THE PARADOX OF ICE CREAM-SPRING ROLL W GROUND PEANUT BRITTLE

THE PARADOX OF ICE CREAM-SPRING ROLL W GROUND PEANUT BRITTLE

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…BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THERE.  THE REAL MIND-BLOWING PART IS THE LAST DESCENDING SPRIGS OF THE UNIMAGINABLE… FRESH CILANTRO LEAVES

If you were those who like to travel to unfamiliar places, see unfamiliar pictures, eat unfamiliar things, chances are that for many times, you have been caught up in moments where I’d like to call – the encounters of food paradox.  Foods that don’t make sense, shouldn’t make sense, but the moment we put one in our mouth, the argument between logics and instincts all quiets down, and the only sensation left with any capacity for thoughts, is how defiantly delicious it stood against our prejudice.   It changes everything, on top of the very least, our palette henceforth, will never be the same.  This post, I hope, is about exactly that.

I have been longing to find a way, an accessible angle, to tell you about a thing called, ice cream-spring roll.  It’s a common street-food in Taiwan, not particularly flashy or groundbreaking.  In fact, among the immensely competitive and ever evolving Taiwanese street-foodscape, one may even argue, standard stuff.  But if you have no affiliation with the food-culture from this island proud for nothing but, the concept of this ice cream-spring roll, with its deceivingly predictable name, may just very well be your next big revelation.  Up front, what is expected surely is that there’s ice creams, most likely local flavours like taro or mango but could also include strawberry and vanilla, which are rolled inside a chewy crepe made with simply flour, water and salt.  No innovation there.  But to make things more interesting, a tall pile of sweet nutty and salty ” sandy streusels” is being shaved directly from a ginormous brick of peanut and caramel brittle, matching its proportion to the ice creams to almost 1:2.  The shaved/ground peanut caramel brittle alone, already completely push the texture and flavour of the spring roll to another dimension, but, it doesn’t stop there.  The real mind-blowing part, is the last descending sprigs of the unimaginable, the last to belong in the dessert isle, the controversially pungent… fresh cilantro leaves.  What?!  

You know I would describe it to you if I could.  I’d say it’s melty, creamy, sandy and crunchy all encased inside a film of chewiness.  I’d say that it’s sweet with pops of saltiness, the permeation of powdered peanuts and caramel and a whiff of herbs in the back-note.  But for the life of me, I cannot describe to you the immense confusion upon the impact of the first bite, then the gentle surrendering into the next, then a breeze of exhilaration on the last.  So I won’t.  You’ll have to try this one out yourself.  Because, that’s the beauty of a food-paradox isn’t it?  One that does and should be lived outside the limitation of words.  Maybe you’ll hate it.  Maybe you’ll love it.  Whatever it is, we will celebrate the forever-forward exploration that is eating.

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Makes: 4~6 ice cream-spring rolls

The most important thing to explain here, is the wrapper/crepe being used.  This is NOT the same thing as the Chinese fried spring roll-wrappers you can find in most freezer-sections.  In fact, it is rarely seen in most supermarkets, Asian or non-Asian, even here, because it’s something people only eat around Chinese New Years or as a street-snack.  You may be able to find it in Southeast Asian supermarkets, named as “popiah” (a local Taiwanese dialect).  These flour-crepes are made from rubbing/dabbing an extremely wet and elastic dough on top of an iron-griddle, then peeled away once cooked.  I have tried to do it the authentic way at home, but it was very tricky when most of our crepe-pans were utterly non-stick.  The dough had a hard time sticking to the surface, and thus, couldn’t form a connected surface.  So, you have 3 options.

  1. Use store-bought if that is something available around where you live.
  2. Try to make it at home, and here’s how to.
  3. Use this adapted and simple flour-crepe recipe below, which isn’t exactly the same, but wonderful and easy enough to make me happy.

For those of you, like myself, who aren’t quite team-cilantro… I would urge you to at least give it a try here.  The cilantro’s sharp taste, for some mysterious reasons in this particular case, will blend smoothly into the background and faint as a whiff of light herby-ness.  I mean, if you still decided that you hate it, then simply just omit it, or substitute with fresh mint or something.  Then last but not least, the original ice cream-spring rolls do not have mochi in them…  I just couldn’t help myself.  So it will reasonably listed as “optional”.

UPDATE 2015/05/29:  I changed the original measurement for peanuts from 1 1/2 cup (195 grams), to 1 3/4 cup (227 grams).  And sea salt from 1/2 tsp, to 3/4 tsp.  This is a better ratio after my second time making it.

ICE CREAM-SPRING ROLL W GROUND PEANUT BRITTLE

Ingredients

    PEANUT BRITTLE:
  • 1 3/4 cup (227 grams) skinless peanuts
  • 1 tbsp (14 grams) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60 grams) water
  • BROWN SUGAR MOCHI: (optional)
  • 1/2 cup (60 grams) sticky rice flour
  • 1/3 cup (87 grams) water
  • 2 tbsp (30 grams) dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • FLOUR CREPE:
  • 1 cup (125 grams) bread flour, or all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup + 3 tbsp (215 grams) water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • TO ASSEMBLE:
  • Simple flavoured ice creams ranked in preference: taro, vanilla, coconut, mango, strawberry, chocolate
  • Fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

  1. TO MAKE THE PEANUT BRITTLE: Roast the peanuts on a baking-sheet, in a preheated 350F/175C oven for 20 min, until lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl and let cool in the fridge for 10 min, then add the unsalted butter (*no need to mix*), and sprinkle the sea salt and baking soda evenly over the top. Set aside. Line a baking-sheet with parchment paper then set aside. In a pot, heat granulated sugar and water over medium-high heat. Swirling the pot occasionally but DO NOT stir (or sugar crystals may form), and cook for 10~20 min until the mixture turns into a light golden/amber color. Once it does, REMOVE FROM THE HEAT IMMEDIATELY (otherwise it's gonna burn), then add the peanut-mixture all at once and stir to evenly combine. The mixture will foam up a little while you stir. As soon as you feel that the mixture is evenly mixed, pour it onto the parchment-lined sheet into a flat slab.
  2. Chill the brittle in the fridge for 20 min until completely hardened. Lay another parchment on top, then hammer it into small pieces. Pulse the pieces in a food-processor, in small batches, until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Can be made days before and stored in a jar.
  3. TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR MOCHI: The original ice cream-spring roll does not have mochi in it, so omit if you'd like. Whisk sticky rice flour, water, dark brown sugar and canola oil in a microwavable bowl, until lump-free. It will feel like a loose batter. Microwave on high at a 20 seconds-interval, re-mixing with a fork in between, for approx 2 min in total. The mixture will turn into an opaque/semi-translucent blob. Keep stirring/kneading with a fork for another 5 min to improve its chewiness, then set aside to cool completely. Can be made a few hours before hand.
  4. TO MAKE FLOUR CREPE: This is an adapted spring roll-crepe, made more accessible for home-kitchen. With a blender or immersion blender, blend bread flour, water and salt until smooth. Rub a non-stick crepe-pan with a bit of oil (just a sheen), then pour 3~4 tbsp of batter into the pan. Tilt/swirl the pan to distribute the batter into a thin, round sheet (*don't bother with a perfect circle, it doesn't matter in this application*), then set over medium-high heat and cook for approx 1:30~2 min, until the crepe is cooked and the edges are slightly curled up. Transfer onto a plate. Rinse the pan under cold water for a few seconds to cool, then repeat the same process until the batter's used up. You should have 4~6 crepes.
  5. TO ASSEMBLE: Spoon a generous amount of ground peanut brittle (the key is a lot of it) onto the center of the crepe, then top with 2~3 scoops of ice cream. With lightly oiled fingers, torn 2~3 nubs of brown sugar mochi and place then here-and-there around the ice cream. Top with more ground peanut brittle, and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves. Roll it up like... well, a spring roll, then eat immediately.
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28 Comments
  • Rebecca@Figs and Pigs

    05.26.2015at2:56 AM Reply

    Awesome I wish these were common street food in Edinburgh, I guess we have deep fried mars bars.

    • june2

      05.29.2015at3:56 AM Reply

      Gee, open a stand!

  • Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

    05.26.2015at3:35 AM Reply

    I have been waiting my whole life for this post. You’ve just rocked my world! And this isn’t one of those things where I think these foods shouldn’t be together…I am ALL IN!

  • Teresa Blackburn

    05.26.2015at5:30 AM Reply

    Love this so much! A new wonderful way to eat ice cream! Just beautiful and delicious looking. Thanks for sharing.

  • How wonderfully inventive! Love the ground up peanut brittle, that stuff is such a flavor bomb :)

  • Dumpling Love (@cscc28)

    05.26.2015at9:14 AM Reply

    THIS IS AWESOME!!! I’ve always wanted to try it in Taiwan! I sometimes use bread to wrap scoops of ice-cream to make the Singaporean $1 icecream sandwiches =P Thanks for sharing!!

  • Sarah @ Savoring Spoon

    05.26.2015at10:49 AM Reply

    What a great idea! The mix of crunchy and smooth sounds divine.

  • Millie | Add A Little

    05.26.2015at2:32 PM Reply

    Firstly, how on earth did you make those crepes so thin and delicate and beautiful!? Also, I would 1000000% eat 100 of these ice cream spring roll peanut brittle rolls of magicalness!

  • Jess @ alittlealice.com

    05.26.2015at4:29 PM Reply

    this food paradox sounds like when people fry ice-cream AND I FREAKING LOVE IT!!! those look gorgeous!!!! can i ask where you ceramic plates are from?

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      05.26.2015at6:41 PM Reply

      Jess, I bought them here online in China :) It’s a Chinese brand I think.

  • molly yeh

    05.26.2015at10:26 PM Reply

    ahhhh this makes so much more sense than an ice cream cone. like an ice cream burrito!!!!! i need it.

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      05.26.2015at11:48 PM Reply

      Molly, I now may have to rename it… Ice cream burrito sounds much better than ice cream spring roll…

    • kimithy

      05.28.2015at4:37 AM Reply

      @MollyYeh – exactly what I was thinking! Yummmm. I’m curious about the mess-comparison (better? worse?), and OMG the cilantro sounds amazing.

  • Amy

    05.27.2015at3:59 AM Reply

    This is fantastic!! I used to eat these by one of the coastal parks when I went back to Taiwan to visit my grandparents and aunts and uncles. Super refreshing, especially since I love cilantro. Thanks for sharing!!

  • Shikha @ Shikha la mode

    05.27.2015at2:22 PM Reply

    Okay so this just blew my mind and I need to visit Taiwan immediately. How has this not made it over to the USA yet? We have mochi, now we need this!

  • Kathleen

    05.28.2015at5:06 AM Reply

    I had a similar experience once when I was in the Philippines. My food paradox was halo halo. It is basically shaved ice with colorful jellys, fruit and and all kinds of other things. I loved it! and still do to this day ;)

    • JOYCE

      06.11.2015at5:14 AM Reply

      I was from the Philippines and halo halo is still one of my favorites! :)

      • Kathleen

        06.11.2015at9:59 PM Reply

        Nice! I will try to recreate it one day!

  • Zeph

    05.28.2015at8:08 PM Reply

    Street vendors sell these in Taiwan. Used to love them when I was young.

  • Charlie (Chockywoky)

    05.28.2015at9:42 PM Reply

    This is just like, whoa wheeee! Thinking of popiah, but many more times upped :)

    Hmmm… curry’s a food paradox as well…

  • JOYCE

    06.11.2015at5:12 AM Reply

    Your website and photos are beautiful but this made me comment. :) Will try making this!

  • Annie

    07.05.2015at1:37 PM Reply

    wow! you made it look even better than it originally was.
    This is like a upgrade of the ice cream spring roll.
    Originally we just mix peanuts and sugar together then grind them into powder.
    I’m a Taiwanese and currently living in Beijing. And I’m obsessed with your blog!

  • Queeny Kong

    09.18.2016at12:58 AM Reply

    Hi, any other way to make the mochi instead of using microwave?

    • mandy@ladyandpups

      09.18.2016at2:00 PM Reply

      Queeny, I suppose you can steam it but I never tried. You can also use store bought mochi!

  • q

    03.21.2017at10:26 PM Reply

    hi, may i know if i can make the crepe skin in advance?

  • Julie

    09.20.2018at9:39 PM Reply

    We had these in Taiwan! It blew our minds!!! Can’t believe I found a recipe yum yum yum

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