portsmouth designed by internationally renowned artists Ivan Morison and Heather Peak of Studio Morison will be launched on 2 October 2021 on a celebratory day in Southsea Common. The 1.4 metres bronze sculpture is a tribute to the original 53-foot high 2010 artwork Luna Park, which tragically burned down on Southsea Common. The artists will unveil a new sculpture that responds to ten years of public demand to ‘bring back the Southsea Dinosaur’. The new public artwork will be located within a direct sightline to the position of the original Luna Park sculpture. It will sit on top of a fossil Portland stone plinth with a QR code which when scanned with a smartphone will connect to an Augmented Reality experience. People will be transported to a digital rendering of the original artwork, seemingly standing life-size in front of them on Southsea Common. Viewers will also be able to use their mobile devices to visit a...

SouthseaScene

Search This Blog