The Best Sri Lankan Restaurants in Toronto

by Pira Pathmanathan

The best Sri Lankan restaurants in Toronto are often overshadowed by those serving up food from its neighbor to the north. But as good as Indian food is in Toronto, cuisine from this beautiful island nation shouldn’t be missed. In its most traditional form, Sri Lankan food brings to mind a plate of rice served with several curries served on a banana leaf. Popular dishes include string hoppers, roti, pittu, and appum. Kothu roti–a seasoned blend of thinly sliced roti served with chicken, mutton or vegetables–can be nothing short of life-altering if prepared right.

With its large Sri Lankan community, Scarborough is home to the greatest concentration of Sri Lankan restaurants in Toronto although it is possible to find the cuisine in Cabbagetown and other areas of the city.

Here are the best Sri Lankan restaurants in Toronto.

 

Babu Catering

You can’t talk about Sri Lankan food without bringing up this Toronto gem. Established two decades ago, Babu now has locations in both Scarborough and Markham. With a wide array of tasty Sri Lankan fare, lineups tend to be perpetually long but the efficient staff ensures swift service. Be sure to pick up some patties and sweets from their bakery section too.MORE »

Hopper Hut

Located at Kennedy and Ellesmere, Hopper Hut is a go-to for Sri Lankan Torontonians. Their kothu roti is something to write home about and for a special dessert treat, try their appam, a crepe-like dish with a soft, sweet centre made from coconut milk. For an incredibly cost-effective meal, simply pick up a heaping box of string hoppers served with spicy sambul for about five bucks. Don’t forget to also order a few delicious samosa and crunchy vadais. Unlike many other pickup counter-style Sri Lankan restaurants, Hopper Hut has a seating area. MORE »

Rashnaa

Found in Cabbagetown, Rashnaa feels slightly more formal than most spots on this list. With many entrees listed under $10, Rashnaa offers an inexpensive entry to the world of Sri Lankan eats for those wanting to dine south of Eglinton. Be sure to order the masala thosai, a popular Sri Lankan dish (similar to South India’s masala dosa) consisting of a lentil rice and wheat flour crepe filled with potato curry. Rashnaa also offers take-out and delivery. MORE »

Gasa

Known for its spicy kothu roti, Gasa is another east Toronto mainstay for Sri Lankan cuisine. Gasa has two locations. One at Kennedy and Finch in Scarborough and the other on New Delhi Drive in Markham. Be sure to try their nandu (crab) curry but also be prepared to sweat! If you aren’t gunning for a spicy feast, ask the staff to recommend a few milder options. MORE »

Suvaiyakam

Located at Birchmount and Finch, Suvaiyakam is another Sri Lankan takeout joint that offers the usual fare. Like many of its rivals, Suvaiyakam serves up a great variety of roti, string hoppers, curries, noodles, and short eats like mutton rolls, patties and the like. MORE »

Amma Take Out and Catering

Amma Take Out and Catering at Markham and Steeles is fairly new to the Sri Lankan scene but it has quickly gained a loyal following. Try their variety of lamprais or just some basic rice and curry. Amma also offers a variety of snacks including the ever-popular mutton roll. As the name suggests, be prepared to accept your food in a plastic bag. MORE »

Araliya Takeout and Catering

Relatively new to the scene and located on Markham Road in the Woburn area of Scarborough, Araliya delivers with tasty Sri Lankan fare. Araliya has already established a following, with diners coming back for rice and spicy curries. MORE »

Abbirami Catering

At Brimley and Eglinton, Abbirami is your best bet for lamprais, a traditional dish that consists of rice and various curries baked inside a banana leaf. For about $7, this dish can easily serve two. Be prepared to be adventurous as Abbirami lacks menus. Luckily, as with most Sri Lankan takeout counters, food is readily available in front of you so simply point to what you want to order. MORE »

Ceylon Flavor

Ceylon Flavor is not your typical Sri Lankan takeout-counter-style restaurant. Located at Markham and Steeles just a few steps from Amma, Ceylon Flavor is also relatively new and boasts a sleek design and comfortable seating area. They offer a large selection of vegetarian and meat dishes including mutton rolls and chicken curry. MORE »

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London’s Best Asian Supermarkets — from The Guardian UK

I don’t usually post articles from other publications on my site, but I consider this a public service announcement for all the home cooks looking for hard-to-find ingredients in London town.

Taj Stores supermarket, Brick Lane, London. Photograph: Rejina Sabur

When it comes to buying green finger chillies and rice wine, we Londoners have got it made. Flourishing Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Chinese and Gujarati communities have meant that Asian produce was available in the city long before the big supermarkets cottoned on. In the last decade alone, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Sri Lankan and Thai communities have bloomed across the capital and with them so has the availability of authentic ingredients.

While it’s easy to overspend in certain shops, there are always some excellent bargains to be had (think sacks of rice or big bottles of fish sauce) and exotic products to be pored over. In cities across the land, fresh tamarind pods and galangal are proving easier and easier to locate, and for those further afield, online options are improving (although these can add up and it’s always nicer to handle produce when checking for freshness).

Yes, supermarkets have started selling pak choy and wasabi powder, and have special “ethnic aisles” with bulk bags of lentils and spices, but while these are competitively priced, they’re limited in variety; if you’re trying to find that special brand of miso or roasted curry powder, nothing beats a specialist shop.

Korean

Kimchi Village, New Malden. Photograph: Rejina Sabur

Boasting the UK’s largest Korean community, New Malden – and Burlington Road in particular – is the epicentre of Korean food in the UK. For paper-thin chadol baki (brisket), samgyeopsal (unsalted bacon) or an assortment of ready-prepped bulgogi, head to the New Malden Butchers (104 Burlington Road, New Malden, KT3 4NT). Nip next door to Kimchi Mal (Kimchi Village) for an excellent range of home-made pickles and side dishes or check out Hyun’s Bakery for mochi doughnuts (94 Burlington Road, Town Centre, New Malden KT3 4NT).

Back on the High Street, K Mart sells tubs of fantastic home-made chive and chonggak kimchi and hefty sacks of Rhee Chun rice, or there’s Jinmi for takeaway Korean sushi (127 Kingston Road, New Malden, KT3 3NX). While you’re in the area, don’t forget to pick up persimmons (plumper and cheaper than usual) and deeply fragrant nashi pears. It’s also worth seeking out bulgogi sauce with a high fruit content (for example, the “Choripdong” brand has around 17%) which will cost a little more, but that extra pear factor makes the dish.

Hannah Paek of Su La restaurant (where the bargainous barbecue galbi is a must) has seen major improvements in the availability of ingredients over the past 15 years. Her folks once ran a local supermarket and she recommends the new H Mart for its sheer variety. Offering rarities like fresh, pink pistachios, bunches of dropwort, sesame leaves (their vegetables are flown in on Thursdays), unusual cuts of meat and a live crab counter, if they don’t stock something they’ll happily order it in.

Further down the road, Korea Foods has served the community for a decade and does a great line in traditional rice cakes. It’s a good idea to take a car and fill up with long life products and value sacks of rice. Other decent (but slightly dearer) places include the Centre Point Food Store (20 St Giles High Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 8LN), the K Mart in North London (869 Finchley Road, London NW11 8RR) and Arigato (48-50, Brewer Street, London W1F 9TG).

Japanese

The Japanese tend to be fairly evenly distributed across town, although there are steadily thriving enclaves in Finchley, Acton and Ealing. Reiko Hashimoto (http://www.hashicooking.co.uk) reckons the price of ingredients in the UK is still too high and the availability of supplies too limited, although the basics of soy, mirin, miso, rice and wasabi have gained prevalence over the past few years. She often seeks cheaper alternatives in Korean supermarkets, but would advise against using Korean seaweed or Thai pickled ginger as substitutes for Japanese nori or gari. For Japanese food it has to be Japanese soy sauce (as the Chinese stuff tends to be saltier). She also recommends splashing out on good miso and particularly rates “kyo kaiseki” paste.

Unfortunately, Japanese food is pricey wherever it’s sold, so for the widest selection the Japan Centre is the place to try. For top quality sashimi / sushi grade fish it has to be Atari-Ya. Fumio runs the ShoFooDoh okonomiyaki stall at Chatsworth Road market and prefers the slightly cheaper Rice Wine Shop (82 Brewer Street, London W1F 9UA) and Arigato (see above) as well as buying online from TK Tradings. Every now and again he’ll indulge in the odd Japasta sauce (cod roe with cream, pickled vegetable and tuna mayo flavours are guilty favourites), some quality pickles or shochu. When it comes to eating out he recommends Asakusa 265 Eversholt Street NW1 1BA and the udon at Koya.

Thai

Jasmine rice at Muay supermarket in Earls Court. Photograph: Rejina Sabur

Like the Japanese, Thais are spread across the capital. However the heart of the community is around Earls Court, Putney, Hammersmith and Bayswater. Many will happily purchase Thai specialities in Chinatown’s New Loon Moon or See Woo; but for treats like homemade layer cake, they’ll head to Thai shops like Muay in Earls Court (8a Hogarth Road, London SW5 0PT). Also specialising in a cracking range of fresh curry pastes (made by a local restaurant), they sell home-made chilli pickle sauces, tiny pea aubergines, sweet, glutinous rice, fresh pig’s blood, galangal root and holy basil leaves.

Over in Hammersmith, Thai Smile sells popular brands like Aroy-D and Chao Koh coconut milk. It’s also a great place to stockpile frozen coconut cream desserts, fresh banana leaves, saw leaves and turmeric root. For great value Thai jasmine rice it has to be Tawana Oriental (18-20 Chepstow Road, Bayswater, London W2 5BD).

Mark Dobbie of Nahm restaurant tells me that for fresh lime leaves he always goes to Talad Thai. For an up-market Thai restaurant experience the Nipa Thai does a gorgeous soft shell crab with spicy mango salad, or for a more casual bite Rosa’s Ta Lae Pad Cha (seafood stir fried with mixed spices, chilli and galangal) is a popular choice.

Vietnamese

London Starnight Vietnamese supermarket, Mare Street, London. Photograph: Rejina Sabur

If it’s fresh ho fun noodles or pho herbs you’re after, then the shops of Hackney and specifically Mare Street are your best bet. London Starnight (203-213 Mare Street, London E8 3QE) is a firm favourite of the Hung Viet restaurant on Kingsland Road (Hung Viet’s char grilled quail is just incredible) and Hoang-Nam supermarket (187 Mare Street, Dalston, London E8 3RH) have myriad fruits, vegetables and herbs including rau ngot and cai cuc.

Uyen Luu has lived in Hackney for 30 years and is a big fan of Longdan. She prefers buying her fresh goods on Thursdays (the main delivery day for the area) and likes to spend a bit extra on decent fish sauce. Her favourite is Viet Huong, “the Three Crabs brand. It’s expensive [around a fiver] compared to other sauces, but tastes a thousand times better”.

Bangladeshi

Inside Taj Stores on Brick Lane. Photograph: Rejina Sabur

For anything from Bangladesh, whether it’s a carrom board or a fresh jackfruit, Aldgate (or “Banglatown” as it’s called) has it all. Established in 1936, Taj Stores is the longest-established Asian greengrocers in London. The meat counter brims with alternative cuts and they sometimes have goat, venison, pheasant and pigeon. The fresh Bangladeshi fruits and vegetables vary according to the season (on my visit I spotted four varieties of lemon, countless types of spinach, water pumpkins and five kinds of aubergine) and traditional utensils and cookware are piled high at the back.

A few doors down, the slightly cheaper Banglacity (86 Brick Lane, London E1 6RL) also stocks towering aisles of spices, lentils and exotic vegetables. Around the corner off Hanbury Street is the massive Banglatown Cash and Carry which is a great place to stuff the boot of a car with giant bags of rice or a whole spectrum of frozen fish or halal meats.

For the best take away samosas in the area, try the (Punjabi) Needo Grill or for other savouries the Ambala on Brick Lane also has a reasonable selection. For one of the better curries on Brick Lane, ask for the (off menu) paneer shashlik at Muhib Indian Restaurant (73 Brick Lane, London E1 6RL).

Sri Lankan

Turn left out of South Harrow station and you could quite easily picture yourself in Colombo. Northolt Road is lined with Sri Lankan and Tamil grocers, takeaway shops and restaurants. South Harrow Food and Wine has been around since 1997 and is the biggest in the area. With a roaring trade in the more unusual Sri Lankan vegetables like fresh niwithi leaves, mukunuwenna and white kerala, the shop is a fascinating Aladdin’s cave of rare-find chilli sauces, Sri Lankan noodles, rice flours, dried fish and soy products. They also have a takeaway snack counter, Seeraga samba rice (the tiniest grains imaginable), millet flour, palmyrah cream, red rice and kithul treacle.

Across the road there’s Best Foods (249 Northolt Road, South Harrow, HA2 8HR) and also the Shankar Superstore (231-233 Northolt Road, South Harrow, Middlesex HA2 8HN), both of which have a good, if slightly smaller selection. Sambal Express is the place to assuage an aubergine sambal or mutton roll craving and for authentic Sri Lankan food the devilled chicken at Papaya comes highly recommended.

Chinese

Chinatown is the obvious place to pick up anything from a new wok to bags of fresh gai lan. For live seafood, extremely fresh sea bass or pomfret, head to the Good Harvest Fish Market (65 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 6LH). New Loon Moon is crammed with interesting staples and has a decent array of fresh vegetables and fruit as well as an irresistible wall of instant noodles. See Woo has plenty of Thai and Vietnamese fare as well as Chinese, and blogger Su-Lin likes to throw a bottle of her favourite Way-on brand of chilli oil in her basket whenever she’s there.

She also gives the Wing Yip in Cricklewood the thumbs up (she especially adores their selection of Tean’s Gourmet Malaysian curry pastes) and also recommends Hoo Hing on the North Circular. London is of course, full of Chinese restaurants, and two particularly good ones are Hunan (where it’s best just to put yourself in the hands of the owners) and for top dim sum try the Royal China Club (40-42 Baker Street, W1).

Indian

Indian shops are as evenly distributed around the big smoke as the people themselves. Having said that, suburban shops worth making the pilgrimage to, include V B and Sons in Kingsbury (738 Kenton Road, HA3 9QX) Deepak foods with its lengthy corridors of spices (953-959 Garratt Lane, SW17 0LR) and Bhavins (193-197 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting, SW17 7TG) for its astonishing vista of Indian fruits and vegetables.

Wassim Tayyab, the owner of Tayyabs restaurant (where the tandoori paneer is addictive) likes the Asian Mega Mart in Beckton “it’s like the Asian equivalent of Tesco” he tells me. He also shops at Quality Foods in Ilford (there’s also a branch in Southall).

For fantastic snacks, try the fryer fresh Bombay mix or the jalebis at Natraj. For good vegetarian food, there’s Saraswathy Bhavan, where you can order a six foot family dosa if you’re that way inclined (70 Tooting High Street, Tooting Broadway, SW17 0RN).

BY Rejina Sabur

guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 September 2011 06.00 EDT

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Brooklyn!!!! The Contemporary Sri Lankan Supper Club Is Coming…

Check It Out Y’all!…Only a few spots left…My friend Chef Charles brings his culinary skills to BK, and it’s going to be something else!

 

Kitchensurfing @ The Ger-Nis Culinary Center

540 President Street, 2E, Brooklyn, NY (map)

Price: $75.00/per person

Refund policy

Chef Charles Disanayake invites you to taste contemporary Sri Lankan cuisine. This six-course tasting menu takes you on a journey through Sri Lanka, with each course highlighting the different flavors of each region and ethnic group. Sri Lankan cuisine incorporates the influences of the country’s evolving population, borrowing flavors present before, introduced during, and developed after the Colonial Period. Charles’s menu demonstrates the versatility and sophistication of Sri Lankan cuisine, and showcases dishes you won’t find anywhere else in New York.

A self-taught chef and restaurant consultant, Charles Disanayake’s culinary career has taken him around the world. He has hosted underground supper clubs in New York, Munich, London, and Sri Lanka. Charles’s New York supper club events have been featured in Business Insider magazine as one of the top 12 supper clubs in New York City.

Welcome Cocktail: Rum, Ginger, Lemongrass and Lychee

Sri Lankan Supper Club Menu

• Coconut and Cashew Crusted Shrimp with Micro Greens and Chili Mango Chutney
• Baked Chili Peppers Stuffed with Anchovies, Garlic and Paneer
• “Tissue” Roti with Slow-Roasted Chicken, Scallions, Eggs, and Curry Dip
• Crumb-fried Spicy Beef Crepes with Sweet Chili Sauce and Cilantro Lime Chutney
• Dutch Lamprais – Saffron Rice, Beef, Chicken, Lamb and Pork Curry, Shrimp Sambal, Beef Frikandel and Curried Eggplant Cooked in Banana Leaves (This course can be served with just chicken for those who don’t eat beef or pork)
• Wattalapam with Jaggery, Cashews, and Coconut Milk

Sri Lankan Supper Club Vegan/Vegetarian Menu 

• Coconut and Cashew Crusted Tofu with Micro Greens tossed in a tamarind Vinaigrette with Chili Mango Chutney
• Baked Chili Peppers Stuffed with Sweet Chili Caramelized Onions with a Panko Crust
• “Tissue” Roti stuffed with Curried Mushrooms,Leeks and Cherry Tomato’s and Curry Dip
• Crumb-fried Vegetarian Rolls stuffed with Spiced Potatoes and Peas with Sweet Chili Sauce and Cilantro Lime Chutney
• Dutch Lamprais – Saffron Rice, Mixed Vegetarian Curry, Chili Sambal, Vegetarian Frikandel and Curried Eggplant Cooked in Banana Leaves (This course can be served with just chicken for those who don’t eat beef or pork)
• Tapioca Cooked with Jaggery, Cashews, and Coconut Milk topped with Raspberries

Chef selected wine pairings included with each course

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Pan Asian: Pickled Tea Leaf Salad (Laphet Thote) – Myanmar

Last year, before heading out to the Bay area for some promotional events for my book, at least six different people gave me the same advice. I had arranged through friends to have my book party at a popular Burmese restaurant in Oakland called Burma Superstar, which also has several locations in SF proper. Upon hearing the name people said, “Oh, you have to try their tea leaf salad.”  Now if one or two people had dropped a dime, I would have thought nothing of it, but the hype machine created by six was certainly cause for a pause. It also, naturally, upped my expectations. ‘What could be so interesting about a salad?’ I thought, ‘Especially one made with tea leaves,’ which, last time I checked, tasted pretty bitter. Tea leaves are great for drinking and then, perhaps, composting, but making a meal out of them may be one for Andrew Zimmern.

 

Cut to the tail end of my book party at Burma Superstar. The place was packed, as expected, with a line out the door—and on a weeknight at that. The manager Tiyo, my friend’s sister, however, had reserved a table for myself and ten of my friends. She started sending out steaming plates from the kitchen in quick succession–curry pork with potatoes, chili lamb, sesame beef, mango shrimp, fiery tofu with vegetables, and rainbow salad–all of it unconditionally amazing. Much like it’s geographical location, Burmese food tastes somewhere between Indian and Chinese while retaining its own unique character.

Then the tea leaf salad appeared, but, quite frankly, I was stuffed, and it didn’t seem to warrant all the hype. What I saw before me was just a bed of chopped romaine lettuce with some diced tomatoes and bell peppers, lemon wedges, a pile of peanuts and sunflower seeds, with a dollop of some dark paste, resembling pesto in the center. This latter ingredient was apparently the fermented tea leaves, known as laphet in Burmese. It’s actually a very popular ingredient there, precisely because of this dish. After the waiter artfully tossed the salad at the table, thoroughly mixing all the ingredients and squeezing some of the lemon juice over it, it looked just like any salad I could make at home. As satiated as I was, I had to try it, because as Flavor Flav said: “Don’t believe the hype!”

 

Very often, when trying something new, one looks for comparisons to something known or familiar, but after a taste of the tea leaf salad I was at a loss for words. Literally. The only thing I could do was grab another crunchy, savory bite– and another and another. The simplicity of ingredients masked the broad spectrum of flavors going on here—from salty to spicy to tangy. As for the tea leaves themselves, I couldn‘t quite put my finger on this new taste, but its umami was off the meter. Tea leaf salad is truly a dish you have to taste for yourself.

 

laphet or fermented tea leaves

I never dreamed it would be so hard to recreate this dish at home, however. The only ingredient in question was the fermented tea leaves, but with the internet, everything is just a few clicks away.  Or so I thought. While looking for the elusive ingredient I found out some interesting things about fermented tea leaves along the way. First of all, they are not available in the U.S. due to a trade restriction against the banned chemical dye known as Auramine O, which some brands of the tea leaves are said to contain. Wow! What’s not to love about an illegal ingredient. Secondly, it supposedly takes 6 months to ferment the tea leaves, which are buried underground in vats. So much for making it myself. Finally, laphet  (meaning ‘pickled tea leaves’) thote (meaning ‘salad’) is not only one of the most popular dishes at Burma Superstar, but in the entire country of Myanmar itself! It is often eaten as a snack or at the end of a meal as a palate cleanser, and instead of romaine lettuce the Burmese use Napa cabbage and often ingredients like dried shrimp, green chilies, and fish sauce.

 

ingredients ordered from from http://www.mumhouse.com

I did, in fact, procure authentic laphet via mail order, and was able to recreate almost exactly what I was served that night at Burma Superstar for the recipe below.  They are available through a Burmese store in London called Mum’s House (www.mumhouse.com), and come in small packets costing  £1.30 (about $2) each containing a small bag of laphet and a small bag of fried yellow split peas, manufactured by a company called Yuzana.

 

the anatomy of a tea leaf salad

 

The Recipe

 

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed & chopped

1 medium tomato, diced

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 lemon, cut into wedges

¼  cup unsalted sunflower seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds, roasted

¼  cup unsalted peanuts, roasted

¼  cup laphet

¼  cup fried yellow split peas

¼  cup fried garlic

1 Jalapeno pepper (optional)

 

1.) Place all prepared ingredients on a serving plate. Squeeze with lemon and toss all the ingredients together until well mixed.

 

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MD/DC/VA — Sri Lankan Food Fest, Sunday August 5th

The Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington DC invites all to
Sri Lanka Food Festival -2012
at Washington Buddhist Vihara
on Sunday, August 5 in the Vihara Premises from 9.00 AM to 3.00 PM

For more details contact:
Washington Buddhist Vihara
5017, 16^th Street NW,
Washington DC, 20011
Tel: 202 723 0773

This is charity event organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Washington DC. 

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NY/NJ/CT — Sri Lanka Day Coming Up August 4th

 

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Pan Asian: Summer Rolls (Goi Cuon) — Vietnam

I only discovered these Summer rolls when I visited Vietnam a few years ago, but go to any Vietnamese restaurant, and you’ll find the exact same thing on the menu–usually as an appetizer. Stuffed with fresh vegetables and herbs, rice noodles, and pork and shrimp, I consider this Vietnamese fast food, a whole meal to go (of course, you’ll have to have several of them). They are also incredibly healthy and easy to make, although there is a decent amount of prep work involved to assemble all the ingredients.

While putting them, I thought what I might use to make a no-cook summer roll, and I thought of substituting  those packs of pre-roasted chicken you can buy at the supermarket for the pork. At my local grocery store, they also steam the shrimp for you right there on the premises so you don’t have to deal with it at home. For another twist, I thought about using strips of bacon instead of the lean pork, which would also add a nice crunchy texture to the roll (not to mention that savory, salty, bacony goodness!). The bottom line is to try whatever ingredients you like in the roll, thus making them your own. This time around, however, I stuck to the recipe. For the sauce, as well, feel free to experiment and add your own quantities of the individual ingredients to achieve a taste that you like.

summer rolls with spicy peanut sauceThe Recipe

The Recipe

2 cups (500 ml) water

1 spring onion

8 oz. (250 g) lean pork

12 (300 g) fresh medium prawns

12 dried rice paper wrappers ( 8 inches/20 cm in diameter)

1 small head butter lettuce, leaves washed, separated & dried

4 oz. (100 g) packet dried rice vermicelli

1 baby cucumber, quartered and thinly sliced

1 small carrot, grated

1 bunch cilantro leaves

1 bunch mint leaves

1 bunch scallions or chives

Peanut dipping sauce (Nuoc Leo)

¾ cup water

¼ cup hoisin sauce

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

juice of lime

fish sauce to taste

combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended

1.)  Bring the water to a boil and poach pork and spring onion for 7-10 minutes until done. Remove pork and set aside to cool, slicing it into thin strips

2.)  Using same water, boil again and poach prawns for 1-2 minutes until just cooked. Remove and plunge in cold water. Peel, devein, and halve each prawn lengthwise. Set aside.

3.)  Using same water, blanch rice vermicelli noodles for 1-2 minutes until soft and then rinse and drain in cold water. Set aside.

4.)  To make a roll, briefly dip whole rice paper wrapper in a bowl of water until soft. Remove and place on dry surface, smoothing it out with your fingers. Place a lettuce leaf onto the wrapper, closest to the edge nearest you and top with pork strips, rice vermicelli, cucumber and carrots. Fold the closest edge of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up halfway. Place 2 halves of a prawn, side by side, along the roll and top with cilantro leaves, then continue to roll up tightly to complete the folding. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.

5.)  Arrange Summer rolls  on a serving platter and serve with serving bowls of sauce in the side.

Makes 12 rolls

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Pan Asian: Chilli-fried Prawns (Malaysia)

With summer’s heat peaking early this year, you sometimes find yourself in a predicament where you don’t want to cook, but you want to eat something nice and tasty. Grilling is not an option because it’s waaaay too hot to be outside tending a fire, and while you could take the easy route and go out to eat, what about those huge head-on prawns you just bought at the Asian store the other day? Luckily shrimp cooks very quickly, and this dish from Malaysia that I found offers little in the way of fuss and a lot in the way of flavor. After a quick marinade using typical Asian ingredients like rice wine, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil–stuff that you might even have on hand–you are in business after a mere 2-3 minutes in front of the stove.

I love this dish as well because it actually calls for head-on prawns, which are a personal favorite. I like to break off the heads and suck the juice out because it’s got a very distinct flavor, and I usually end up munching on the heads, shells, and tails as well. Try it! You might appreciate that added crunch. And I know you’ll like the sweet, savory, spicy flavor of this dish, which will be ready in no time.

Chili Prawns

The Recipe

1 lb. large prawns, shells intact

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled & chopped

3 teaspoons water

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

3 teaspoons rice wine

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon sesame oil

2 stalks spring onions, roots discarded, tied in a knot

2 tablespoons oil

¼ cup water

1 large red chili, chopped

few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves

1.)  Trim the feelers off the prawns, but leave the heads and shells

2.)  Grind the ginger and water with food processor or mortar and pestle until finely ground. Transfer to sieve and extract as much of the ginger juice as possible. Stir in both soy sauces, rice wine, sugar and sesame oil. Add the spring onions and prawns stirring to mix well. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

3.)  Drain prawns, reserving liquid. Heat oil in a wok. Add prawns and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the ¼ cup water, reserved marinade, and salt  and cook, stirring frequently, until the prawns are done—about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped chili and cilantro leaves. Serve with white rice.

Serves  4-6

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Sri Lankan Chefs Win Bronze at World Cooking Contest

from the Sunday Times of Sri Lanka

By Tharooshie Mahahewage

 

Sri Lanka was placed third at the recently held Bocuse d’Or Asian competition in Shanghai for the Biennial World Chef Championship – the Bocuse d’Or (The Concours Mondial de la Cuisine, World Cooking Contest), winning the bronze medal. This means they secure entry as one of the four Asian teams that will compete at the finals of Bocuse d’Or International championship in 2013 at Lyon, France along with culinary giants like France, U.K., U.S.A, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, etc.

Sri Lankan chefs win bronze at world cooking contest

The two winners are Hilton Colombo’s chef Buddhika Samarasekara and Apprentice Rashen John. “The whole menu for the event revolved around the three main ingredients of Ceylon tea, Ceylon Cinnamon and Cashew,” said Chef Buddhika. This was the first time Sri Lanka has been represented at a competition of this calibre as it is frequently referred to as the culinary equivalent of the Academy Awards. This is also an honour for the Colombo Hilton celebrating its 25th year.

“This is an achievement for all Sri Lankans,” said the Promotions Manager of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka, Anura Dewapura. “There was a lot of hard work involved. This is a common dream for all chefs to achieve this award as it’s one of the most prestigious. This is a great encouragement for all younger chefs as well as all those who expect to enter the field.”

Also present at the news conference were the General Manager of the host hotel Hilton, Rudolf Troestler, the president of Bocuse d’Or Sri lanka, Rohan Fernandopulle, the official coach for Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka, Alan Palmer, Director Marketing of Dilmah Tea, Dilhan Fernando, Baili Delegue in Sri lanka for the Conrere de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, Nigel Austin and the chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa.

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