Spring Roll & Noodle Birthday Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 6
For Spring rolls
Makes 20 rolls
- 400g/14ozs. minced pork
- 1 teaspoon cornflour/fine cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 1 stick green onions
- 300g/10.6ozs water chestnuts, tinned and drained, diced
- 2 cups baby spinach or cabbage
- oil for frying
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 275g/9.7ozs. spring roll wrappers (for 20 spring rolls), thawed in the fridge
- Egg wash to seal
- Salt or pepper to season
- 4 cups oil
Pancit noodles
- 500g/1.1lbs chicken thigh meat, sliced
- 200g/7ozs. prawns, peeled and chopped
- 2 onions, peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup carrot matchsticks
- 1 cup finely sliced green beans, snow peas or cabbage
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 250g/8.8ozs. dried rice vermicelli noodles
- 2 sticks green spring onion sliced
- White pepper
Step 1 - Make the spring rolls. Mix the pork, cornflour, salt, sugar, onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, green onion, water chestnuts and spinach or cabbage in a bowl. Heat a frypan on medium high heat, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the eggs as a thin omelette. Remove from pan, slice up into shreds and set aside.
Step 2 -Add a bit more oil to the pan and add the pork mixture turning to cook it through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and combine with the fried egg shreds. Taste for seasoning adding more salt or pepper if it is needed. You want this to cool completely before filling the spring rolls (otherwise the pastry will fall apart) and you can make the filling a day or two in advance and keep in the fridge.
Step 3 -Cut open the spring roll packet and place under a damp teatowel. Have a tray ready to place the spring rolls on. Take one sheet of the spring roll pastry and place it in front of you like a diamond (rather than a square) and place 2 tablespoons of filling on the bottom corner. Roll up just under halfway and then tuck in the sides (you want the ends to be flat so that they spring rolls can easily stand upright) and roll up sealing the end with egg wash. Repeat with the remainder of the filling.
Step 4 -Line a tray with paper towels Heat oil in a deep fryer or in a heavy pot and when it reaches 180C/350F fry 5 spring rolls at a time cooking for 3-4 minutes until golden all over. Repeat until all the spring rolls are cooked and set aside to cool a little so that they're easier to handle.
Step 5 -Make the noodles. Heat a very large frypan or wok on medium to high heat. Fry the chicken until browned and then add the prawns and cook until they turn pink. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add more oil and fry the onions, garlic, carrot and green beans for a couple of minutes. Remove from the pan.
Step 6 -Add the chicken stock, light and dark soy sauce and oyster sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Add the vermicelli noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes. You'll probably think there's way too much liquid but I promise it will soak it all up and the noodles will cook perfectly! When the liquid has evaporated the noodles will be perfectly cooked. Return the chicken, prawns and vegetables back to the pan and toss gently.
Step 7 -To assemble the cake, you will need a heat proof bowl with straight-ish sides-I had a 15cm/5.9inch round metal baking tin that I used. Place the bowl or tin in the centre of the plate and fill with noodles. Then place a thin, large elastic band around this and line up the spring rolls tucking them inside the elastic band. Add more noodles so that it looks like it is overflowing and you cover up the bowl. Add ribbon wrapping it around twice and then snip the elastic band and remove. Add candles and serve warm. If you need to heat it, you can place it in the oven at 160C/320F for 15-20 minutes.