burmese chickpea tofu 🇲🇲 & vietnamese rice rolls 🇻🇳
yes, eating your greens can be THIS yummy 😮💨🥬🌱🍅
recently, I paid a visit to Green Harvest, a local farm which prides itself in producing a wide range of top quality vegetables which they grow hydroponically. in exchange for a day of learning to execute farm tasks like transplanting, harvesting and packing, I was prompted to cook for the team of farmers while utilising the vegetables that was freshly harvested from the farm.
as form of giving homage to the team of migrant worker farmers who mostly hailed from Myanmar, I decided to take on the task of recreating one of my favourite Burmese dishes, Tofu Thoke, which includes the use of a unique jelly-like ‘tofu’ made from chickpea flour. like other Burmese ‘thokes’ or tossed salads, this was a delightful balance of sweet, sour, salty and umami. although traditionally, it is more common twith cabbage, I used Green Harvest’s tender dou miao (pea sprouts) instead which gives and edge of freshness as well as complimenting the chickpea tofu well with it’s pea-like flavour.
as a added side serving, I also made Vietnamese-style rice paper rolls using Green Harvest’s Local Mixed Lettuce pack, pairing it with fillings of smoked duck and prawns.
Burmese Tofu Thoke (Chickpea Tofu Salad)
chickpea tofu (for 16 portions):
1 cup chickpea flour
3 cup water + 1 cup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric (optional, for colour)
2 tbsp vegetable/neutral oil
salad dressing (per 4 portions):
1 tbsp rice/cane vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp kecap manis
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp red chilli flakes (adjust to preference)
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chicken seasoning powder (optional)
salad condiments (per 4 portions):
50g pea sprouts / thinly sliced cabbage
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp crushed peanuts
2 tbsp dried shrimp (hae bee), lightly toasted
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp fried garlic
2 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped
directions
to make the chickpea tofu, boil 3 cups water in saucepan on medium heat. in a bowl, whisk together chickpea flour with salt, turmeric and oil with 1 cup of cold water. stir until homogenous.
quickly pour the chickpea batter into the boiling water and using a balloon whisk or wooden spatula, constantly stir the batter until becomes a thick paste. turn down the flame to low and continue stirring until you can see the paste start sticking to the bottom of the pan.
grease a tray/container with oil and pour into the chickpea paste. let the tofu set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before cutting the tofu into 1 inch cubes.
combine all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. add the a quarter of the the total of chickpea tofu cubes with the pea sprouts and cherry tomatoes onto the dressing and toss well to coat. sprinkle in the remaining condiments and lightly toss to combine. serve immediately.
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Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
300g rice paper
Water, as needed
2 pcs frozen smoked duck breast, thawed
10 pcs fresh prawns, deshelled
180 g butterhead lettuce
1 carrot, sliced into strips
2 Japanese cucumbers, sliced into strips
dipping sauce (nuoc cham):
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp water
3 chilli padi, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
directions
combine all the dipping sauce ingredients together in bowl and mix well to combine. set aside.
brush oil on the smoked duck breasts and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, on 170 degrees Celsius. remove from oven and cool down.
blanch prawns in a pot boiling water for 30-50 seconds or until fully cooked. immediately submerge into ice water to keep the prawns bouncy and crisp. half the prawns lengthwise.
to assemble the rolls, submerge 1 piece of rice paper in water for 5 seconds. lay onto a cutting board, arrange a 2-3 pcs of lettuce followed by 2 halves of the prawns. add 4-5 carrot slices and cucumber slices each. carefully roll over the bottom edge of the rice paper to encase the contents. once rolled halfway, fold in both the right and left sides inwards and the continue to roll until the end. repeat process with the rest of the prawns. for the duck rolls, use 2-3 pieces per roll.
serve alongside the nuoc cham.
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