The Chef's Culinary Creations for Savory Chicken Crescents and Rice Paper Tteokbokki
I keep on hand a lot of rice paper and always have plenty at home, since it can be used in a wide variety of ways. Frying makes it wonderfully tasty, which is true for many foods! These savory pockets are stuffed with an aromatic chicken mince, while tteokbokki is a Korean dish of chewy rice tubes that are typically simmered in a sauce. They can be difficult to locate, yet they are a favorite, so I create my own version.
Rice Paper Tteokbokki (pictured top)
Prep Five minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Makes twelve pieces
A standard pack containing dried rice paper sheets
45ml of oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Three tablespoons gochujang paste
30ml of soy sauce
To serve
Sesame oil
Spring onions, finely sliced
Toasted sesame seeds
Submerge each round of rice paper in a shallow dish of cold water, letting them soften.
Roll each one into a log, then cut in half and set aside.
Pour the oil in a wide pan on a medium setting and, when it’s hot, add the chopped garlic and fry.
As soon as the garlic turns brown, add approximately 750ml cold water, gochujang paste and soy sauce, and simmer for five minutes.
Drop the rice paper rolls into the pan and allow to cook for several minutes, until they soften and the sauce thickens.
Top with a trickle of sesame oil and a scattering of thinly cut scallions and a few sesame seeds.
Chicken Half-Moons
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 30 min
Makes half a dozen
Approximately 1.1lbs of chicken mince
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
Two green onions, sliced
1 tsp salt
3 tsp chilli flakes
1 egg
6 rice paper circles
Frying oil, for deep frying
Your favorite spicy sauce, as an accompaniment
Add the minced chicken in a bowl, then incorporate the ginger and garlic paste, sliced spring onions, salt and red pepper flakes.
Add the egg and stir until fully incorporated.
Take a plate with a rim and fill it with some cold water.
Briefly immerse a rice paper circle in the water and leave it until pliable – this happens very quickly.
Put the softened sheet on a cutting board, spoon a sixth of the chicken mince mixture on half of the paper, then spread it out thinly, keeping a small edge.
Fold the other half of paper over the top of the filling, then crimp the edges to seal.
Repeat with with the remaining five rice paper sheets and filling.
Heat a layer of oil into the base of a skillet so that the bottom is coated.
Heat it up on a high setting and, when sufficiently heated, carefully add the half-moons in batches and pan-fry until browned and crunchy.
After a few minutes, gently flip over and brown the reverse.
Cook the remaining batches.
Present hot or at room temperature with a side of chili sauce.
