Steamed Rice Rolls with Dried Shrimp and Chinese Sausage

Steamed Rice Rolls with Dried Shrimp and Chinese Sausage

You can probably hear the rusty gears in my brain moving no matter where you are. The dried shrimps have to go. I dug through my WW3 food stock and found a packet of Banh Cuon flour that I've bought donkey years ago (good till June 2010 though) and that was how this Steamed Rice Rolls with Dried Shrimp and Chinese Sausage dish was born.

Banh cuon flour is basically a mix of rice and tapioca flour and the Vietnamese use it to make their various rice roll dishes depending on which part of the country they come from. Like the Chinese, they usually fill the rolls with a savoury filling and eat them with a sauce.

I steamed my rice rolls for 10 minutes in an oiled metal dish over rapidly boiling water. Then filled them with a minced dried shrimp, fresh green chilli and fragrant Chinese sausage filling. You can eat the rolls as they are, or make a nuoc cham or soy sauce-sesame oil dip to go with. The Chinese sausage goes really well with the chilli and dried shrimp, I have a Japanese lunch buffet with my Grade 2 class in 2 hours, but I think I'm done in, I've eaten too many of the rolls...

The rice rolls

Meanwhile Hub is away and while I'm happy to be able to eat my rubbish and sleep with the Babies, I must say that I've missed him. I've been thinking lately what a grouchy, critical, but wonderful man he is. Not really the Prince Charming sort (I asked him to buy me a big scraper for my windscreen when he's in Germany - he said maybe), but dependable, responsible, and not at all corrupt. Never go for an outwardly exciting and suave man - they usually are not. Go for someone who respects and encourages you to be yourself - and gives you a chance to do the same to him. Being quite pleased with Hub and myself, I think I'll make him an Irish stew this weekend and dump lots of Guinness and red wine in it. He'll like that.