Last night, I made a life changing recipe. It was so incredibly delicious that I decided that I had to make a blog.
I'm a food lover. Many of my earliest memories are tied to food, both smells and flavors. I know this is true for many people, but these experiences shaped the way I make and eat food. I think its actually in my blood.
My mothers family has a homestead farm in Northport, Michigan established in the 1860s. Before we moved to Michigan from New York, my family spent most of the summer in Northport to help with cherries and to visit with family. I remember watching my aunts bounce around my Gramma Siggie's kitchen like pinballs preparing a large, noon feast for the cherry "shaking crew" everyday of the cherry season. I'm not sure if it was because my Gramma Siggie was a dietician or because Lutherans always put vegetables in jello, but I look back everything I ate growing up was filled with vegetables. Even my Aunt Trudy's famous asparagus chocolate chip cookies. She didn't tell us the 'secret' ingredient the first time and afterward no one was complaining. Anyway, the women in my family taught us to eat healthy, not by choice but by sneaking vegetables into absolutely every thing we ate.
My mom always makes meals from scratch and taught us that recipes were meant to be used as guidelines not a rule book. This philosophy totally changes the way you approach cooking. When looking at a recipe I was taught to see what's needed, compare it to what I have and then decide what I can 'make do' with and what I might actually need to buy at the store. Additionally, how to look at a recipe and imagine 'Hmm that sounds good, but it will probably be incredibly bland. I should add X, Y and a pinch a Z'. Or 'Hmm that sounds delicious, however anything with X makes me sick. I'll replace that flavor with Z".
This may sound crazy to people who get their 1/8 teaspoon measure out every time they add seasoning to something, but it really works. The name for my blog is related to this belief. In addtion to being a food lover, I'm an art lover and a preschool teacher. So, I know everyone has a favorite color; or at least most three to seven year olds do. Similarly, we all have favorite flavors. You don't need to draw a picture but really try to identify flavors you enjoy and the categories they belong in.
If you imagine food like art you can see that certain things fit certain places; however, with a little creativity you can re-imagine and re-invent. There are a million ways to draw a maple tree. Some people always use brown for bark and green for leaves. Others choose grey, black and brown for the bark and use several colors of green for the leaves perhaps highlighting the greens with blues and perhaps some gold. There are a million ways to make potato salad. You could make it 'the way Grandma always made it' with just potatoes, eggs, mayo and yellow mustard or you could use miracle whip or yogurt or avocado for the mayo. Then, replace the yellow mustard with brown mustard or dijon mustard or horseradish mustard. And top it off with garlic, paprika and add diced celery, green peppers, onions and jalelpenos (if you're into it). Just as there are no strict-never-to-be-broken rules in an art studio, there are no solid rules in your kitchen.
Basically, in the same way I discovered I could use a coloring book to make fabulous pictures by adding to the background, I have learned to use base recipes as a jumping point in my kitchen to do what ever my tastebuds are in the mood for.
WHAT A LONG INTRODUCTION TO MY MAIN POINT.
I MADE EGG ROLLS LAST NIGHT AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE.
So, as I described my mother and all of her sisters are incredible cooks. However, other than my moms version of "egg fu yung' and my aunt trudy's "mall chicken" (a homemade sesame chicken) I never really was introduced to many asian recipes. My sister worked at a Thai restaurant for a while which sparked my interest, but for years certain recipes felt very 'out of bounds'. I felt that I could only satisfy my need for these flavors by dialing my favorite take out.
However, over the past year or so I have mastered my thai coconut curry (thanks Santa Claus, who got me "HOT THAI KITCHEN" by Pailin Chongchitnant). Still! Egg rolls were a mystery. If I made curry, I'd send my boyfriend for egg rolls to go on the side.
NOT ANYMORE!
Finally, after years of curiosity, I picked up a package of egg roll wrappers. There was a very basic recipe on the back of the package. I decided I'd give it a go- I already had cabbage at home that needed to be used so what the heck.
They called for :
1 pkg egg roll wraps
1 lb lean ground pork
1 tsp minced ginger
2 cups cabbage
1/4 lb bean sprouts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
I knew I didn't want to use pork and I didn't want to make 25 egg rolls, so I modified. If you want to make 25 egg rolls, use this recipe for the amounts of veggies/meat but adjust the flavors.
Instead, I filled a small mixing bowl with fillings. I didn't reallllllllly measure anything but I tried to keep the amount of 'stuff' contained to the bowl.
As many egg roll wrappers as I needed
Vegetable Oil
Sesame Oil
About 1/3 of a cup of fake breakfast sausage, cooked and cut up (I added a lot of black pepper, because I love black pepper in egg rolls but if its not your favorite color, skip. Also if you have meat, don't like fake meat or whatever you can sub or skip this all together. I bet it'd be good with marinated chicken grilled and chopped or pork too)
1 cup or so of really finely chopped red cabbage
Maybe about 1/2 cup of shredded carrots (it was one whole small carrot)
A small stalk of celery ribbed and chopped finely
3 green onions, chopped
A handful of fresh bean sprouts (NOT the kind that comes on Jimmy Johns)
A handfull of fresh spinach really finely sliced into long strips
oyster sauce
ginger
garlic
chili garlic paste (same company as sriracha, different product)
First I heated a medium fry pan with a half dollar sized dollop of sesame oil- it was on low-medium heat. I have a gas stove, so this temperature was enough to make everything hot but not enough to make anything brown. Once the oil was hot i added all my chopped veggies from the bowl. I added a squirt of ginger from my fresh ginger paste tube- it was probably about a 1/2 tsp. I added a few shakes of oyster sauce- maybe about a tablespoon. I added one med-large clove of garlic. I added a heaping teaspoon of chili garlic paste for heat. Once everything was coated with the flavoring- not wet but just coated- I turned off the heat and returned it to the bowl to cool.
I didn't measure any of the seasonings perfectly- partly because I am pretty comfortable with these ingredients but mostly because I am very comfortable tasting my food before its totally done. If you aren't exactly sure take a bite! Maybe you LOVE spicy food so add more chili garlic. Maybe its not sweet and you wish it was- add a little spoon of brown sugar.
While the veggies are cooling start heating up about 1/4" of vegetable oil in a heavy pan on a medium high. I used my cast iron skillet but use what you have. If you haven't used this recipe before and you have time, considering getting the next step complete before heating your oil so you don't completely freak out, start dropping half finished egg rolls into the pan and get splashed with hot oil. Patience.
Mix your meat in with your veggies. Get a large plate or clean your cutting board. Put one wrapper on the board diagonally and scoop a small amount of the filling into the middle from corner to corner leaving about an 1" on each side to fold in. First fold up the bottom, then fold in the sides, then roll. Just like a burrito. Keep doing this until you run out of filling. I made about 3 cups of veggies and I made 7 egg rolls. If you make more, cool, if you make less cool. If you wanna make a lot, use the first recipe and modify the flavor :D
Once your rolls are rolled and your oil is hot you can carefully (with tongs) set them into the oil with the flap side down. Let each side crisp and brown. Cool on a paper towel/plate. Serve with your favorite sauce- I like store bought plum sauce.
If you want you can also bake them by lightly brushing them with olive oil and baking on a nonstick baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. I haven't tried this yet but will let you know if I try.
Pictures coming soon.
