The vibrancy of red cabbage will spruce up your dishes in everything from stir fries to sumptuous stuffings. And along with being the cool kid in the cabbage patch, this regal-hued vegetable also rules with its superfood status. Here, we used it in a deliciously crunchy spring roll recipe.
Recipe and styling by Novmuselelo Mncube
Photograph by Dylan Swart
Red cabbage and prawn spring rolls with spicy dipping sauce
Ingredients
PRAWNS
- 100g panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 50g cake flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 200g queen prawns, peeled and cleaned
- canola oil, to deep-fry
DIPPING SAUCE
- juice of 1 lime
- 2cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- juice of 1 orange
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
SPRING ROLLS
- 100g rice noodles
- 10 rice-paper sheets
- 1 each red, green and yellow pepper, seeded and julienned
- ½ medium red cabbage, shredded
- 1 small cucumber, julienned
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 1 handful each fresh mint and coriander leaves
Instructions
For the prawns, place the panko breadcrumbs and lightly beaten eggs into 2 separate bowls. Set aside.
Combine the cake flour, paprika and seasoning in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add the prawns and toss until coated. Dip a floured prawn into the beaten eggs, then into the breadcrumbs. Repeat until all of the prawns have been coated.
In a deep fat fryer/large, deep pot, heat the canola oil to 180˚C. Use a sugar thermometer to check the temperature of the oil if using a pot. Add the prawns and deep-fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the deep fryer/pot and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
For the dipping sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small jug. Mix until well combined. Set aside.
For the spring rolls, soak the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside until needed.
Fill a large heatproof bowl with warm, not boiling, water. Working with one at a time, dip the rice-paper sheets into the warm water and soak until pliable, about 15 – 20 seconds. Place on a clean surface.
Arrange a few strands of the rice noodles on one half of each rice paper sheet. Top with a small handful of red, green and yellow pepper sticks, shredded cabbage, cucumber sticks, avocado slices, and mint and coriander leaves. Tightly roll and tuck the rice paper around the filling once, then arrange 3 deep-fried prawns on top of the roll. Tightly fold and tuck the rice paper around the prawns to form a spring roll. Repeat with the remaining rice-paper sheets and filling.
Serve the spring rolls with the spicy dipping sauce alongside.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
