Rice Noodle Rolls , traditional along with a new twist!

I have been trying to make the Rice Noodle Rolls for a while, watched many video on YouTube and tried the different methods demonstrated.

I have persevered as I have had success in making crepes, Nalysniki  although I have never been able to make the paper thin crepes my mom would make. 

To the amusement of the Vietnamese Lady that was giving me a pedicure and only after seeing a picture of the Rice Noodle Rolls that I had posted on Instragram, she recited her recipe which I wrote down.  She felt I was making the crepes too thick, more like the Chinese method of making these crepes. 

Rice Noodle Roll Batter

• 1 c Rice Flour
• 1 c Tapioca Flour
• 2 c warm water

Mix this together first, then add 

• 1 1/2 -2 c cold water
•     salt

Let the batter set for at least 10 minutes

Whisk before pouring as it does settle out

Heat the pan to medium heat, brush oil lightly with a paper towel*

Grease the top of the counter where you will flip the crepes when cooked  

Ladle a small amount into the heated pan to make a thin crepe
Swirl around to cover the whole pan

Cover with a lid to steam the crepe.

The crepes cooks quickly and should look translucent!

 




















Flip the crepe to the greased counter space or cutting board.

Work quickly to roll up the crepes with your filling.

Depending on the size of the roll, cut into 2 -3 pieces that are bite size.

I used two different skillets, one was a Teflon 9" and a Cast Iron 8".  The important thing is to have the pans at a correct heat and to lightly oil them with a paper towel.  If there is too much oil on your pan, the batter will not spread out well and if the pan is too cold the batter will stick. 

I used two different pans and found that the cast iron worked the best overall as it retained it's heat when taken of the heat to flip the crepes. 

If you are using a filling, like steamed shrimp or BBQ pork, the filling needs to be ready to go as the noodles stick together very quickly! 

Dipping sauce 

• 2 T soya sauce
• 2 T oyster sauce
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 c water
• minced fresh ginger
• minced garlic

Since my grandkid was coming over after school for Piano practice, I saved some of the batter for my grandkid.  Since she doesn't  like shrimp, I decided to use canned apricots as a filling for this. The girls enjoyed this very much. The apricots had to be dried well before using in the noodle roll. 

The youngest who came later as her Mom had to work thought she was eating eggs!!

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

I love all the video food ideas that come on Facebook.   Meatloaf is a popular dish with my husband who especially loves it the next day in a sandwich.

This takes the meatloaf recipe and presents it as a roll that is stuffed with ingredients that one would have in a cheeseburger.

Preheat oven to 350F

Spread the meatloaf evenly on foil or parchment paper in a cookie sheet

Layer grated cheese or  cheese slices over the seasoned ground meat

Layer sliced mushrooms over the the cheese

Green peppers that have been thinly sliced and sautéed can also be added.

With the help of the parchment paper, tightly roll the meat to form a log.

Bake the meatloaf for 60 -75 minutes 

Beef Wellington a classic recipe

My husband has wanted to make this classic for many year.   When we were first married, he had talked about making Beef Wellington with my Mom who had recited the recipe by memory to him, much to his surprise.    At a young age, my mom had worked in a Hospital kitchen in her hometown.  My Mom was an incredible cook, with recipes in her repertoire that were very French based, sauces, pastries, cream puffs, custards, desserts, etc.   Only in later years did I find out in talking to her sister, that the head of the kitchen was a Cordon Bleu trained chef, a Felician sister who ran the kitchen in the hospital.  The Felician Sisters who originated in Warsaw, Poland where from Chicago and ran the local hospital.  My Mom had fond memories of working in the hospital kitchen.   When the Felician sisters moved to Landgenburg Saskatchewan, they had had asked my Mom to join them.

My husband decide to do classic recipe for my birthday rather than go out for dinner.

The recipe he followed was very much like what my Mom had recited to him, minus the homemade pastry as Puff Pastry was used here instead. 

There are many recipes on the internet, but really use them only as a guide.   The pictures I have enclosed will help you with the method.



Beef Wellington

The Tenderloin Beef was 900 gm, almost 2 pounds. It was sautéed in a mixture of olive oil and butter. The meat was sautéed for about 3 - 5 minutes on all six sides, until just sealed.

Preheat oven to 425 F

Two shallots were finely chopped and sautéed in the same pan used for the meat.

The meat was covered in Dijon Mustard and set aside.  My mom used English mustard here.

Mushrooms, about 1 kg (2 lb) were finely chopped and sautéed with the shallots.

At the same time, a brown sauce was being made.  

Brown Sauce

1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery, finely chopped
2 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
finely chopped thyme
1/4 c sherry plus 3 Tbsp
1 cup of homemade turkey stock
2 Tbsp butter

Method for the Brown Sauce

Chop up finely the celery, carrots, onion and herbs; parsley and thyme. 
Saute the veggies
Add the stock to the vegetables. Bouillon cubes can be used here
Add the sherry to the mixture
Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes until it reduces.
Strain mixture through a fine sieve. 
Add 3 Tbsp Sherry
Stir in butter 
Keep warm to serve over the tenderloin

Pate was sliced, about 1/4 inch and added on to the Puff Pastry that had been thawed in the refrigerator

Place the prepared meat on the bed of duxelles (mixture of shallot and mushrooms)

Wrap the bundle with the Puff Pastry and seal the edges

Egg wash the pastry before placing in the preheated oven

A 2015 cabernet wine from my hubby's favourite winery in the Okanagan Valley, Quails Gate

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F

Bake for 40 minutes.

  

It was a very enjoyable evening as I photographed the preparation and sipped on white wine  as not a red wine drinker! This picture was staged for my husband's Facebook page! 

Enjoy the small things in life as they add up to make everything beautiful!