Pear summer rolls

I am back! I was busy fighting hairy monsters that eat everything in their way and always manage to include my kitchen in their itinerary.  (By the way, one of the monsters’ name is Matt). My eternal problem of ingredient shortage soon became a challenge.

Spiral of pear, zucchini, orange pepper matchsticks and rice paper

Summer rolls are, as in many Asian cuisine dishes, extremely versatile. When I am out of ideas for dinner, and especially when I have too many veggies which have been chilling in the back of my fridge for a week, I simply:

1. Scavenge vegetables and sauce or soup base
2. Chop and fry or boil
3. Cook tofu, meat, or make poached eggs
4. Add to udon noodles, soba noodles or rice, and serve.

I probably won’t ever blog about my fried rice adventures because I always change the veggie-base-protein source combination. My creations still deserve a little bit of exposure, so here are some photographs to inspire you. Yes, poached eggs make the perfect addition, especially for the way they balance the earthy taste of the soba noodles.

Soba noodles with veggies and a poached egg in simmered soya sauce, red wine and ginger.

Udon noodles cooked in soya sauce with fried tofu, cucumber, green onions and carrot salad. Can be served cold.

But back to my minimal ingredient challenge! Veggie rolls are little bundles of freshness that you can stuff with virtually anything you fancy, from arugula to zest. Two ordinary crunchy vegetables added to pear creates a crisp salty-sweet dynamic with a lemon and soya sauce dip. Oh and don’t worry, the rice paper comes with instructions which are simple and loosely: dip paper in warm water for 3 min to soften, place filling, fold like a burrito, wet edges to close. I dared not for my first try, but grated ginger would give these rolls a kick.

Pear summer rolls with lemon-soya sauce dip.