Hi all,

just wondering if anyone had any thought to help me 'perfect' this
recipe?

I had them at a restaurant on the weekend and they were wonderful.
I'll do my best to describe them;

basically a de-shelled prawn (except for the tail), wrapped in a
single basil leaf (roughly in the centre of the entire thing)(about
1/3 or 1/4 of it had basil coverage) , then wrapped in (what was
described as) a 'spring roll wrapper', then deep fried, then *very*
(about 3 or 4 flakes of sea salt, no more) lightly sprinkled with
salt.

The prawn taste was dominant. Not too salty, not to bland. It was just
right. I assume that's a matter of getting good prawns and not over
cooking them.

The wrapper was mainly about texture, as it didn't have too strong a
taste.

The basil was not overpowering, as I thought it might be.

So, my questions are these;

1) what oil would you cook these in? There was no oil taste at all.
2) what 'spring roll wrappers' would you use? home made or just shop
purchased? If so, what type?

and lastly;

3) think of any improvements? I was thinking of serving them with a
lime aioli.

thanks in advance

jack

jzfredricks wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> just wondering if anyone had any thought to help me 'perfect' this
> recipe?
>
> I had them at a restaurant on the weekend and they were wonderful.
> I'll do my best to describe them;
>
> basically a de-shelled prawn (except for the tail), wrapped in a
> single basil leaf (roughly in the centre of the entire thing)(about
> 1/3 or 1/4 of it had basil coverage) , then wrapped in (what was
> described as) a 'spring roll wrapper', then deep fried, then *very*
> (about 3 or 4 flakes of sea salt, no more) lightly sprinkled with
> salt.
>
> The prawn taste was dominant. Not too salty, not to bland. It was just
> right. I assume that's a matter of getting good prawns and not over
> cooking them.
>
> The wrapper was mainly about texture, as it didn't have too strong a
> taste.
>
> The basil was not overpowering, as I thought it might be.
>
> So, my questions are these;
>
> 1) what oil would you cook these in? There was no oil taste at all.
> 2) what 'spring roll wrappers' would you use? home made or just shop
> purchased? If so, what type?
>
> and lastly;
>
> 3) think of any improvements? I was thinking of serving them with a
> lime aioli.
>
> thanks in advance
>
> jack

Spring roll wrappers are made from rice, it's all about the wrapping,
though. How do you wrap (fold) and deep fry without them falling apart.
I'd love to learn that! The shrimp may have been marinated. You might try
marinating them in a little sesame oil, garlic, ginger & lemongrass for
about 15 minutes. Other than that without tasting, I wouldn't have a clue.
Hope this helps somewhat.

kili

kilikini wrote:

> Spring roll wrappers are made from rice, it's all about the wrapping,
> though.

Spring roll wrappers are made from wheat. these are thew kind that are
deep fried.

Almost all summer roll wrappers are made from tapioca starch. They just
call them rice wrappers because they were traditionally placed on rice
mats to dry - which is where they get their cross-hatched pattern.

I examined at least 20 different brands the other night and they were
all made with tapioca - contrary to popular belief.

> How do you wrap (fold) and deep fry without them falling apart.

You use the thin wheat kind - they kind you have to peel off each other
very slowly and carefully.

-sw

Sqwertz wrote:
> kilikini wrote:
>
>> Spring roll wrappers are made from rice, it's all about the wrapping,
>> though.
>
> Spring roll wrappers are made from wheat. these are thew kind that
> are deep fried.
>
> Almost all summer roll wrappers are made from tapioca starch. They
> just call them rice wrappers because they were traditionally placed
> on rice mats to dry - which is where they get their cross-hatched
> pattern.
> I examined at least 20 different brands the other night and they were
> all made with tapioca - contrary to popular belief.
>
>> How do you wrap (fold) and deep fry without them falling apart.
>
> You use the thin wheat kind - they kind you have to peel off each
> other very slowly and carefully.
>
> -sw

Thanks, (sincerely, my friend) for the edumacation. I didn't know that
spring rolls were made from wheat vs. summer rolls. I appreciate it.

kili

kilikini wrote:

> Thanks, (sincerely, my friend) for the edumacation. I didn't know that
> spring rolls were made from wheat vs. summer rolls. I appreciate it.

So many restaurants and manufacturers use the term spring roll [wrapper]
incorrectly that they've got everyone confused.

Spring roll = egg roll = fried
Summer roll = salad roll = fresh

Most of the decent Chinese cookbook writers get it right, at least.

-sw

On Oct 8, 3:11*am, Sqwertz > wrote:
> > Thanks, (sincerely, my friend) for the edumacation. *I didn't know that
> > spring rolls were made from wheat vs. summer rolls. *I appreciate it.
>
> So many restaurants and manufacturers use the term spring roll [wrapper]
> incorrectly that they've got everyone confused.
>
> Spring roll = egg roll = fried
> Summer roll = salad roll = fresh
>
> Most of the decent Chinese cookbook writers get it right, at least.

thanks all, helpful stuff.

What about oil? Any preference?

"jzfredricks" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> just wondering if anyone had any thought to help me 'perfect' this
> recipe?
>
> I had them at a restaurant on the weekend and they were wonderful.
> I'll do my best to describe them;
>
> basically a de-shelled prawn (except for the tail), wrapped in a
> single basil leaf (roughly in the centre of the entire thing)(about
> 1/3 or 1/4 of it had basil coverage) , then wrapped in (what was
> described as) a 'spring roll wrapper', then deep fried, then *very*
> (about 3 or 4 flakes of sea salt, no more) lightly sprinkled with
> salt.
>
> The prawn taste was dominant. Not too salty, not to bland. It was just
> right. I assume that's a matter of getting good prawns and not over
> cooking them.
>
> The wrapper was mainly about texture, as it didn't have too strong a
> taste.
>
> The basil was not overpowering, as I thought it might be.
>
> So, my questions are these;
>
> 1) what oil would you cook these in? There was no oil taste at all.
> 2) what 'spring roll wrappers' would you use? home made or just shop
> purchased? If so, what type?
>
> and lastly;
>
> 3) think of any improvements? I was thinking of serving them with a
> lime aioli.
>
> thanks in advance
>
> jack

Jack,
check out epicurious.com ...there is a recipe for 'tropical spring rolls
with chile sauce' that sounds similar to what you describe, and the sauce is
delicious. I follow the recipe except I add a little grated carrot and
occasionally a little coconut to the spring roll.
HTH,
Beth