FIRST AID – The annual provincial First Aid competitions take place Saturday. Shane speaks with Kim Laing from St. John Ambulance to learn more about the event.
PETS GET OUT – Edmontonians are invited to attend the launch of the 2014 ‘Pets get out, licenses get them home’ campaign launch, hosted by the City of Edmonton’s Community Standards Branch. Kevin speaks with James Wilke about the campaign.
TABLE TOP – Table top day is an international event created by Wil Wheaton and the Geeks & Sundry YouTube group to help spread the joy of playing board games all over the globe. Shane sits down with Brian Flowers, owner of Edmonton’s Table Top Café, to hear more about the event.
EDMONTON RUSH – The Edmonton Rush will look to extend their National Lacrosse League record-setting winning streak when they host the Colorado Mammoth Saturday night at Rexall Place. Shane speaks with the team’s head coach, Derek Keenan.
SCARS – Terra MacLean from the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS) is back with a few dogs looking for homes.
SEASONED SOLUTIONS – Gail Hall, the owner and chef of Seasoned Solutions, just returned from hosting her second culinary tour of Vietnam and Cambodia. Now, she’s joining the Weekend Morning News for Saturday’s cooking segment.
Vietnamese spring rolls with dipping sauce
Yield: 1 to 1½ dozen
Spring rolls are iconic with this country’s cuisine. Everyone has their own slightly different version, but all have this is common: they are fresh with flavours that share elements of sweet, salty, bitter, soft and crunchy. I’ve just returned from hosting my culinary tour to Vietnam and Cambodia. What an explosion of all the senses! The food, markets, farms and related experiences will always be a favourite memory. Of the five cooking classes that were
Included in the tour, almost all of them did their version of Spring Rolls. Here
is the recipe for my favourite.
4 oz. Ground Pork or Chicken
4 oz. Small or Minced Shrimp/Prawns
4 oz. Finely Grated Taro or Jicama or Sweet Potato (about ½ cup)
4 oz. Finely Grated Carrot
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Pepper
1 tbsp Finely Diced Shallots
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Spring/Green Onions
2 Egg Yolks (from large eggs)
12 Rice Paper Round Sheets each 6″ to 7″ in diameter*
Liquid to moisten rice paper
Cooking Oil for deep-frying
Butter Lettuce Leaves, Fresh Herbs (mint, basil)
1 oz. Cellophane Rice Noodles (soaked in hot water until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes and drained)
In a bowl, mix pork or chicken, shrimp, taro (or jicama or sweet potato) and grated carrot. Add the salt, sugar, ground pepper, shallots, and spring onions. Add egg yolks one at a time to bind the mixture. Divide mixture into 12 portions. If you can find the Vietnamese netted rice paper, just moisten the top of it with a bit of liquid (here you have a choice: fresh coconut juice or beer or a mixture of water and a bit of sugar or beer and a bit of sugar using your finger to spread it on the rice paper, or use he cut half of a tomato and spread lightly on the rice paper) using your finger to spread it on the rice paper. If you are using the firm rice papers, you will need to immerse the rice paper for a few seconds into a bowl of lukewarm water to soften and make it pliable, shake off excess water and pat dry on a paper towel. Place a single rice paper on your work surface. Fold the edge closest to you about 1 inch towards the centre. Place one part of the mixture on the centre space that is folded and shape mixture to a length of two to three inches. Fold the left and right side of the rice paper into the centre, making the top end a bit narrower than the spring roll and roll up tightly from the bottom edge away to the far end. Repeat to complete all of the spring rolls. Cover with a towel to prevent rice paper from drying out. In a frying pan or saucepan, heat up enough oil to deep fat fry the spring rolls (oil should be at least two inches deep in the pan). Once the oil is hot, cook the spring rolls to fill the pan and allow five to seven minutes to cook, until golden brown and turning the spring rolls occasionally, so they brown evenly. Remove from pan, place on plate with paper towels to drain. On serving dish arrange the spring rolls with the fresh greens, cellophane noodles and dipping sauce. To eat, wrap a spring roll in fresh greens with a pinch of cellophane noodles. Dip in sauce and enjoy!
**Rice paper found in Edmonton is usually the variety that has to be dipped in lukewarm water one sheet at a time for a second or two – they need to be more dry than wet. If you can find the softer Vietnamese Rice Papers, you will not have to immerse the sheet, just wet it lightly with your finger. For firm rice papers, moisten with a dampen cloth to soften or dip each one completely in water to soften, shake off excess water and pat dry on a paper towel. If you can find the softer Vietnamese papers, just moisten the top of it with a bit of liquid: fresh coconut juice, or beer or mixture of water and a bit of sugar or beer and a bit of sugar.
Dipping Sauce
Yield: 3/4 cup approx.
6 tbsp Sugar
¼ cup Fresh Lemon Juice
6 tbsp Fish Sauce
¼ cup Water
1 tbsp Chopped Garlic
1 ½ tsp Chopped Chili
In a bowl add sugar, lemon juice, fish sauce and water. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add garlic and chilies. Stir and adjust flavour if necessary.
Southeast Asian salad with green papayas or green mango
Yield: 4 savings
Of the five cooking classes that were included in the tour, almost all of them did their version of a salad with either green papaya or green mango. Here is my version.
¼ lb. Small Cooked Shrimp, shelled, deveined and cut in half lengthwise
(about 12 shrimp). You can also use chopped cooked chicken or
beef.
¾ lb. Green Papaya or Green Mango green papaya, peeled, seeded, and
coarsely shredded (about 3 cups)*
1 cup Shredded Carrot
1/3 cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts, crushed and used as garnish
In a bowl, toss all ingredients except the peanuts. Make the dressing. Add the dressing and mix will using your hands (mix and squeeze lightly). Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Squeeze out residual dressing and place on serving dish. Garnish with toasted peanuts. Salad may be made 2 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.
Dressing
1 tsp Crushed Garlic
3 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce (preferably nuoc mam)
1 to 2 tbsp Sugar
1 small Fresh Red Asian chili (1 to 2 inches long) or Serrano chili, or to
taste, seeded and chopped fine
In a small bowl whisk together dressing ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Add shrimp, papaya, carrot, and coriander to dressing, tossing well. Serve salad sprinkled with peanuts.
*The dish is made from unripe Southeast Asian papayas or mangos, which have firm white flesh and white seeds, generally found in Asian grocery stores in Asian fruit and vegetables of national grocery stores where there is a larger Asian population. limited to Asian markets. Such papayas can grow to the size of cantaloupes or larger and range in shape from oval to round. Look for rock-hard dark green fruit without a trace of pink or yellow blush. If you don’t see any, ask (some shopkeepers do not display them).
Those who can’t find the right kind of papaya or mango could try firm English a salad that our food editors found irresistible.
Khmer chicken curry
Yield: 2 servings
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
½ lb. Thinly Sliced Chicken Breast
½ cup ¾ ” diced Sweet Potato
½ cup ¾” diced Carrot
½ cup ¾ ” Diced White Onion
1 tbsp Small Hot Pepper, de-seeded and sliced thin
½ cup Green Beans, cut into 1″ lengths
½ cup ¾ ” diced Eggplant
1/8 tsp Chili Flakes
½ cup Coconut Milk
3 ½ tbsp Fish Sauce*
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Sugar
2 to 3 tbsp Khmer Curry Paste*
½ cup Water
Heat up a frying pan on medium high heat. Add oil and heat oil. Add chicken and sauté on medium heat until pink is gone, stirring frequently (about 2 minutes). Add the sweet potato, diced carrot, onion, hot pepper, green beans and chili flakes and stir to mix. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Simmer until vegetables are cooked and sauce starts to caramelize. Add water more water if sauce is too thick. Adjust seasonings. Place in a serving dish and garnish with basil and red sliced chili. Serve with steamed rice or noodles.
Khmer Curry Paste:
5 1′ Slices of Lemongrass
5 to 6 pieces Kaffir Lime Leaves
¼ cup Diced Fresh Turmeric
6 small Cloves Garlic
¼ cup Diced Shallots
Place ingredients in blender with a bit of oil. Purée and keep sealed glass jar in refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for several months.
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