June 22nd
2005
There is a clear winner, technical knock-out in round 2, if you will. The soba noodles with the cilantro and sesame seeds beat the Vietnamese spring rolls by far. Perhaps the recipe was to blame, or my bold move to think, leaving away the duck would be ok for a vegetarian version of these rolls. So really it's hard to say why they didn't turn out the way I had envisioned. The taste I found too bland, the rice paper too sticky. Perhaps it was doomed from the start? I've had these rolls, no, much much better than these, in Atlanta a few years back. The kind that's not deep fried and instead wears a transparent rice paper wrapper. It must have either set my standards too high or I've simply miserably failed this one...the absence of duck could've been the secret to making this a delish course, but frankly, I doubt it. ;)
(in lack of proper results, I omitted the recipe)
To redeem myself I thought of another Asian inspired dish. Our recent shopping spree at a local Asian food store sure came in handy. Walking through the isles, loosing track of time and feeling like little kids in a candy store, we couldn't help but to purchase a whole set of different noodles. They all looked so intriguing with a promise to magically turn every dish into a delicious dish and besides, N. always falls for nicely designed packaging! With the soba noodles at hand and a recipe I came across earlier this week I got started. The original recipe, presumably the most simplistic one imaginable - right out of another brand new cookbook (N. just acquired ;) & already decorated with lots of pink and yellow post-its - merely contained noodles and parsley. I thought of substituting a good deal of the parsley with cilantro, toss the noodles in a mix of peanut and sesame oil and add a few sesame seeds to the seasoned mix. Soooo easy and soooo good. It would probably also make a perfect cold summer snack, but it was gone too quick...O.
Cook soba noodles to package directions. Meanwhile chop parsley, cilantro and red chili. Lightly brown all of the sesame seeds in a separate pan.
Heat up the mix of peanut & sesame oil in a pan, add the spicy chili and the drained soba noodles.
Blend well, season to taste with kecap manis and soy sauce and finally add the herbs & the sesame seeds.
Sesame Soba Noodles
Recipe source: Own creation
Required time: overall ~20min.
.
Ingredients (amounts by guess and by gosh):
soba noodles
sesame seeds
peanut & sesame oil
cilantro
parlsey
red chili
season with kecap manis & soy sauce
Too bad that the Spring rolls did not turn out the way you expected them, but the pictures still meke us drool. I visit your blog almost on a daily basis to drool at the magnificent pictures. Sigh!
Your photography is gorgeous.
OMG, your "failure" still looks really delicious! I wish my failed dishes could look that fabulous.
Come on now, you have to tell us what the new cookbook is! ;)
hi there!! stumbled across your site via the "cook next door" meme and must compliment you on a very nicely designed site. clean and elegant.
sorry to hear that the fresh spring rolls didn't turn out as expected. clare made an excellent point about using strong herbs like mint and coriander to lift the flavours. in addition, "tainting" the noodles with a zingy sauce can also help. (sweet chilli, fish sauce & lemon juice was what i used)
Hi clare eats, Chubby Cat,
Thank you for your great tips and recommendations! Despite my verdict on the outcome, I should have still included the recipe, since I actually applied almost all your hints. For the rolls & on the herbs front, I used finely minced coriander and mint and also “abused” some of the plum & hoisin sauce to give the noodles a slight flavor (the sauces were originally intended for the duck). For the dipping sauce, I took hot chili sauce, a bit of honey, sesame oil, ginger and rice vinegar. Perhaps with the fish sauce it could've given it a different twist...Next time, if N. let's me ;) , I'll try the prawns and will experiment with different flavors...
Hi Ana, becky, Jenny,
Thank you for stopping by - your feedback is always highly valued! And be assured, we've had some culinary failures in the past that did look worse...In a funny way those rolls were even meaner, good-looking, but not so good tasting ;)
Hey Melissa,
Not to spoil N's 5-favorite-(cook)book-meme-in-the-making, the most recent acquisition is called "Noodles" by Beverly Le Blanc (it’s written in German, I didn't find an English equivalent on amazon...) - but that was already a week ago... ;))
Hi Oliver & Nicky,
The goi cuon (Vietnamese summer rolls) look good, but it's a shame that they weren't. Most of the time, I've found that these are normally stuffed with shredded pork, mint, bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles among other things. These summer rolls are normally served with nuoc leo (peanut sauce) rather than nuoc mam (fish sauce).
The cold soba with sesame looks/sounds delicious. I must try this sometime!
I like also Soba, and I have various recepies about it. Normally, we take very often noodles and soba in hot summer to get out of heat. Hot weather ruins easily our appetite. But cold noodle with different fresh vegetables stimulates it.
At last I have found you again, I came across this recipe late last week and have been trawling around the internet since then to find it again. The thought of using your recipe for soba noodles has been driving me insane so I am glad I found you again. I will definately book mark you this time. I love your food photography.
Oy, I'm posting really late on this, but I'm new to your blog. I love it, all of it. However, that goi cuon breaks my heart. I wish I could make some with you that would make you happier.
You're the pro here, but I think if you tried this, things might pan out better:
1. Don't even soak the paper 10 seconds, dip it in hot water, rotate so it all gets wet, then set it down. By the time you have your filling on it, it will be soft enough to roll. Make sure you're working with properly sized ones, too.
2. Separate the ingredients. With some Vietnamese food, it's about the flavors interacting in your mouth, not marinating beforehand.
3. Keep it simple. Base of bun, slice of lean pork, three sweet shrimp lined up, slice of cuke, sprinkle of cold lettuce mixed with fresh, rough chopped mint. (For the vegetarian, slice of fried tofu in lemongrass and some bean sprouts)
4. Roll it TIGHT. It should bite very easily, as if it were all one solid mass.
Sorry to be so wordy and didactic, goi cuon can make you so happy, I hope you try again! Again, your blog is lovely.
hmmm
This is so sad as Rice paper rolls can be a revelation, especially in the summer and it's hot. There are few things that I am wondering since your recipe is not here and I have gleaned from the photo.
1) Did you put lots of herbs in?: mint and coriander - for the fresh taste these are vital.
2) the dipping sauce, what did you use? you need something zippy and fresh ( I have a really good easy authentic nuoc cham recipe if you want to try it)
3) how long did you soak the rice sheets for? and in what temperature water? The water should be warm and they need to soak only for about 10 seconds til they have softend enough to roll no more or they will become sticky
4) Prawns are fantastic in these ;)
Sorry if that was presumptious.... I am so glad that the soba noodles worked so well, it looks awesome