FOOD

WHAT’S COOKING WITH MASTERCHEF CONTESTANT Sieumuoi Hancock?

It was Sieumuoi Hancock’s love for feeding people, along with her husband’s power of persuasion that led her to apply as a contestant for MasterChef New Zealand, 2022. After several interviews and a tight screening process, the NorthPark resident couldn’t believe when she was selected from thousands all over the country.

Having grown up watching her parents who established several French Cambodian bakeries, Sieumuoi says that by the time she was five she was sitting on the kitchen benchtop dipping doughnuts in cream, and at 10 years of age, she was an ace at piping cakes.

The skilled MasterChef contestant, with an entrepreneurial streak, shares some of her quick and easy recipes with EastLife. Bon appetit!

I love Vietnamese spring rolls. They are crispy and a little chewy on the outside with a tasty pork, wood ear mushrooms and bean vermicelli inside. I remember growing up eating this as a little kid all the time. My mum would make different variations with the filling, especially back in the early 80s when it was harder to obtain some of the ingredients. However, these days all the local supermarkets have an extensive range of Asian ingredients. Give it a go. have an extensive range of Asian ingredients. Give it a go.

VIETNAMESE RICE PAPER FRIED SPRING ROLLS (CHA GIO) (GF)

Filling

• 400g pork mince • 50g mung bean noodles (soaked in boiling water for 4 minutes then drained) • 2 carrots fi nely grated • 1/3 cup of wood ear mushrooms (rehydrate in water for 5 mins, chopped fi nely) • 1/4 cup fi nely chopped shallots • 2 cloves minced garlic • 1 tsp grated ginger • 1 egg white • 2 Tbsp fi sh sauce • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil • 1 tsp salt • 1/4 tsp black pepper • 1/2 tsp sugar

Wrapper

• 20 dried large round rice papers • 1 tsp sugar • 2 cups warm water • Vegetable oil for frying • Fresh lettuce and mixed fresh herbs – mint, Thai basil, coriander and/or perilla leaves

Nouc Cham sauce

• 3 Tbsp palm sugar • 4 Tbsp hot water • 3 Tbsp fi sh sauce • 2 Tbsp rice vinegar • 3 Tbsp lime juice • 3 cloves garlic minced • 2 Tbsp red chilli

Sauce: Dissolve the sugar in water then add the remaining ingredients and adjust to your liking. I add some toasted crushed peanuts, finely grated carrots and chopped coriander to the dipping sauce just before serving.

Fried spring roll: Combine all the filling ingredients together (except rice paper) and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To prepare the wrapper – add 1 tsp sugar to a bowl of warm water (this trick will help achieve a more golden wrapper). Slide wrapper into the water for approximately 30 seconds. The wrapper will still be firm but will soften quite quickly. Place a log of filling on the wrapper and fold in the two sides and roll tightly into a log. Repeat for the remaining filling.

Chill for an hour to let the wrapper dry out a bit before frying in 170°c oil for 5 minutes. To achieve an extra crispy wrapper, I double fry for a second time for another 2 minutes to get a great crunchy spring roll.

RICE VERMICELLI NOODLE SALAD WITH VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS (BUN CHA CHA GIO) (GF)

When I’m making Vietnamese fried spring rolls, I like to have it as a salad also. It’s a light, tasty meal, and gluten free. The crispy spring roll pairs nicely with the soft rice vermicelli and fresh herbs. The nouc nam sauce mixed in gives it a lovely sweet, sour, and spicy kick. I have all the ingredients ready, and everyone just builds their own bowl. Super quick and easy.

• Rice vermicelli • Fresh herbs – mint, Thai basil, spring onion, coriander and/ or perilla leaves. • Lettuce • Bean sprouts • Cucumber • Grated carrots • Nouc Cham dressing • Toasted crushed peanuts • Vietnamese Rice Paper Fried

Spring Rolls chopped up

METHOD

Cook the noodles in boiling water. They start off hard and translucent and will turn white and soft once cooked. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop them from cooking further.

This cake is super moist, light and gluten free. This is always a favourite with my two kids. My eldest, 12-year-old daughter recently learnt how to make it all by herself so I have full confidence you can too.

Sieumuoi’s

CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND TORTE WITH DROPS OF CHOCOLATE GANACHE (GF)

INGREDIENTS

Torte

• 200g butter chopped • 180g dark chocolate • 2 Tbsp Cocoa powder • 1 shot espresso or (1/4 cup boiling water and 1 tsp instant coffee) • 2 cups ground almonds • 4 eggs separated • 1 cup sugar

Ganache

• 150ml cream • 300g dark chocolate Ganache: Bring cream to a gentle boil. Pour on top of the dark chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes then stir until glossy. Put it aside to cool and thicken.

Torte: Gently melt butter, chocolate, cocoa, and coffee in a saucepan until combined. Mix in the ground almonds and set aside. Whisk egg yolk and sugar for 5 minutes until thick.

Fold chocolate mixture with the egg yolk and once combined, fold in the egg whites.

Pour into a 22cm lined round tin. Bake at 160°c for 40-45 minutes.

Once cake has cooled, serve with a dollop of chocolate ganache and whipped cream. Sieumuoi Hancock was a contestant on MasterChef New Zealand

Taste

From tempting tipples to tasty treats, life can be ‘fare’ enough, thanks to these new (and recent) additions to shelves. additions to shelves.

WISE BOYS, WISE GUYS

When two brothers quit their jobs in 2016 to launch a food truck made from recycled materials, some may have said it wasn’t the wisest move! However, two successful burger restaurants later and Tim and Luke Burrows have dug quite the niche for themselves. Now, the pair is sharing the sweet (and sometimes sour) taste of success through their range of Wise Boys condiments, which features mayonnaise, aioli and burger sauce. All six products in this range are available from Countdown supermarkets, RRP $6.99.

RIPPLE MAKES WAVES

We liked it, so they’ve lumped it! Because shoppers were so sweet on the idea boysenberry ripple chocolate (by Cadbury and Tip Top) recently, Pascall has joined the party with another homage to this classic Kiwi fl avour. However, as with Cadbury’s creation, Boysenberry Lumps (RRP $2.97) are only available while stocks last.

HIGH JINKS FOR MT FYFFE

WHITTAKER’S SAYS: RELAX!

Anyone who isn’t relaxing when eating any type of chocolate is doing it wrong! However, because we can always relax a little more, Whittaker’s has created two new varieties: Relax and Refresh. While Relax features the calming fl avours of passionfruit and chamomile, Refresh is infused with peppermint and lavender. As these two top blocks are only available for a limited time, we best not be too relaxed about getting to the shops on time!

Teaming up with South Pacifi c Helicopters, Mt Fyffe Distillery is inviting high fl ying tourists access to what must be one of the most fantastic bars in the world, serving Woolshed gin and Shearwater gin on top of Mt Fyffe, near Kaikoura. However, we need not travel further than liquor stores to partake of Mt Fyffe’s creations: Woolshed is a classic London dry gin, with kanuka, mint and elderfl ower botanicals, while Shearwater is a more contemporary drop, with seaweed contributing to its unique fl avour.