Rice Noodle Rolls

Covid19 stage 4 restrictions in Victoria meant that we in metro areas can only go out once a day for 1 hour for exercise, be home by 8pm, and leave the house for food, care, work or exercise only. The restrictions are meant to limit movement to control contagion of the virus so it means that if I forgot to buy something, I'll have to wait till the next day to buy it or just go without. 

So when I decided I wanted to eat rice noodle rolls, but have already used up my 'shopping quota', I made them instead. They're filled with spring onions from the garden and dried shrimp accompanied by fried shallots, and sweet soy sauce mixed with shallot oil which was so delicious!

Boy, making rice noodle rolls in a domestic kitchen is a pain! Unlike commercial kitchens where the steamers are huge, the pans for the rolls are huge and everything would just take a snap of the fingers, I had to patiently wait for my small wok to boil, place the batter on the one pan that was fit for use and repeat 15 times to get a decent sized plate of rice noodle rolls. It took me ages even though the steaming process was quick. 

The one good thing is that I know we are eating freshly prepared rolls which unlike those sold in a package from the fridge at the shop, these are entirely preservative free. The recipe needs a bit more tweaking but I think it will take me a few more months to muster up the patience to make this dish again. 

Lotus Leaf Wrapped Lor Mai Kai

I rue the day that someone thought of the bright idea of wrapping edibles in leaves to cook. Did they envision the hard work they have imposed on modern day people hundreds of years later? I really dislike wrapping food in lotus leaves, bamboo leaves what have yous - these leaves need a lot of preparation, and it is not an easy task! Look at the lotus leaf I'd bought from the store, they're full of holes (holey moley!!). Witches rags, I call them. 

But on someone's request, off I went to the store to buy these holey lotus leaves that took me one day to prepare and another day to prepare the ingredients and wrap. Compared to wrapping the triangular bak changs, I think these are easier so that was a positive.

This is the end result - lotus leaf wrapped Hong Kong style lor mai kai. The filling consists of dried shrimp, shitake mushrooms, chinese sausage, pieces of chicken (of course, since lor mai kai is translated to 'glutinuous rice chicken' covered with glutinuous rice. Steamed in the lotus leaf, the fragrance from the leaf was unmistakable as one opens the parcel for a taste of the rice. 

This dish is tasty and usually served during yumcha in restaurants. I just never thought of how laborious it actually is to make! So now, I know... and I must think of what else I can do with the 4 remaining dried lotus leaves in my pantry. Halloween costume, perhaps?