Fish and Lettuce Rice Rolls with Chilli Dipping Sauce
I was listening to Radio 4 this morning, as I do most mornings, and a particular segment pipped my interest just before 9am; Today presenter Amol Rajan was discussing the topic of recipe ownership with a chef and a food writer. The general consensus seemed to be no one can own a recipe, but it is critical to name your inspiration, or how you came to know the recipe. I saw the food writer Adeena Sussman using rice paper to fry small parcels of fresh fish the other day on her instagram, Adeena served hers with a preserved lemon aioli, I’m opting instead for a lime and chilli dipping sauce that I’ve seasoned highly with fish sauce. And that, in a nutshell, is the most brilliant thing about cooking and being interested in food, and why I write about food and cookery for my living and post recipe content here on this website and on my instagram. You can just about cook anything you like, you are your own person feeding yourself and your family after all, but by being open to new recipes, tricks, tips and knowledge, your experience around food and cookery can know no bounds. I have never used these rice papers to fry fish before, but I will now, and whilst I am here to credit Adeena, I am fairly sure she wasn’t the first, just as I won’t be the last!
Oh, and re. exact recipe, you’ll need as much of all the below as you need / want to feed yourselves and whoever you are cooking for. No hard and fast rules, this is a more about technique and serving suggestion.
INGREDIENTS
Fish Rice Rolls:
Rice paper sheets
Fresh fish, I used sustainably caught cod fillets cut to size, approx 6 x 3cm pieces
Neutral frying oil
Lettuce, washed and leaves kept whole
Cucumber, cut into thin batons
Spring onion, thinly sliced
Coriander, whole leaf
Dipping Sauce:
2 xJuicy limes
1 tbsp Fish sauce
1 fresh red hot chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp soft brown sugar
METHOD
Make your dipping sauce, this really is about tasting until you get the required, sharp, sweet, salty, hot taste. I could have used a hotter chilli truth be told!
In a wide bowl of water, dip the rice paper for around 15 - 20 seconds to soften. Place the dipped sheet on a clean tea towel, I find a relatively coarse, stiff 100% cotton one to be best here.
In the middle of the sheet place the small piece of fish, season well with salt and wrap neatly, like a parcel, securing the fish inside the rice paper neatly and tightly. The rice paper should be sticky to touch, but not stick to the tea towel.
Have all your salad prepped.
Fill a small deep sided saucepan 1/3 way full with oil and heat to a temperature of 180C. I would always recommend using a digital thermometer here.
Fry a couple of the fish rice paper parcels at a time, for around 2 mins, until the rice paper is crisping and the fish inside is hot to the touch and opaque. Remove with slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper.
Assemble and eat immediately; lay a piece of lettuce down on a plate, add a piece of fried fish, add cucumber, spring onions and coriander and then add liberal amounts of the chilli dipping sauce. You will need napkins, it’s a messy task!