Martha Liaos Spring Rolls Recipes

FRESH SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Add vermicelli to boiling water and cook just until soft. Immediately transfer vermicelli to ice-water bath to cool. Drain and cover with a damp towel until ready to use.
• Fill a clean spray bottle with water and mist the surface of the rice papers to moisten. Cover with a damp towel and set aside.
• Place another damp towel on work surface. Lay one rice paper on top of towel. Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom third of the rice paper and top with 1/8 of the vermicelli, cilantro, and mint leaves. Roll rice paper away from you, about halfway, pressing down to form a tight cylinder. Fold about 1 1/2 inches from each side over the filling.
• Place 2 shrimp halves, cut sides down, over the crease. Top with 3 chives so that about 4 inches of the chives stick out at one end. Continue rolling rice paper away from you to form a cylinder. Seal edges with a little water. Repeat entire process with remaining rice papers and filling.
• Cut rolls in half and serve with fish sauce dip.

MARTHA LIAO'S PEKING DUCK

Steps:

• In a very cool room, tie duck wings together using kitchen twine. In a cool room, hang duck from kitchen twine over a large bowl overnight, about 8 hours.
• Fill a large pot with 4 cups water, 2 scallions, ginger, and honey; cover and bring to a boil. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 cup cold water until well combined. Whisk cornstarch mixture into boiling water mixture until it is the consistency of a light gravy. Stir in wine and vinegar; remove sauce from heat.
• Add duck to pot and spoon over sauce, for 3 to 5 minutes, until very well coated. Remove from sauce and hang duck again, in a cool room, over a large bowl for 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Fill the drip tray of a vertical poultry roaster with water; set in a roasting pan. Place duck on vertical roaster and transfer to oven. Roast until duck is golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (but not touching the bone) reaches 175 degrees. Take care with duck grease as you roast; if too much begins to accumulate in roasting pan, ladle into a disposable heatproof container as the duck cooks and discard.
• Meanwhile, prepare frozen steamed rolls according to package directions. Quarter white parts of remaining 5 scallions and cut into 2-inch pieces, reserving green parts for another use.
• Thinly slice duck and serve with steamed rolls, scallions, and sweet bean or hoisin sauce.

MARTHA LIAO'S SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Place cellophane noodles in enough hot water to cover; let stand until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and cook, stirring, until coated with oil. Season with salt and cover; cook until cabbage is soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer cabbage to a large bowl; set aside.
• Add enough oil to lightly coat bottom of skillet. Add pork, garlic, and ginger; stir to combine. Add soy sauce, wine, and sugar. Whisk cornstarch together with 1/4 cup water until well combined. Add to skillet and cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened and pork is cooked through.
• Drain cellophane noodles, cut into 2-inch pieces and add to skillet; stir in scallions and sesame oil. Transfer pork mixture to bowl with cabbage; toss to combine. Let filling stand until cool, about 4 hours.
• Place 1 wrapper on a work surface, with 1 corner facing you. (Keep remaining wrappers covered with a damp kitchen towel.) Arrange 2 tablespoons filling in a mound in center of wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in sides halfway. Roll wrapper to form a tight cylinder, leaving top corner exposed. Brush top corner with a little of the beaten egg, and press to seal. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat process with remaining wrappers and filling.
• Fill a large heavy-bottomed saucepan halfway with canola oil. Heat over medium-high heat until temperature reaches 365 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, cook spring rolls, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat process with remaining spring rolls; serve hot.