Shrimp and banana – not your typical pairing.  But in this case, the flavor profiles of the shrimp and banana work really well together!  Although, I have to admit — put anything into a fryer and it will taste yummy!

Chef’s tip:  When deep frying, fry small batches at a time to keep the temperature at a constant high of 375.  The more spring rolls you crowd into the fryer, the quicker the temperature will drop (the law of thermodynamics!), thus, the soggier your spring rolls will be.  And always, always use a fry thermometer.

Filling:
1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 ripe bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise from top to bottom, then cut into a 1/2-inch dice
½ cup canned bamboo shoots, rinsed thoruoghly and minced
½ cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
½ cup scallions, green and white, chopped finely
½ cup cilantro, chopped finely
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A pinch of white pepper

24 square spring roll wrappers – 6 x 6 inch
1 large egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water (egg wash)
6 cups canola oil for frying

Sauce:
½ cup sake
2 Tablespoons mirin
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Thai chilies, seeds optional, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro stems

Preparing the filling:
1.    Cut half the shrimp into 1/2 in cubes, and mince the rest. Mix shrimp with sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil.
2.    In a medium bowl, toss together the remaining filling ingredients. Divide into 24 portions.
Assembly:
3.    Cut off 2 inches off the corner of the stack of spring roll wrappers –  the one end pointed towards you.  Cover wrappers with a damp tea towel.
4.    Take one wrapper and place the cut end closest to you.  Brush uncut ends with egg wash. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of the shrimp mixture closer to the cut end. Fold the left and right side over the filling.  Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a cylinder.  Place spring rolls, on its seam, on a baking sheet that is slightly floured with cornstarch.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
Frying the spring rolls:
5.    Heat canola oil till 375F.  Drop several spring rolls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 5 minutes each.  Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Preparing the dipping sauce:
6.    Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  Serve with hot spring rolls.

Serves: 24 portions

Tags: Cantonese, Chinese, dim sum, finger foods, springrolls, street foods.

If you see quince in the market, buy it.  And lots of it.  The start of fall through about Thanksgiving is the season for this highly recherche fruit.  I thank my lucky stars that our family friends, the Cardinauxs, who have a ranch in Petaluma, shower us with this yellow gold.  Quince looks like a mishaped apple, a mishaped Bartlett with a fuzzy skin and about 1.5X the size of an apple.  Quince has a floral fragrant like a combination of sweet apples, pineapples, and peaches.  The problem with quince is that you can’t just grab one and bite into it, it’s super hard and super tart.  Hence you don’t see it in your local Safeway. You can cook it into a fruit pastille, or a membrillo, and bake a wonderful quince crumble.

I first fell in love with membrillo in Rio where they served it with some sort of queso fresco. But served membrillo with a Manchego, and you’ll have a marriage made in heaven.  Making membrillo requires a lot of TLC and a very strong arm.  You have to stand there and stir the pot non stop for 1- 1 1/2 hours, and beware of flying hot lava coming out of the pot.  But the end result is well worth the effort.  It makes a beautiful gift, as MC says “priceless”.

Chef’s tip: If you’d like, you can skip the peeling and coring if you use a food mill.  The skin and seeds will be caught by the mill.

Ingredients:
Quince, at least 4 lbs to make it worth the effort
Equal amounts of sugar
Some water

1. Peel and core the quince.  Cut into 2 inch cubes.
2. Cover the quince cubes with just enough water.  Simmer for 30 minutes until it is soft.  Drain.
3. Put quince into a food processor and blend till a smooth paste.  or if you are using unpeeled quince, then pass through a food mill.
4. Measure equal amounts of quince puree and sugar and place them into a heavy bottom pot.  I prefer my membrillo less sweet, so I add a fruit:sugar ratio of 1.25:1
5. Cook under medium heat for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, stirring constantly, until the paste has thickened into a deep, orange, red color.
6. Transfer the paste onto a baking sheet lined with a lightly greased parchment, and bake in a low oven – 125F for about an hour.
7. Store in the refrigerator, tighly wrapped, for up to 6 months.
8. To serve, slice thinly and serve with sliced manchego.

Serves: Many

The picture below of Manchego with Membrillo was taken at a friend’s wedding reception catered by Gerard’s Paella of Occidental.  Just the most beautiful presentation of this marriage made in heaven.

Tags: cheese, finger foods, Latin, Vegetarian.

This is dressed-up hummus.  Adding some vadouvan pops the flavors in this hummus, while still preserving the basic goodness of mashed chickpeas. Vadouvan is an Indian French mix of the Pondicherry curry – that has hints of roasted shallots and is mild on the heat scale. Tahini, an important element of any hummus mutes the acid of the lemon while binding in the pungency of the garlic.  The masala pita points make a great snack on its own!

Chef’s tip:  You can get vadouvan at Le Sanctuaire (315 Sutter, SF).  If you can’t find vadouvan, make your own quick, poor man’s substitute: saute some shallots, garlic and a little bit of ginger with some oil under very low heat for 20 minutes till the onion is caramelized.  Then mix in some madras curry powder, an equal amount of ground fenugreek, chiffonades of curry leaves and some ground urad dhal, salt and pepper and continue to saute a minute more till it forms small lumps. Spread it on a baking tray and bake under low heat for an hour (or what they do in sunny South India, sun for 3 days!) A more detailed version can be found in Gourmet.com

Masala Pita:
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon fennel
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
1/2 teaspoon paprika

8 pieces 6-inch pita
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Hummus:
2 cans chickpeas / garbanzo, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juice
2 Tablespoons vadouvan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon long pepper, ground
1/4 cup tahini

Some extra virgin olive oil
Edible flowers or parsley for garnish

Making the pita points:
1. Toast the fennel and cumin in a saute pan until fragrant.  Let cool slightly and grind in a spice grinder together with the black peppercorns and salt.
2. Preheat oven 350F.  Cut each pita into 8.  Lay pita points on a baking sheet and brush the top side with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle on spice mix and bake in the oven till golden, about 10 minutes.
Preparing the hummus:
4. In a food processor, combine all ingredients (reserving half a can of garbanzo) and blend till smooth.  Add more water if needed until a smooth consistency the thickness of peanut butter forms. Add the remaining garbanzo and give it a few pulse to create a hand-mashed lumpy feel to the dip.
5. Place hummus in the middle of a large platter.  Make a small indentation in the middle and drizzle on some olive oil.  Next take the flat end of the pita points and insert into the hummus, forming a sun star pattern around hummus.  Garnish with edible flowers or chopped parsley.

Serves: 8

Tags: dips, finger foods, Indian, vegan, Vegetarian.