Are you wondering 'what in the world is it?'  Well, it's my first and maybe last attempt to make an edible origami crane following the instructions found at: ttp://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/EdibleOrigami
(It's quite an interesting site on more than just food)



This is what it's supposed to look like.  ( I can only say in consolation to myself that mine looks more realistic :) like a wounded crane :)  The other thing is I used lumpia skin rather than wonton so it's much bigger but also harder to hold its shape I think. I had some left over wonton skins in the fridge and maybe because they are 'old' when I fold it, it breaks/tears at the crease...



 In case you wanted to give it a try, here are the steps :-)  Look how many this person has made!

I missed the Moon Festival so I made up this Mid -Autumn Menu to celebrate... mid autumn :)  It's like a make-it-yourself-springroll-in-a-bowl. Let me explain, traditionally the Vietnamese Shaking Beef is served on a bed of cresson-onion-vinaigrette salad. I prefer to serve it with some bun' (rice noodle), julienned salad and cucumber, bean sprouts, and rau tho*m ( herbs like mint and shiso/perilla) all key ingredients in a spring roll.  Each person will make his/her own springroll-in-a-bowl by starting with a handful of salad, cucumber, bean sprouts, rau tho*m, then add on the shaking beef ,
























nuoc mam with carrots


and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.












As alternative entrees,  I also serve some sugar cane dancing prawns ,







 and phoenix rolls.











Finally for dessert as we are about to see the last of good strawberries for a while, I made Strawberry Mascarpone Stroopwafel Napoleons.

Why Phoenix? I don't know... it just sounds exotic (much more so than chicken and ham roll :)) and when arranged in semi-circle it can look like a peacock tail... Do phoenix have the same sort of tail? Maybe :)

I haven't made these in eons, and the recipe was pulled from a tiny drawer in my brain but it was tasty as ever :)


 
Ingredients:
-  (2) Chicken breasts boneless and skinless
-  (2) sticks of ham
-  (2) tsps 5-spices powder
-  (4) Lumpia skin
-  (1) egg
-  (4) Tbsps cornstarch

Preparation:
- Wash and put chicken breast in between two sheets of saran wrap
- Use a pestle or heavy bottle and pound the chicken into a 1/4-inch thick  spread
- Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of 5-spices powder evenly on each pounded breast (use a small sieve if you have one, it's a lot easier)
- Cut the hame into a stick about 3/4 inch thick and 5 inches long
- Put a ham stick in the middle of the chicken breast and roll it like a sushi (the saran wrap makes it easier to roll, twist the end, and let the roll rest for an hour or so)
- Beat the egg and dip the chicken rolls into it, remove and roll them into the cornstarch
- Finally roll them into a 2-layers lumpia skin like an egg roll and set aside
- Heat up some oil (enough to cover the lumpia)
- Deep fry on medium heat , turn them so they are evenly tanned.
- Cut them on the slant and arrange like a peacock tail. Serve hot with some nuoc cha^m'.

This is a time of the year that I'd have loved to be in Asia and sample the new designer variety mooncakes that continue to be introduced into the market.



 Pink jelly mooncake with red bean paste           Purple jelly mooncake with taro filling


Did you know that mooncakes were used as espionage "SMS" :) at a point in time?


Sure beats eating little pieces of paper or what not :)

Happy mooning! :P

Easy, quicky, spicy, yummy ... it's my kind of dish!




Ingredients:
Per serving
- 6-8 medium scallops
- 10-12 snow peas
- 1 small clove of garlic julienned
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1 tsp vietnamese chili garlic sauce (brand con ga`)
- 1/8 Cup rice
- 1-2 thin slices of ginger

Tips on Scallops:

  Ask the fishmonger for "dry" scallops or look for "chemical free" labeled scallops.
  Because scallops lose moisture quickly, they are often soaked in STP (sodium Tripolyphosphate) to retain water and plump them up which means you are actually paying for this extra water and when you try to sauté a soaked or "wet" scallop, it instantly sheds all its excess water when it hits the hot pan. You wind up steaming your scallops rather than searing them, and the texture of the meat tends to be rubbery.
 Fresh scallops should appear moist but not milky and smell somewhat briny and seaweedy, but not offensive, sharp, or at all like iodine. If the scallops have no smell and a uniform stark-white color, chances are they´ve been soaked in STP. A feathery white surface is most likely a sign of freezer burn and dry and darkened edges a sign of age.

Source:  http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/


Preparation:
- Cook rice as usual, just the thinly sliced ginger when the water almost evaporates (pic 3). The ginger gives the rice a subtle gingery flavour that goes very well with the scallop. I just made it up and was pleasantly surprise at the taste. Just use plain rice, not jasmine. I used organic japanese rice.
- Wash scallops and place on paper towel to dry (the dryer the better). Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper right before searing.
- Wash, clean, remove hard ends and strings on the side. Dry and stir fry quickly with garlic. (pic 4).
Use the same hot pan without adding more oil (see how little oil there is in pic 5), sear scallops over high heat until their top and bottom are a slightly burned around the edges, and the middle part is opaque (check their sides). Remove from pan.
- Add a bit of oil to the pan then the chili garlic sauce, mix and turn the heat off (pic6).
- Serve immediately with a side of snow peas and ginger rice (pic 7-9). I like to serve them on a banana leaf set over a plate, the green of the banana leaf brings out the white of the rice and scallops and red chili sauce beautifully!