VIETNAMESE VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLLS

My sallad in the form of vietnamese spring rolls

I have been eating a lot of sallad lately and tonight I was going to eat sallad again. However I wanted a variation and therefore I made vietnamese spring rolls. I just made the sallad from ingredients I had in the refrigerator. You can really put anything you love and like in the filling.

Cucumber chopped, 

Chinese broccoli chopped

Green beans chopped

Sliced eggplant

Sliced water chestnuts

Spring onions chopped

Red pepper chopped

I woked the sallad in a little oil in the wokpan and added  a little salt and pepper.

After woking the sallad I took vietnamese rice paper, brushed it with water and put a spoonful of the sallad on,  rolled the ricepaper around and made the springrolls. These thin ricepapers don´t need to be fried. They can be eaten just by dipping in the sauce of your choice. You can use sweat and sour sauce for dipping or make the dipping sauce below, or they can be eaten just as they are without dipping. It is a nice variation for a sallad.

Here is a receipt for Vietnamese Springrolls with shrimps and traditional vietnamese ingredients and dipping sauce

For the Spring Rolls

6 sheets rice paper
2 large leaves of green lettuce, cut into small pieces
3 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
12 mint leaves
9 large shrimps, cooked, peeled, deveined and cut in halfs
(Be creative, you can add more protein to your diet by using boiled pork, crab, or any other meat you have in mind)

For the Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (Chirashi)
2 3/4 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Ricepaper can be bought in any Asien foodstore, however even in other grocery stores!

GHANANSK FUFU

FUFU

Fufu är basfödan i Ghana. Den äter man med någon soppa till. Man äter med händerna. Fufu kan göras av olika ingredienser. I norra Ghana gör man den av jamsrötter. I södra Ghana gör man den av cassava och  plantain. Det finns också pulver att köpa nu för tiden som är gjort av det ena eller andra och man bara blandar med vatten. Det finns även i afrikanska affärer här Sverige.

SÅ GÖR DU FUFU

En stor jamsrot räcker till fyra personer helt säkert, kanske sex, lite beroende på hur stor portion man äter, eller storleken på roten.

Skala jamsen och dela den i bitar. Koka den sedan tills den är mjuk och du lätt sticker en gaffel i den (som att koka potatis). Den ska inte kokas för mjuk då blir Fufu´n för lös.

När den är kokt lägg den i matberedaren (den del som ni hackar grönsaker med ) Ta inte för mycket åt gången, några bitar t.ex. tre stycken ungefär i storlek med tre potatisar Kör med kniven tills bitarna är sönderhackade. Fortsätt köra tills jamsen blir en slät klump, ungefär som bulldeg. Det finns så mycket stärkelse i jams att den ändrar konsistens på detta sättet när man mixar den. Den ska bli en slät lite seg deg. Om man vill ha fufun lite mjukare, kan man tillsätta lite vatten, men försiktig så den inte blir för mjuk. Man ska kunna älta den som en bulldeg. Då är den lagom. Denna degen lägger man i en djup skål och serverar. Såsen häller man över och lägger köttet i skålen. Sedan äter man med fingrarna, tar en bit av fufun, doppar i soppan och äter även köttet med fingrarna. (Man kan självfallet äta med sked om man inte vill äta som en ghanan!)

Lägg inte för mycket i maskinen på en gång, för då orkar den inte hacka och få den smidiga konsistensen. Så det jag gör är att jag tar ca tre – fyra bitar och gör klart, det blir som en portion kan man säga. Sedan tar man nästa portion. Vill man sedan jobba degen ännu lite mera, kan man använda degskålen och arbeta den precis som bulldeg tills den är alldeles slät och smidig.

Vill man ha lite smak i fufun kan man ha i lite salt och peppar när man hackar. Men det är mycket smak i soppan. Så i Ghana har man inte kryddor i själva fufun. Därför kan den för oss kännas lite smaklös för sig.

Soppa till Fufu (kallad Light Soup)

Ingredienser

Kött/Fisk

Röd Chili Peppar

Auberginer

Färska tomater

Vitlök

Buljongtärning

Lök

Salt

Ingefära

Tomatpuré

Vatten

Hacka ingredienserna för hand eller i mixer. Har ni mixer är det det bästa.  Det ska inte mycket vatten i, då blir soppan för tunn. Det blir ju vätska av grönsakerna när de kokas. Hur mycket man ska ta av varje grönsak beror ju på hur många som ska äta. Till fyra portioner kan man ta ca  fem chili peppar, 2 auberginer, fyra tomater, 1 vitlök, 3 lökar och en halv burk tomatpuré. Auberginerna ska vara gula, men man kan även använda blå. I auberginer finns det stärkelse som gör att soppan tjocknar lite, utan redning. Det räcker med 1 deciliter vatten på detta. Som sagt kan man blanda lite hur man vill och vad man vill i soppan.

Man låter allt koka upp och puttra i ca 30 minuter. Sedan ska den silas så att den är klar, utan bitarna av grönsaker. Då är det riktig light soup. Men bitarna är ju goda och matiga, så har man inte varit i Ghana och ätit riktig Fufu och vet hur soppan ska se ut, är det inte fel om man inte silar, och det är gott.

Kött i soppan - mest vanlig i Ghana är getkött eller kyckling. Men man kan ta vilket kött som helst och skära i bitar. Kycklingen delar man i klubbor etc, man skär inte småbitar. Köttet ska vara i lite stora bitar som man sedan tar med fingrarna och äter.

Soppan kan även vara med skaldjurssmak eller med fisk i. Det bestämmer man själv.

Köttet kan man koka för sig och lägga i den färdiga soppan. Beroende på vilket kött man använder och hur lång koktid som behövs. Kyckling tar inte lång tid, så den kan man dela och lägga  i soppan så den kokar i soppan. Det samma kan man med fisk. I Ghana lägger man hela fisken i med ben och fenor och allt, men det behöver ni ju inte göra.

Fuskfufu!

Nu tänker ni kanske att detta törs ni inte prova, eller ni kan inte för ni hittar inte jamsrötter i affären! Men, det går att fuska lite och få en god fufu, även om den inte smakar riktigt som riktig fufu.

Fuska gör man på detta sättet:

4 dl potatismospulver

2 dl potatismjöl

ca 1 liter vatten (För mycket vatten gör degen för lös. Så ta det försiktigt.)

Blanda ingredienserna kalla i en kastrull. Ställ kastrullen på varm platta (fyrans värme) och rör om hela tiden tills det formas en tjock jämn smet. Rör blandningen snabbt och bestämt tills den är seg, fast och slät som en bulldeg. Servera omgående med soppan. Tycker ni det är svårt att få den slät nog med att röra för hand i kastrullen, arbeta den lite i degskålen i matberedaren. MEN det är viktigt att den fått värmt länge nog, så den blivit seg och potatispulversmaken försvunnit.

JAPANESE SUSHIE

JAPANESE SUSHIE

Original recipe makes 8 appetizer 

2/3 cup uncooked short-grain white rice (or get special sushi rice)

3 tablespoons rice vinegar 

3 tablespoons white sugar   

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 sheets nori seaweed sheets

1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut into small strips

2 tablespoons pickled ginger or choose small sticks of carrots or anything you like

1 avocado

1/2 pound imitation crabmeat, flaked

  

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/3 cups water to a boil. Add rice, and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the rice vinegar, sugar ,and salt. Blend the mixture into the rice.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). On a medium baking sheet, heat nori in the preheated oven 1 to 2 minutes, until warm.
3. Center one sheet nori on a bamboo sushi mat. Wet your hands. Using your hands, spread a thin layer of rice on the sheet of nori, and press into a thin layer. Arrange 1/4 of the cucumber, ginger, avocado, and imitation crabmeat in a line down the center of the rice. Lift the end of the mat, and gently roll it over the ingredients, pressing gently. Roll it forward to make a complete roll. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
4. Cut each roll into 4 to 6 slices using a wet, sharp knife.

What I usually do is to wrap the sushi in a plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator a little while before cutting. Makes nicer rolls. 

Instead of rolls form the rice with your fingers and put salmon or shrimps or tuna on top. With sushi you can really use the ingredients you love for filling or topping. Serve with Japanese soy sauce.

www.ohemmabjorgsweightjourney.blogspot.se

www.kidswithintegirty.com

www.starkids.cc

VIETNAMESE CRISPY SPRINGROLLS

VIETNAMESE CRISPY SPRINGROLLS

450 g or 1 lb ground pork or 450 g or 1 lb ground chicken
1 cup diced onion
2 large carrots, shredded (or 3 medium carrots)
225 g or 1/2 lb raw shrimp, deveined and chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

4-5 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, diced
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (1/2 cube)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 -5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup glass noodles, soaked in water and cut into 1 inch lengths
1 egg, separated
50 small egg roll wraps
oil (for deep frying)

Actually you can mix whatever you like in the filling for the springrolls, just try!

Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients except the egg white.
2. Use a fork and spoon to place mixture on wrappers.
3. Use the fork to form the mixture into roll shape on the wrapper.
4. Roll up wrapper.
5. Use egg white to seal edges.
6. May be frozen at this point. Use wax paper to separate layers.
7. Remove desired number of spring rolls and fry until golden brown (do not thaw). 

Serve with green sallad leaves and bean sprouts and the Nuoc Cham dipping sauce. Roll the egg roll in the leaves and put the bean sprouts between the roll and the leaves before rolling. Than dip in the Nuoc Cham sauce and enjoy. Bean sprouts can even be put in the filling.

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

1 cup water
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
2 small fresh chili peppers 

Directions:
1 Boil water with vinegar and sugar; allow it to cool.
2 Combine garlic, peppers, and add mixture.
3 Stir in the fish sauce.

 

THANKSGIVING TURKEY

THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Coming from Norway, having lived in the USA and living in Sweden, my traditions have become a mix of many cultures. And as I keep my Norwegian and even Swedish one´s I also like to mix it with a little American. And this weekend was Thanksgiving in the USA. Thursday was actually the right day, but friday night I made thanksgiving dinner for me and my daughter Frida with a whole turkey.

Recipts for making a whole turkey in the oven are so many. There are so many ways to fill it and also various spices to use, all according to taste really. So to give a recipt is kind of hard. There are also a variety of things that you usually serve with the turkey from bryssel sprouts to red cabbage. Also what kind of potatoes, mashed or baked in various ways. Since we were only two and my daughter don´t even taste the filling I made a small turkey with simply boiled potatoes and green beans. A good creamy sauce and a filling with fruits mainly mixed with the liver and spices. For your own turkey search recipts that you like. 

A turkey is too much for two people, but I don´t mind the left overs. It is nice to have another meal ready to just heat in the micro the day after. And I also use to take the meat off the bones, cut it in smaller pieces and put it in portions in the freezer to be used for pastasallad when me and my daughter go to soccertournaments. Now we have turkeymeat ready for this for the indoor season between christmas and new year and even after new year.

HOW TO ROAST A TURKEY

If you have never roasted a turkey before, or if your turkeys always turn out dry, here is a handy guide to preparing the perfect Thanksgiving bird.

• Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit degrees.
• Remove the turkey from its packaging, but save the wrapping for its information on suggested cooking times.
• Remove and discard the metal or plastic braces that are holding the legs in place.
• Remove the giblets and neck. If you plan to cook these with the bird or use them in your stuffing, set them aside. You can also freeze them (if your turkey was fresh) to use later for turkey stock. Or you can cook them (wrapped inside tin foil) and feed them to your pets.
• Wash the turkey thoroughly, inside and out, with cold running tap water. Water from the cavity of the bird should eventually run clear, i.e. no blood.
• Trim away any excess skin and fat from the neck and bottom of the turkey.
• Place the turkey, breast side up, in a non-shallow roasting pan.
• If you are planning to stuff the bird, you might want to first line the roasting pan with celery and onions or an herbal bundle (thyme, rosemary and sage all complement the natural flavor of turkey). Then stuff the bird with your homemade stuffing. 
• If you are not planning to stuff the bird, fill the cavity with one or more of the following to enhance the flavor of the meat: celery and onions; an herb bouquet; chopped apples; or even a whole orange or lemon (punctured with fork tines to release more flavor).
• Pour a stick of melted butter or margarine over the turkey.
• Season the turkey by rubbing herbs or seasoning in to the skin of the bird. Chose from any combination of freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried onions or onion powder, minced garlic, sage, savory, lemon pepper, lemon juice or basil. Let your taste buds and your imagination guide you.
• Pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of the roasting pan and insert a meat thermometer deep into the thigh area.
• Place the pan into the preheated oven. Open the oven door first, as the pan will be extremely heavy, particularly if your bird is stuffed. Set a timer for the length of time recommended on the packaging, which will be between three and six hours, depending on the size of the turkey (and your individual oven). Be sure to check on the bird every hour and baste it each time. When done, the outside skin will be brown and lightly crispy, the meat thermometer will register at least 180 Fahrenheit degrees, and both legs and wings will move easily. A well-cooked bird will have tender, moist meat; an overcooked one will have dry (and potentially flavorless) meat.
• Remove the turkey from oven and let it sit on your counter for about 20-30 minutes before carving. Cover with a roasting pan lid, especially if you have animals at home. 

Old Fashioned Bread Stuffing 




Ingredients
3-4 loaves of white bread (or 5 if you like leftovers)
water
chicken broth
insides of the turkey
2 bunches of celery
1 or 2 onions
2 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp. sage
oysters (optional)
mushrooms (option)

Directions
The night before you want to eat the stuffing, break the bread into small pieces (about 1 inch squares) into 2 huge bowls or pots. Let the bread sit overnight to dry out.

The next day, after you remove the insides of turkey, boil them in water in 2/3 qt. sauce pan until cooked (about 20/30 minutes).

Remove insides for later use or discard. Keep water and put aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Chop onion and celery and place into food processor until minced.

Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in large saucepan.

Saute onion and celery until heated through. Do not brown! (Saute mushrooms also at this time if wanted). Depending on how much stuffing you want and how much celery and onion you\'ve chopped, you may have to saute the onion and celery in two parts.

Once cooked, pour the onion/celery mixture directly over the dried out bread.

Pour 1/2 tsp. sage over bread/onion/celery mixture.

Then take your reserved water and pour slowly over bread. The bread will shrink as you do this. Be careful not to pour too much water in.

Mixture thoroughly and smell/taste for perfect stuffing.

If you need more liquid, open a can of chicken broth and pour over bread. If you need more spice, add more sage.

If you are using oysters, add them now.

Once stuffing is of a consistency that it will stick together and does not look too dry, do not add more liquid.

Either stuff in turkey to be baked in oven, or put in 9 x 13 pan.

If using oysters, it is recommended that you bake the stuffing in a pan so as to ensure the oysters will be cooked through.

Bake in 350 F degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. You want the stuffing to have a nice brown crust on top.

Basic Turkey Gravy

Ingredients
1 Package Neck, heart, gizzard from TURKEY giblets
1 Medium carrot thickly sliced
1 Medium onion thickly sliced
1 Medium celery rib thickly sliced
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 TURKEY liver
3 Tablespoons fat from poultry drippings
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt

Directions
In a 3-quart saucepan, over high heat, place neck, heart, gizzard, vegetables, and salt in enough water to cover.

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 45 minutes.

Add liver and cook 15 minutes longer. Strain both into a large bowl; cover and reserve broth in the refrigerator.

To make gravy, remove the cooked turkey and roasting rack from the roasting pan. Pour poultry drippings through a sieve into a 4-cup measuring cup.

Add 1 cup giblet broth to the roasting pan and stir until the crusty brown bits are loosened; pour the deglazed liquid/broth into the 4-cup measure. Let the mixture stand a few minutes, until the fat rises to the top.

Over medium heat, spoon 3 tablespoons fat from the poultry drippings into a 2-quart saucepan. Whisk flour and salt into the heated fat and continue to cook and stir until the flour turns golden.

Meanwhile, skim and discard any fat that remains on top of the poultry drippings. Add remaining broth and enough water to the poultry drippings to equal 3-1/2 cups.

Gradually whisk in warm poultry drippings/broth mixture.

Cook and stir, until gravy boils and is slighty thick.



HELSTEKT KALKON
 1 st  kalkon, ca 5 k

6 msk  osaltat smör, mjukt

salt och peppar

1 l  hönsbuljong, (vatten+bulöjongtärning)

Tillagning

1. Värm ugnen till 175 grader. Sätt gallret längst ner i ugnen.
2. Tag bort halsen och rensa och skölj kalkonen. Klappa kalkonen torr med hushållspapper. Placera kalkonen med bröstsidan upp på gallret med en djup långpanna under.
3. Fyll ev. kalkonen med fyllningen (se separat recept). Gnid in skinnet med det mjuka smöret och krydda med salt och peppar. Placera ett stort ark med aluminiumfolie som ett "tält" över kalkonen.
4. Sätt in kalkonen i ugnen och häll 5 dl av kalkonbuljongen i den djupa långpannan. Ös kalkonen med buljongen som rinner ner i pannan med ca 30 minuters mellanrum. När buljongen i pannan har dunstat upp så tillsätter man ca 2 –3 dl buljong.
5. Tag bort aluminiumfolie efter ca 2,5 timme. Tillaga kalkonen i ugnen tills att termometern visar 80 grader i kalkonens lårdel. Det tar ca 3,5 - 4 timmar.
6. Flytta över kalkonen till ett serveringsfat och låt den vila minst 20-30 minuter innan den kan skäras upp.

MOONCAKES

Mooncakes with a norwegian and Ghanaian twist.

MOONCAKES Moon cakes are traditional Chinese pastries that are made during the Moon festival (or Harvest Festival), which is celebrated in China, Vietnam, and other countries in Asia. Moon cakes are usually round and contain a sweet filling, with the most common one being red bean paste. Since I don´t like sweet so much I have made a traditional vietnamese filling with green bean paste. Mooncakes bought in the stores, which are exported from China are rich, heavy, and dense compared with most Western cakes and pastries. They are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea. These small round cakes symbolize family unity and perfection. They are time consuming to make and nowadays can be bought from Asian pastry shops.  The homemade Mooncakes I have made here are so much better than the one´s bought in the stores which are made with a lot of preservatives in order to be exported all over the world. These are so light and tasty and with the green mung bean paste I have used they are not so sweet something I prefer. This recipe uses green mung beans but red bean paste or lotus seed paste can also be used. The mould can be bought from Asian suppliers. However I used my own special one´s since I didn´t have the Chinese and couldn´t get them when I first made them. Ingredients Dough

4 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)

3/4 cup dried milk powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (essence)

The dough ready for making the mooncakes. Make the moon cake dough. In one bowl, mix the flour, milk powder, and salt together.

Break the eggs into another bowl. Add the sugar, and beat together for up to 5 minutes. Pour in the melted butter, vanilla extract. Fold through all ingredients.

Add the sifted, dry ingredients to the liquid mixture. Fold in to create a dough.

Knead the dough. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Once smooth, the dough is ready.

Roll a log shape from the dough. If possible, at this point it is helpful to let the dough sit in the refrigerator overnight, as this makes it easier to work with.

Roll out a log; if chilling for better performance, wrap in plastic food wrap

Cut into evenly sized rounds. There will be approximately 15 to 20 pieces.

Preparing mung beans for the green bean paste. Filling Green Bean Paste/Mung Bean Paste 200g mung beans (for 6 0r 7 cakes) 50g sugar 100ml vegetable oil 1 tbsp Glutenous rice flour 1 tbsp water   Green Bean Paste /Mung Bean Paste preparation Soak beans in hot water for 3 hours, drain.  Steam with a little water until soft then put through blender. Place the blended mung beans into a saucepan and over a low heat stir in the sugar. In a separate bowl add the vegetable oil to the glutenous rice flour and stir to a paste. Then stir into the mung bean mixture. Add water and keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Test with your fingers to check that when a little of the mixture is rubbed together it forms one mass.   If the mixture is crumbly, add water a little at a time until the dough is the right consistency to form a small ball. Let the mixture cool slightly then roll into 50g balls. These balls will form the filling of the mooncakes.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC. Prepare two baking sheets by covering in parchment paper.

Press each dough piece into a 3-inch (7.5 cm) circle. When stretching the dough, make the edges thinner and the center thicker.

Add the filling. Press the filling into the middle of each circle. Gather the edges over to enclose the filling and pinch closed. Roll into a ball, then flatten.

Prepare the moon cake press. Add flour to it to help ease the cake out after pressing.

Then, press each flattened circle in the mold to shape the moon cake. To remove each pressed cake, bang all four sides, until it comes out.

If you don't have a moon cake press, try to shape the cake as round as possible and use a fork or a skewer to draw a design. It can be as simple as making a cross or a series of lines, or more elaborate if you're patient. Another alternative is to press a design from a thoroughly clean stamp (from a craft store), chocolate mold, or similar mold into the top of the rounded cake.

Brush each moon cake with egg wash.(Eggwash mix and egg and a little water and brush gently on the cakes all around with a brush) Place each cake about 1 inch (2.5cm) apart on a baking sheet. Once each baking sheet it filled, put them into the oven. Brush each moon cake with egg wash. Bake for 20 minutes or until the moon cakes turn golden brown. Remove from the oven. Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack. Once cooled, they are ready to serve or package. Serve with Chinese tea. Package in little boxes for distributing as gifts.

Salted eggyolks for the middle of the cake. The greenbean paste goes around the eggyolk.     Make a round ball.                      The dough is squeezed flat and round,  around. Press the balls with a mooncake press or some other item that you have. I used my grandbothers buttermold from Norway and some Ghanaian wooden stamps with Adinkra symbols on since I didn´t have the chinese mooncake mold. Now I saw they can be found on eBay. A ready baked mooncake with a ghanaian symbol. Mooncakes are served with tea. Cut open you can see the eggyolk and the filling.