Spring into autumn with spring rolls

ho doesn’t like a unique snack that can accompany binge-watching “Yellowstone” and never leaving the sofa unless it’s for a prosecco refill?

Yes – more than two years in and vaccinations aside, I still tend to be a bit more isolated than the social butterfly I was before 2020. But staying at home reminds me of some tasty Saturday night recipes from my Manhattan days … including the glorious spring rolls I often indulged in.

I always did a great deal of food shopping in Chinatown. Tripping through that densely packed enclave is such a sensory blast. Baskets of crabs trying to climb out and away from hungry eyes, and tables and tables of fish, clams, shrimp and things that creep about on the ocean floors. All tasty and delightful to see, smell and buy.

Here in Miami, Beijing Mart at 316 NE 167th St. is one stand-in I like to visit. It boasts a very good assortment of Chinese goods and hard-to-find items, and the staff is always helpful. Regardless, I do miss the NYC seafood markets for their guaranteed fanfare and excitement at any time of the year.

Being the consummate professional photographer, I always had a camera with me on my Chinatown romps, although it wasn’t always welcomed.

The First Amendment includes photography, didn’t you know? “When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have a First Amendment right to photograph anything that is in plain view.” Unfortunately, most vendors working the fish stalls on Canal Street didn’t want their picture taken. I understood, but I wasn’t from the health department. The five-second rule applies to cooked food, not a smelt or half-dead lobster, so workers just weren’t keen on a Kodak moment.

Documenting those vivacious, vibrant, visceral seafood displays has always turned me on. You might call it cooking foreplay. But having some irate man waving a scaly cleaver at me didn’t make me happy. I learned my lesson the stinky way.

During one of my photographic urges, I once had the misfortune of standing too close to a tray that just had its drain plug pulled out. Any idea how fish juice can settle into a pair of Nikes after a week in the closet?

Now I always ask, “May I take a personal photograph, please?” See my photo of crabs in a basket and you’ll know how I feel about my work.

Delicious spring rolls are not always healthy, but I am one of those carefree omnivores who will eat that burnt spicy

glob of fat on a roast. I also will never let good gravy remain on a plate; a piece of bread or a slurped spoon will fix that every time. Nor am I ever embarrassed to hold a dish to my mouth to suck up juices left on a dinner plate, much to the chagrin of my exes and my mother. “Oh, Sidney, that’s not polite!!” was a much-heard refrain, but if you tasted her cooking, you would have licked the plate clean, too.

I am not a big deep-fry kind of guy, either. Hot oil gives me the willies, but once every few months I get those

“‘Yellowstone’ munchies” and must heat up one inch of avocado oil to 385 degrees to make a fatty, tasty treat. Are you smellin’ what I’m tellin’?

CHEF SID’S SPRING ROLLS

Yield: Approximately 20 spring rolls

Appreciate this Zen moment, sharpen your knife skills and try not to lose any fingernails.

INGREDIENTS

Sauce:

·     4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

·     2 tablespoons honey

·     2 tablespoons crunchy chili oil sauce (or chili flakes in oil)

·     1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce

·     1/4 cup sesame oil

·     1/4 cup avocado or peanut oil

·     Soy sauce, optional

·     Sriracha, optional

Rolls:

·     1 large, fat cucumber, seeded and cut into finely sliced slivers to yield 1/2 cup

·     1 large, ripe, mango, cut into finely sliced slivers* to yield 1/2 cup

·     Fresh, raw carrots, grated for coarse long slivers yielding 1/2 cup

·     1/2 small red cabbage, finely sliced to slivers to yield 1/2 cup

·     20+ large deveined, peeled cooked shrimp, chopped (go for 20-24 count size to really shrimp it up)

·     1 bunch fresh mint, stems removed and finely sliced to yield 1/2 cup

·     1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed and finely sliced to yield 1/2 cup

·     One 20-24 pack spring roll skins (I like the big 10″ round Filipino-style wrappers because they’re more porous and lighter, but it’s good to try to mix in the square Chinese brands, though they’re often thicker after deep frying.)

·     Avocado oil, for frying

* This can be done with a superior mandolin, but I like to focus on how blessed I am to have the sight and skills to make those slivers uniform and right on. It’s really, again, all about the Zen of cooking.

PREPARATION

·     To make the sauce, mix all ingredients together until you get a smooth, well-incorporated blend. How hard can that be, my dears? You can add more chili oil sauce, or sriracha or soy sauce, if desired …

whatever floats your boat.

·     A note on the wrappers: Some people water mist them, but I use them quickly right out of the freezer. Sometimes, too much misting or a quick soak in water can cause them to splatter in the hot oil and you don’t want that!

Regardless, wear a long apron to protect your “lower regions.”

·     To make the rolls, place shrimp, vegetables and wrappers in an organized area to begin.

·     Rolling isn’t neurosurgery, but you will fumble about a bit before you find your rhythm. There are usually 24 wrappers in a pack so you can screw up a couple and still have a few extra for redos.

·     Place wrapper on a flat surface and put equal amounts of cucumber, mango, carrot and red cabbage on the upper third.

·     Add chopped body of one shrimp along this pattern, then sprinkle the whole thing with equal amounts mint and cilantro.

·     Begin rolling; as you get the first circumference going, fold in the edges to the width of your roll and continue rolling.

·     Place finished rolls seam-side down on a plate; this keeps loose edges from drying out while they rest.

·     To cook ’em up, heat 1″ avocado oil in a deep skillet, add rolls in

batches and flip each after

30 seconds – they should be golden brown and crispy; place on a platter covered in paper towels to drain. You could use an air fryer instead, cooking 3-4 rolls at a time until they reach your desired color and external crunch.

·     Pour yourself a generous glass of prosecco and tuck in!

Sid Hoeltzell is an award-winning Miami-based commercial food and beverage photographer and former “MasterChef” contestant. He has completed more than 450 commissioned works for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, teaches food photography seminars and is a preferred fine art photographer for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and private collections.