Cheese sticks in the Philippines are small cheese-stuffed fried spring rolls. In this recipe, the cheese is laid on a bed of ube jam for a sweet-savory snack.
It works? It sure does. But the key here is finding a good balance between sweet and salty.
Some ube jams are sweeter than others while some cheeses are saltier than others. You’ll have to source an ube jam and a cheese variety that will go well together.
Ube Cheese Sticks
For best balance in flavor, use a salty cheese like sharp cheddar or native kesong puti to contrast with the sweetness of the ube jam.
Servings: 12 ube cheese sticks
Ingredients
- 175 grams cheese
- ½ cup ube jam
- 12 small spring roll wrappers - if using large, cut each into two triangles
- egg wash
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- cooking oil - for deep frying
Instructions
- Cut the cheese into sticks about three inches long and half an inch in width and depth.
- Lay a piece of wrapper flat and smear ube jam on one side.
- Top the ube jam with a piece of cheese.
- Roll the wrapper once to enclose the ube jam and filling then fold in the left and right sides.
- Wet the far edge of the wrapper with egg wash and roll all the way to form a log and seal the fillings.
- Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
- Sprinkle the bottom of a container with half of the starch.
- Lay the ube cheese sticks in single layer in the container then sprinkle with the remaining corn starch. Seal the container.
- Freeze the uncooked ube cheese sticks for at least three hours. This will prevent the cheese from softening too soon during frying and ooze out of the wrapper.
- Heat enough cooking oil in a frying pan to reach a depth of at least two inches.
- Fry the ube cheese sticks, in batches if your pan is rather small, until golden and crisp.
- Serve the ube cheese sticks immediately.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Ube Buchi
»