Fried Hearts Of Palm Rolls

Hearts of palm: a wonderful soft bite of brine-y goodness! (No wonder they sell for nearly $6 a can here in AK) Seriously though, some things are worth it! (Be sure to check out the video about their growth and production at the end) Paired with sweet and salty, gingery pork, these egg-less rolls have been a HUGE success whenever I’ve served them. Great as a main dish or made into smaller hors d’oeuvre portions, the versatility is unbeatable. The secret to it though? It’s the crispy phyllo dough!I went to a baby shower a long time ago (back when I was really fit) where they served these awesome crispy pork rolls. Portion control out the window! I couldn’t understand how one could get a pork roll to be so crispy! It wasn’t until we started this food blog that I did a little research about different types of dough and wrappers.

It has become quite the fashion to serve fried wonton wrappers with a variety of different dishes, including desserts. I can definitely see why! They are so tasty and crispy. I tried my hand at fried wrappers to go with some wontons I made a while ago. But that still was no where near the thin crispiness I recall from those pork rolls. I like to browse the local Asian and international markets for unique items but all I ever saw where the standard wonton and eggroll wrappers. I finally did some research online having heard something about phyllo dough used on a cooking show. Bingo! Now I know what I’m looking for!

I don’t know about you, but I am VERY white American. I don’t wear a cowboy hat or carry a pistol, and I don’t have a good ole southern drawl or east coast twang, but I also don’t speak a lick of pretty much any other language, let alone Hmong. (*I have since discovered that she is Vietnamese) For a long time, if I didn’t see it on the shelf I didn’t ask for it. Finally, one day, I got up the courage to ask how you eat a crazy looking fruit they had stocked. (It’s funny because I’m not even shy. This store is just really small and I guess I feel dumb for not being more informed or cultured.) “You jus use spoon. Eat like tis.” “Oh, thanks!” Oh man was he right! A creative google search later revealed that this $10 purchase was indeed Dragon Fruit and it was delicious! I learned two things that day, “I can do this. I can ask for help,” and “I need to check prices!”

Since then I have been able to ask for ‘Thai lime’ (though they call it something else) and Thai basil, and check out fresh lychee fruit, and ask what you might use pandan flavoring for, and that we do like hearts of palm, we do not like the large brined bamboo shoots…

Finally, “I’m looking for a different kind of wrap called ‘pheelo’ or ‘phyllo.'” I got a blank stare and a confused head cock. “It’s a really thin wrapper.” After a few more moments of fumbled conversation, “Aaahh! I know. You mean Menlo!” She understood! Going quickly to a freezer at the back that I had never even noticed before she brought ‘it’ out. *AWWWWWE!* (Insert angels singing and a bright glowing light in her hand.) Labeled as four different things in three different languages my new-found best friend had helped me solve the enigma that was phyllo dough. (*I have also since then figured out that menlo is thicker than phyllo, which I can now find at our local grocery store. It is stil much thinner than wonton or eggroll wrappers.)

Finally! I would be able to create heaven here on earth in the form of a crispy pork roll!

Now the second half (or perhaps the first) was my discovery of hearts of palm. It was a typical example of ‘I’ll try anything once.’ I found a dented can discounted for $3.50 so the opportunity had arisen. Like I said at the beginning, there is a reason these are so expensive! They are awesome! Easy to bite. Easy to slice. Just the right amount of salty brine. What I liked best, and simply could not get over, was the shape. A perfect tube. I knew from the first heart of palm that I ate that I was going to have to stuff, wrap, and fry some!

Choosing pork was an easy next step. It’s common in various Asian cuisines, versatile and tasty! Add ginger, soy sauce, and some heat and bingo!

When I brought this finished recipe to my ‘guinea pig’ bible study group it was an overwhelming success!

By:Vduley
Serves: 5-6 (at 2 each)

Ingredients:

2 cans hearts of palm
1/2 pound ground pork
7 T minced ginger
1 T soysauce
4 T Sambal Oelek (aka chili paste) – more or less to taste
10-12 sheets of phyllo dough

Directions:

Brown the ground pork.
Add ginger, soy sauce, and chili paste to pan. Saute until the ginger is tender.
Drain the hearts of palm. Gently slice the length of each on the thin side of the core. Remove the softest inner core.
In a bowl combine the pork mixture and soft cores of the hearts of palm.
Gently ‘over-stuff’ each palm with the filling.
Lay this tube parallel to the edge of one phyllo sheet. Fold the left and right sides over the heart’s ends and roll to the end. Use a little water to try and stick the phyllo to itself. Lay ‘seam’-down while waiting to be fried. This will keep them from unrolling. *Note: You can cut each heart and phyllo sheet into halves or quarters to make smaller portions and hors d’oeuvres.*
Deep fry 2-3 rolls at a time at 340-450 degrees, just until golden. Remember that they will continue to cook for a few moments after you remove them from the oil. You may need to use tongs to keep the end from unrolling. Even if it does a little you shouldn’t end up loosing all the innards and they still taste great.

Here is a great video about how Hearts of Palm are grown and processed. No wonder they are expensive! SO WORTH IT!