Monday, May 2, 2011

Harvest Monday ... And "Fusion" Thai ...

I've had some nice harvests of greens this week; lettuce, kale and chard, and Asian greens...


This is one of my favorite Chinese Cabbages, Tender Gold from Territorial Seed.  Look how big it has gotten!  This is from seed that I started in January and transplanted to a hoop covered bed in February.


I'm joining other bloggers over at Daphne's Dandelions as we share our weekly harvests...it's fun to see what others are harvesting and what they are cooking up with it...check it out! 


I harvested the big hod full of Asian vegetables for a Thai "Fusion" Dinner that I made for friends last night ("Fusion" meaning that I use ingredients that I have on hand, not all necessarily true "Thai").  The menu was "Thai Style" Egg Rolls with Crab, Scallop and Shrimp Filling, Sweet and Spicy Thai Chili Sauce, Thai Chili Sauce with Lime and Garlic, Thai Style Crab Fried Rice (I posted this recipe on April 4), Clam-Coconut Soup, Seafood Saffron Curry with Jasmine Rice, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Pineapple and Crystallized Ginger Sauce for dessert.


Here is a close up of the Crab Fried Rice and Egg Rolls...


I thought I would share the recipes for the Egg Rolls and Dipping Sauces today...

Spicy Thai Chili Sauce
1 cup Mae Ploy Sweet Chilli Sauce (available in the Asian food section of many grocery stores)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Combine Chilli Sauce and vinegar in a small bowl and then whisk in the oil a little at a time.

Thai Chili Sauce with Lime and Garlic
Juice of 3 limes
4 to 5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
4 to 5 chopped fresh Thai chilies (or 7-8 pickled Thai chilies ... I used the ones in my fridge from last season)
2-3 more Thai chilies for garnish

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and allow to sit  at room temperature for an hour or more (the longer it sits, the hotter it gets!).  Strain the sauce into a small serving bowl and discard the solids.  Add a few more finely chopped Thai chilies to the sauce for garnish.


"Thai Style" Egg Rolls with Crab, Scallop and Shrimp Filling
1 1/2 cups finely chopped Asian Vegetables (whatever is in season; I used Joi Choi, Chinese cabbage and Tatsoi)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped bean sprouts
1/4 cup cooked crab (I use Dungeness)
1/4 cup chopped fresh (or frozen and thawed) scallops
1/4 cup chopped fresh (or frozen and thawed) shrimp meat
2 tbsp Thai Chili Sauce with Lime and Garlic
10 to 12 egg roll wrappers

canola or peanut oil for deep frying

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Place a spoonful of the filling in the center of a wrapper and roll up (here's a link to a You Tube video that shows how to roll up the filling in the wrapper).  Heat oil in large, heavy pot or wok and deep fry until golden brown.  Serve immediately with dipping sauces on the side.

Enjoy!

6 comments:

  1. I just love your Asian veggies and cooking! Yummy! I still haven't planted any Asian vegetables...but I'm working on it!

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  2. My mouth is watering. What a great harvest turned into an excellent meal!

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  3. You have the best Asian recipes. I think that "The Italian" needs to start a blog just to follow all of your Asian cooking. He just loves to cook Asian....nice harvest :)

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  4. Can we all just say "YUM!"? I snagged the recipe for the dipping sauce and the eggrolls. Definitely sound like good recipes and they certainly looked good on your table!

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  5. Oh yum. That all looks so delicious.

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  6. Thanks, everyone :) We do love Asian cuisine and I will be posting more recipes soon....

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