Entrees
Chicken and vegetable rice paper rolls
| 12 x 16cm |
Round or square rice paper sheets |
| 1½ tablespoons | Cranberry sauce |
| 24 | Mint leaves |
| 36 | Coriander leaves |
| 1 cup (115g) | Carrot, coarsely grated |
| 1 cup (140g) | Barbecued chicken, chopped |
| 1/2 | Large avocado, chopped |
| 1 cup (35g) | Alfalfa sprouts |
| 1 | Green onion, finely chopped |
- Soak half the rice paper sheets in a large bowl of warm water for 1 minute or until just softened.
- Remove and lay out on a clean, dry tea towel.
- Brush the sheets with half the cranberry sauce, to within 2cm of the edge. Top each one in a horizontal line, close to you, with half the mint, coriander, carrot, chicken, avocado, sprouts and onion.
- Fold the sheet firmly over the filling to enclose it, then continue rolling up firmly, folding in the sides as you roll. Repeat with the remaining sheets and filling.
- Repeat with the remaining sheets and filling.
Tip:
Rice paper rolls are best assembled no longer than 1 hour
before serving as the moist sheets dry out and the filling softens,
however, individual chicken, herb and vegetable ingredients can be
pre-prepared.
Cooking with Cranberries - preparation tips
Always remember to:
- Cook frozen cranberries just until they pop. Longer cooking brings out their bitterness and makes them mushy.
- Do not use aluminium cookware when cooking cranberries as the berries' acid reacts with aluminium and causes it to discolour. Use stainless steel, glass or porcelain.
- Eliminate foaming and over boiling when cooking frozen cranberries by adding one teaspoon of butter.
Preparing cranberries:
- Chop cranberries in a food processor, using quick on/off pulses, to save time.
- When cooking, add a little salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder to cranberry sauce to reduce the amount of sugar needed and bring out the cranberry flavour.
- Soak dried cranberries in warm water, orange juice or a liqueur for 20 to 30 minutes to get plumper berries which can be used as a substitute for frozen or fresh cranberries in many recipes.
- For baked goods (i.e. muffins, cakes or slices), chop frozen cranberries and toss them with sugar before stirring into the batter to improve sweetening.
