practice, makes: (vegan rice paper rolls)

After sharing my rookie mistake of soaking all my rice paper rolls for over a minute, all together (huge mistake), my lovely readers gave me a few tips/suggestions of how it should really be done.

So, I tried again and they weren’t perfect but who cares, they were made and they were delicious.

1 packet of rice paper (found at the international section of your supermarket)
Thinly cut veggies: I used capsicum (red and yellow), carrot, cucumber, avocado and corriander (try to use as many colours as possible, I assume, beetroot would work well also tofu, mint and basil mmm)

Also, a packet of rice paper at the supermarket here is only $2.50, which seriously blows my mind.

So, and I’m no expert but basically you soak the rice paper INDIVIDUALLY in warm water for 2-3 seconds. The packet instructs 30 seconds but that’s too long – they may become too delicate and rip. Then you transfer the paper onto a damp surface (I used a chopping board) and begin to assemble the rolls. The paper may seem too hard to begin with but it will continue to soften as you fondle it. I.e add your fillings and begin the rolling process.

There are a hundred and one videos on the internet on how to roll rice paper but you won’t truly get it until you practice. As you can see, most of mine look demented. But hey, that’s okay!

Also, 1 packet makes WAY more rolls than pictured above; I just couldn’t find a plate that fit them all without having to stack.

Lastly, a big shout out to Genie from Bunny Eats Design and Jen from Utterly In Love for making this post possible! X

Review no19 Street Food

Christchurch’s culinary scene, in particular, the food truck realm is rapidly booming (to which my stomach screams “yay” and my jeans howl “nay” but never-mind me). As of recently, much has been said of Callum Farrell leaving his head chef position at Mexicanos and opening his very own vietnamese style food-truck called Street Food. Although everyone’s raving about Callum’s Bahn Mi (a gorgeous crusty white baguette filled with pate, pickled Asian vegetables, fresh coriander, fresh chilli and your choice of spiced and marinated meat or tofu), I’m all about his rolls. No, that is not a Meghan Trainor reference, the rolls I’m referring to are fresh, handmade rice paper wraps filled with vermicelli noodles, carrot, daikon, cucumber and fresh herbs with your choice of BBQ pork belly, coconut chili chicken or chilli and lime tofu. No offence Callum, your Bahn Mi looks, smells and obviously, from what I’ve read all over the internet tastes great but personally, I’m not a big fan of white bread. As a treat or epic cheat meal i’ll happily chow down on a juicy bahn mi but I definitely couldn’t eat one on the daily. Your fresh summer rolls on the other hand are a whole other story. Holy Dooley, I have literally never tasted something this healthy be so incredibly tasty and genuinely satisfying.  What I’m trying to say is, usually with healthy foods a little trickery imagination is required. I mean, come one guys, does anyone actually like quinoa or green smoothies? Usually, everything delicious that I crave is bad for me but I could eat 10 of these babies (when the two that comes with each order is more than sufficient) and not feel an ounce of guilt!

So, if you find your stomach grumbling in the CBD, immediately locate Street Food (usually at 100 Peterborough Street), order a summer roll, swirl it in the finger-lickingly  delish dipping sauce, crunch down, sit back and allow the mouthwatering flavours instantly transport you to the tropical streets of Vietnam.