The East African Cookbook by Shereen Jog, R260, Penguin Random House, is packed with recipes using East African flavours and Indian spices and an abundance of fresh ingredients to produce mouth-watering dishes.

Similar to chicken and vegetable spring rolls: VIETNAMESE CRAB AND VEGETABLE ROLLS

(Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS  

2 deboned chicken breasts, cut into 1cm cubes

2t garlic paste

1t ginger paste

¾t salt

4 cups oil

½ cup grated carrot

½ cup grated cabbage

1T soy sauce

¼ tsp ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped spring onion leaves

1 cup cake flour or all-purpose white flour

¼ cup water at room temperature

METHOD

 

1. Place the chicken, garlic paste, ginger paste and ¼ teaspoon of the salt in a bowl and mix well.

2. In a wok or deep frying pan, heat half the oil over medium to high heat and cook the marinated chicken for 1–2 minutes, tossing frequently to prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the wok or pan.

3. Add the carrot, cabbage, soy sauce, black pepper and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Toss for 30 seconds and then remove from the heat.

4. Add the spring onion leaves and mix well. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

5. In a separate clean bowl, mix the flour with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Make a dough by adding the water at intervals until the dough is soft and easy to roll.

6. Dust your work surface with some flour and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 20 x 20cm square. Cut this into 4 smaller 10cm squares.

7. Line a spoonful of the chicken filling on the bottom third of each square. Fold in the sides and brush all the edges with a paste made from 2 teaspoons flour and 1 teaspoon water. Roll up the spring roll, making sure all the sides are well sealed.

8. Heat the remaining oil in a deep frying pan over medium to high heat and deep-fry the spring rolls until they are golden brown.

9. Use a sharp knife to cut the spring rolls in half diagonally before serving with a side of sweet chilli sauce.

COOK’S NOTE: To save time, you can use ready-made, store-bought spring-roll wrappers. Smaller versions of the spring rolls make a great party snack.

Go vegetarian by simply omitting the chicken.