In part one of this week's Three Course Meal, we gave you a look at Jason Czaja, executive chef at Shinsei. In part two, we asked Czaja to complete our thoughts for us. In today's final installment he shares a recipe for Crab and Cucumber Spring Rolls with Orange Mayo.
The key word here is fresh. The fresher the ingredients, the better the spring rolls. And be gentle when rolling. You want everything to stay neatly tucked in place. But you don't want to crush the poor things.
Orange Mayo 1 c Japanese mayo ¼ c fresh orange juice 1/8 c fresh lime juice 1 lime, zested 2 oranges, zested 1 T honey 2 T fresh ginger, minced
In small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well to incorporate.
Crab and Cucumber Spring Rolls 8 each snow crab sticks (apprx. 8 oz) 4 oz cucumber, julienned 4 oz carrot, julienned 2 oz daikon sprouts, trimmed 4 oz rice vermicelli, cooked 16 mints leaves, picked and cleaned 16 cilantro leaves, picked and cleaned 8 rice paper sheets
Method Soak one rice paper sheet in a pan of cool water until pliable. Lay flat on a moist lintless (bar) towel, with corner facing you. Place one crab stick, ½ oz each carrot, cucumber, rice noodles, ¼ oz daikon sprouts, 2 each mint and cilantro leaves even and centered 2 ½ inches up from the bottom point.
Carefully fold the bottom corner up and over ingredients, and secure tightly. Fold in out side two corners, and roll up to the top corner. Repeat with remaining seven sheets, cut each spring roll on the bias, and serve with the orange mayonnaise.
