It seems insane to me that I have never posted a spring roll recipe because I love those little suckers more than life itself. I would never have an order of Chinese food without them and a pack always makes its way into my basket when I’m shopping at home. But sadly they are not as popular in Korea as they are in the rest of Asia. You can find them in your local Thai restaurant, but when you enjoy eating them as much as I do you have to make them in bulk. They call be a a bit fiddly, but once you get in the zone you can churn them out by the dozen. Sit in your living room to roll them out while watching an episode of your favourite show and in no time you will have a pile of the little beauties. I got my spring roll wrappers from the foreign food market in Itaewon. They usually have 3 or 4 sizes. I chose the medium sized ones. Obviously the bigger the wrappers the bigger your rolls will be. I only used about half of the packet making these, so they go a long way and they only cost about 5,000. You can also use them to make samosas. Use whatever veg and meat you like, I just used up all my leftovers.

Ingredients

½ a packet spring roll wrappers

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1/2 a carrot

A small wedge of cabbage

100g of shredded chicken

2 eggs beaten

1/2 an onion

2 inches of ginger

3 cloves of garlic

1 packet of instant noodles

A bunch of cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil

900ml of soy bean oil (for deep frying)

Directions

1. The first step is to finely slice your vegetables. Get them the peppers and cabbage as thinly as possible and grate the carrot.

2. Boil the noodles until soft then drain.

3. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger for a minute or two to soften, then add the rest of the vegetables. Fry on high for five minutes until softened. Add the drained noodles, chicken, cilantro, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil, and mix. Turn off the heat and put into a large bowl.

4. Peel off one spring roll wrapper and put it out on the chopping board. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into the middle of the wrapper. Like below. Fold the top edge up, then wash the three remaining sides with the beaten egg. Fold the two other sides in and roll until you have a neat little spring roll. Set on a clean plate and repeat until all your mixture has been used.

5. When all of the spring rolls have been made, heat the oil to 190 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer let it heat on medium for about five minutes. Carefully put a spring roll into the oil, if it sizzles and floats to the top then it’s hot enough, if it doesn’t, turn it up a little higher and wait until it reaches temperature. Cook them in batches of about 5 for a couple of minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan when they are done and let them drain on kitchen paper. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce and enjoy!

Just a few weeks ago I wrote a review for Buddha’s belly in Kyungnidan. Well last Friday night I was craving Thai food once again. However I decided to make a change and try the restaurant opposite Called Sukhavit – A taste of Thailand. A taste of Thailand was exactly what I got. It trumped Buddha’s Belly in pretty much every department and will now be my new Thai restaurant of choice. Not only do they provide a great take away service with an extensive menu far longer than the one at Buddha’s Belly, they also have a large restaurant that can accommodate many people.

First up were the spring rolls. Slightly expensive at 7,000 for 6.  But they were fairly good none the less. I have to say rolls are slightly better at Buddha’s Belly but the dipping sauce at Taste of Thailand was better.

Our next choice was the cashew chicken 11,000. This dish blew my mind. It was exactly the same as the ones I used to eat in Thailand. full of flavour without blowing my head off. There were plenty of cashews and lots of chicken  The sauce was slightly sweet and spicy, just how I like it.

I also ordered the Pad See Ew – black-bean fried noodles with chicken 11,000. This is my favourite dish from across the road so I was curious to see how it would compare but it was just as good with lots of noodles, chicken and sticky sauce.

Last up was the Thai green Curry 11,000. The moment I opened the lid I could smell the lemon-grass wafting out. It was perfect. they also asked us how hot we would like it, which was a nice touch, everyone likes their curry differently and they got this one spot on. It also came with white rice, but I think we have all been in Korea long enough to know what that looks like.

They also have a great sweet and sour chicken dish that I don’t have a picture of it but it certainly gets the thumbs up from me.

I chose chicken for all my dishes but you have the option for tofu, pork, shrimp, or beef if that’s what floats your boat.

Sukhumvit is located in Kyungnidan at 671 Itaewon 2-dong, Yongsan-gu. Seoul. 140-861. To get there take a train to Noksapyeong station (line 6)  exit 2 and walk straight down until you reach the under pass then go underneath. Sukhumvit is on the second floor above Noxa just opposite the exit of the underpass. You can call them on 02- 790- 2722 to place an order or make a reservation.

I love Chinese food, and especially love their soups. There is nothing more delicious than a bowl of soul warming chicken soup. I’m a huge sweet corn fan and this just makes the soup so scrummy it always has me heading back to the kitchen for a second bowl. Sadly here in Korea it is impossible to go and buy a bowl of this delightful delicacy, but luckily for you it’s very easy to make and you can source all the ingredients at your local Korean supermarket. This soup is so good that we have had it twice this week already. It’s a great option if you have a chicken man that sells roast chickens on your street, if not you can just use two breasts. If you have whole chickens use the bones to make the stock.

Ingredients 

2 chicken breasts (or the chicken picked off the bones of one roast chicken)

2 cans of creamed corn (or 2 cans of sweet corn blended in the blender)

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

An inch of fresh ginger (optional)

1 litre of chicken stock (homemade or stock cube)

4 tablespoons of soy sauce

5-6 spring onions (finely chopped)

2 eggs (beaten)

2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil (optional)

Directions

If using raw chicken breasts boil them in the chicken stock until they are cooked. Remove them from the stock, allow to cool then shred them to pieces. Fry off the onions and the garlic in a little oil until softened. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Add the blended sweet corn to the stock mixture along with the soy sauce and the shredded chicken. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the beaten egg whilst whisking at the same time, this will make the long strands of eggs that you find in the Chinese soups. Throw in 3/4 of chopped spring onions and 1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil. Mix everything together then put into bowls. Garnish with the remaining spring onions and sesame seed oil and serve. If you’re feeling frivolous you can add some mandu into the soup a minute or two before you add the egg , it makes a nice addition in the place of wontons. Voilá my chinese chicken sweet corn soup another way to warm your winter.