Chicken Egg-Rolls are amazing!

I've been searching/making different recipes and trying to find a really good egg-roll. This one is AMAZING!!!  It tastes like it's straight from an Asian restaurant! You'll love it! I think they could be a little saltier but I'll put the recipe anyways, it's delicious! Next time I make this recipe I'll just add a little more soy sauce (or maybe just some salt?). Perfection! :)  

Chicken Egg-Rolls 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp sugar 

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp shao hsing

1 TBS oyster sauce 

1/2 lb. ground chicken

3 button mushrooms, diced small

3 scallions, sliced thin

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 TBS peeled and minced fresh ginger root

1/2 cup shredded carrots 

Egg-roll wrappers 

Vegetable Oil  to saute veggies/cook chicken

Peanut Oil to fry the eggrolls

Directions:

1. Whisk together the sugar, soy, oyster sauce and rice wine and then toss with the chicken. While it marinades, place 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet heated to medium-high. A minute later, add the mushrooms, scallions, cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts; saute', stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

2. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and saute the ginger, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and its marinade and cook until it loses it's pinkness stirring occasionally to separate the pieces, about 3 minutes. Return the vegetables to the pan, mix well with the chicken, and cook for another minute. Remove the mixture with a slotted spoon. (You can prepare this filling, covered and refrigerated up to a day in advance.)

3. Add about 2 inches of peanut oil to a heavy saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches about 375°. Carefully place the egg-rolls into the heated oil but do not over-crowd the pan. The egg-rolls are done when they are golden brown. Use tongs to carefully transfer them from the oil to a plate covered with paper-towel (to soak up extra oil). Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.

*NOTES:
- Our favorite dipping sauce is Sweet Chili Sauce (bought from Safeway).

- I freeze all the egg-rolls I make individually on a cookie sheet (lined with foil, and then plastic wrap on top of the egg-rolls) for the entire day (or over-night) and then transfer them to freezer baggies.

Weekly Menu 11/2/11

Getting back into a normal routine now, sorry for the lack of posts! My MIL/FIL left November 2, and then my sister and her husband came from CA to visit! But now things are back to normal so I'm getting back into a routine and trying to plan meals (and stick to them!). I'm late with this week's menu but that's okay... I don't think any reads this blog yet anyway. :P 

For the week starting 11/2/2011
Wednesday - Teriyaki Salmon, White Rice, Wonton Soup, Steamed Asparagus
Thursday - Spaghetti & Meatballs, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Salad
Friday - Fried Chicken & Baked Potatoes
Saturday - Teriyaki Salmon, White Rice, Chicken Egg-rolls, Crab Rangoon
Sunday -  McCormick's Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Monday - Sushi from our fave Japanese place Ah-Hai Sushi & Grill

Tuesday - Black-bean Chili & Cornbread 

Intimidation over. Jap Chae is served!

Ever since I first tried Jap Chae at Kai's Japanese Restaurant back at home (in Alameda, CA) I've craved it! We were visiting all of our family (we moved to AZ in 07' but all of our family is still there in CA) and we ate at one of the local favorites; Kai's. At Kai's they never fail to amaze me with the quality and taste of their food. I normally get sushi, but this time I got a Teriyaki Chicken Bento Box! Amazing meal!! I decided I had to find out what these noodles were called and I had to re-create them myself! I've been so intimidated to even begin to make them, but now it's different. The more I cook and the more recipes I make, I keep wanting to try new things! So I gathered many Jap Chae recipes, watched YouTube videos with people making the noodle dish, and tried it the first time tonight. SUCCESS!

The Jap Chae Sauce was amazing! The brand is "Wang" but I can't even find a picture of the bottle on Google which is really odd. I'm so glad I found it at the Asian Market though! I highly recommend it!

NOTE: Jap Chae is a traditional Korean dish. Why it was in a Japanese restaurant I don't know, but my in-laws loved mine 10x better than the one at Kai's! :)

Ingredients:
3/4 of a Red Bell Pepper, julienned and cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 of a Yellow Bell Pepper, julienned 
1 Carrot, julienned into matchsticks
2 Green Onion Stalks, cut in 1 inch pieces
1/2 a small onion, thinly sliced
Toasted Sesame Seeds (as much as you see fit)
250 grams Glass Noodles (which is 1/2 of the 500g bag)
6oz Jap Chae Sauce from the asian market
3 hand-fulls of Fresh Spinach

Directions:
1. Boil the glass noodles in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes and check the texture. If they're done then remove them from the pot and set aside in a bowl (reserving the boiling water). Cut the noodles in a few places because the noodles are very long. Place the spinach into the boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and set spinach aside in another small bowl.
2. Cook the red/yellow bell pepper, carrot, onion, and green onion in a pan with alittle olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes (until tender but still crisp). Set aside in another bowl.
3. In the pan that you cooked the vegetables in, place the glass noodles into the pan on medium heat and add the Jap Chae Sauce. Stir until sauce covers all the noddles.
4. Add your vegetable mixture, spinach, and sesame seeds into the glass noodles and cook until hot (mixing everything together well).

I need an oil thermometer. Stat.

Tonight for dinner we had an asian feast (courtesy of moi'). I made Jap Chae, Teriyaki Chicken over Steamed White Rice, and I also fried up some of the Springrolls. Well we already know the pork filling is a total WIN, but I'm thinking my oil was too hot. The outside was perfect so I took one out and split it open, but half of it was still raw pork! I kept the others in the oil until they started getting alittle burnt and I just kept on checking if they were done. Finally they were done on the inside, but way too overdone (for my liking) on the outside. I now know I need to invest in an oil thermometer.

The perfect springroll step-by-step.

Take one springroll wrapper and lay it in a diamond-shape. Put a little of your pork mixture at the bottom edge (as shown in the picture).

Roll tightly (starting from the bottom edge) and roll a few times until a triangle shape forms.

Fold in both sides tightly.

Roll the rest until you get to the top edge. Stop.

Dip the tip of your finger in water and wet the whole top tip of the wrapper. Fold over the tip and tightly secure.

Voilà! Perfect Springroll. :)

How to Test Oil Temperature

Deep frying is normally done at between 360 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit and the following methods are designed to indicate when the oil reaches this temperature point

1. Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick. When the oil has preheated, dip the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick into the oil. If the oil starts steadily bubbling, then the oil is hot enough for frying. If the oil bubbles very very vigorously, then the oil is too hot and needs to cool off a touch. If no or very few bubbles pop up – then it’s not hot enough.
2. The old Joy of Cooking method – drop a 1 inch square of bread into the oil. If it takes 60 seconds to brown, then the oil is at 365.
3. The Cooks Illustrated Method – drop a single kernel of popcorn into the oil as you heat it. The kernel will pop as the oil reaches between 350 and 360 degrees. (Remove the kernel, eat it, and start frying)

Remember that no matter what temperature you start at, overcrowding the pan will result in a dramatic temperature drop and oily food – so don’t spend a lot of effort ensuring the correct temperature only to waste your effort by dumping in a mountain of frozen French fries, for example!
As a last resort – buy a deep fry thermometer!

Pork Wonton Mixture. Success!

Ingredients:
1.34 lb. Boneless Pork Shoulder Country Style Ribs
2 tsp. Sesame Oil
2 tsp. Grated Ginger Root
2 tsp. Shao Hsing Rice Cooking Wine
4 tbs. Green Onion, diced
4 tbs. Soy Sauce
2 tbs. Oyster Sauce
2 tbs. Minced Garlic
2 tbs. Cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
3 cups Slaw Mix (cabbage/carrot)
6 oz. Wing Hing Wonton Wrappers
11 oz. Wei-chuan Spring Roll Wrappers

Directions:
1. Ground pork in a food processor and transfer to a large bowl; add the slaw mix and stir to combine. 
2. In a smaller bowl combine sesame oil, ginger root, Shao Hsing, onions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, cilantro, sugar, and pepper; Stir after adding each ingredient.
3. Add the wet mixture to your pork mixture and use your hands to thoroughly combine all ingredients.

4. Use Wonton Wrappers if you're making Wonton Soup, or use Springroll Wrappers if you're making Springrolls/Eggrolls/Lumpia/Etc.

NOTE: I made the Wontons with this exact mixture and they turned out amazing!!! I then moved on to wrapping Springrolls (with the same bowl of mixture) but I added one more cup of the "slaw mix" just to add more vegetables.

A note that doesn't matter: I haven't fried up the Springrolls yet (they are in the freezer right now) because one night a.s.a.p. I want to have a whole Asian feast with Springrolls, Wonton Soup, Jap Chae & Steamed White Rice! I want to make Jap Chae sooo bad but I want to eat it with other Asian stuff too (instead of just eating it cold while standing at the refrigerator throughout the coming days). :P So I have to plan this feast! Tonight is Spaghetti and Meatballs though... I think I'll have to switch that around... ;)

I must secretly be chinese...

My second recipe that I made up for Pork Wontons/Springrolls turned out fantastic!!!! I'm talking beyond fantastic! I took some of my wontons from the freezer and made some for lunch for my in-laws and they loved them! This is definitly my #1 Wonton recipe. I am sooooo excited! As/If you recall my first try was basically a FAIL. I didn't let that get me down though; I was determined to make some amazing Wonton Soup and damn it, that's just what I did! I'm so proud of myself :D .

I haven't fried up the Springrolls yet, but let me tell you right now - using actual Springroll wrappers from an asian market is essential! The texture is already so much better than using grocery store bought "Eggroll" wrappers. The liquor store I use to live by was owned by Chinese people and the wife made the best eggrolls you will ever taste in your entire LIFE. It was right by the High School so all the kids bought eggrolls everyday and that's probably how they make a lot of their income! They were indescribable! I can definitely tell she uses Springroll wrappers instead of regular eggroll wrappers. I'm thinking eggroll wrappers would be good for dumplings becuse they're thicker, but for a light crispy springroll? No. That's where Asian Markets come in handy!

When I walked into this Asian Market I just knew; I was home! I literally felt like I had found my calling in life! I'm pretty sure I'd move in if it didn't smell like dead fish. :P The variety of Asian foods were incredible! I couldn't believe my eyes! They had every type of noodle, beef, sauce... AHHH! I don't even know how to explain it! It was just life-changing for me, I swear! I'm in love! <3