Chinese Sesame Balls (Jin Dui or Jien Duy)

I've been feeling a little tired and uninspired lately. However, I did manage to do some cooking over the weekend. I had leftover adzuki beans from a different recipe and decided on the sesame balls instead of red bean dessert soup. I used dried adzuki beans to make the red bean paste. (This took a very long time.)

The recipe can be found here. These sesame balls are very similar to those found at dim sum restaurants. (I also like the Vietnamese version called bánh cam or bánh rám. The Vietnamese version is usually filled with sweetened mung bean paste.)

The pictures are not the best. The sesame balls happen to be one of the last items I cooked. It was already dark by the time I started the recipe. (It was cloudy most of the day so even the pictures I took during the day were crappy.)

The dough is slightly tan because of the dark brown sugar. The recipe calls for glutinous rice flour. If you buy a Thai brand, then it's the bag with the green writing. I always get confused between the red and the green writing. Green = Glutinous rice and Red = Regular rice. The red bean paste was made from dried adzuki beans, sugar and a pinch of salt.

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Goi Cuon (Vietnamese Spring Rolls) with Peanut Hoisin Sauce

My friend made Goi Cuon (or Vietnamese Spring Rolls) for the baby shower the other weekend. I was amazed by the way she rolled them. She is a master goi cuon roller. They looked so professional. It is not surprising because her family owned/owns several restaurants and they make some of the best goi cuons in San Diego.

I watched her roll them the morning of the shower. She used 1½ skins for each roll. She had a stack of very large round skins and a stack skins that were cut in half. I asked her why she had the half circles. She told me that it is trick used to help the rolls stay fresh for several hours. The trick worked.

There is quite a bit of prep work that goes into making these rolls. It is an exercise in mise en place. Once everything is prepped, you can either roll them all or wait for your friends to come and everyone can roll their own. Rolling spring rolls is another exercise of self-control and moderation. One must possess enough self control to not over-stuff the rolls. It is tempting to want to jam-pack all the yummy ingredients in the roll but one must remember that we are making spring rolls and not burritos.

Ingredients for 20 large rolls:
30 extra large shrimp
1 pork loin, poached, and cut into thin slices (I don’t like pork in mine.)
1 head Green leaf lettuce, washed and torn into pieces
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch mint, leaves only
2-3 cups bean sprouts
1/2 package vermicelli rice noodles
green onions or chives (I think this is optional. It makes the rolls pretty but I always pull it out before eating.
30 large rice paper wrappers

Mise en Place:

1. Shrimp – Put shrimp (with shells on) in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add about 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoons vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Boil until pink. Drain and allow to cool. Once shrimp is cool, carefully remove the shells. (Also devein them. I buy already deveined shrimp.)
2. Poach pork loin, cool and then slice.
3. Mix lettuce, cilantro, mint and bean sprout. Wash and drain.
4. Boil vermicelli noodles.

Vermicelli Rice Noodles:

After cutting the shrimp, I arrange them to make it easier to use the same side shrimp for each roll.

I watched my friend roll them but I couldn’t remember so I emailed her. She responded using her phone. Her response is below.

"I cut the wrapper in half dry with scissors

place half sheet in middle of whole sheet, hold together and then wet

I always use the larger wrappers with the three girls on it (my fav wrapper it's hole proof lol)

I like all my veggie and meat on the edge close to me like 1/4 the ways up then line shrimp in front of veggie pile

roll bottom wrapper over pile just enough to enclose stuffing then sides one by one and finish rolling up

if it's unclear call me"

I'll do the assembly instructions using photos. (This is my interpretation of my friend's method. It is not her method.)

1. Count 10 wrappers and cut them in half. (You will need a total of 30 wrappers to make 20 rolls.)

2. Hold the half skin in front of the whole skin and dunk in warm water.

3. Place on large plate.


4. Arrange veggies and noodles centered on lower edge of skin. (This is also the time to add the sliced pork loin, if using.)

5. Roll up and arrange the shrimp pieces.

6. Fold the edges.

7. Tightly roll.

Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce

This is not my friend's recipe for peanut hoisin sauce. I got this recipe from an old coworker named Daisy. It is so yummy. I think some of my friends use the spring rolls as a peanut hoisin sauce delivery device.

I like to make the sauce (and prep the shrimp and vegetables) the night before.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
MSG
1/2 cup water
Huy Fong Foods Chili Garlic Sauce (aka cock brand chili garlic sauce) - to taste

Method:
Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic. Cook until garlic is golden. Add the rest of the ingredients and allow to slowly melt together.

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Mom's Crab Rangoon and My Wonton Wrapped Shrimp

The bf loves crab rangoons (aka crab cheese wontons). You can only imagine his excitement when my mom made them for my friend's baby shower. He ate three dozen. He told me to get my mom's recipe since her wontons were better than the ones served in restaurants.

I called my mom and asked for her "recipe." She told me the ingredients. Her secret ingredient is Knorr chicken bouillon powder. She also adds frozen peas or frozen mixed vegetables to the filling.

I made the platter above to take over to dinner at a friend's house. It was a dinner for four.

Mom’s Crab Rangoons (Crab Cheese Wontons)

1 package 8 ounce cream cheese
2 stalks green onions, finely diced
3 sticks imitation crab meat, finely diced
½ cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
freshly ground pepper
1 package square wonton wrappers

1. Mix cream cheese, green onions, crab meat, peas, bouillon powder and ground pepper.

2. Fill wonton wrappers and shape. I use water to seal the edges. (I'm not wrapping them the same way they do it in the restaurant. My mom doesn't either. She says it is a pain. I make them more like tortellinis.)

3. Freeze them and then fry. (I don't know why but I always like to freeze my wontons and egg rolls before frying them.)

Place a spoonful of filling in the center (or off-center like me) and fold to form a triangle. Bring the two tips of th folded end together.

I also left a few as triangles to store in the freezer. I took the rest over to dinner at a friend's house. She also loves crab rangoons.

I think they look like little pudgy pokemon puffs.

And now the Wonton Wrapped Shrimp.

This is really not a recipe. One of my classmates in middle school showed me a very simple way to cook shrimp. We used small egg roll wrappers instead of wonton wrappers but I think both wrappers work well.

What you need:
Shrimp
Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce
Wonton or small egg roll wrappers

Method:
Peel and devein shrimp but leave the tails on.
Dip shrimp in Mae Ploy sauce and coat well.
Wrap the shrimp.
Fry.

I told you it was easy.

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Happy New Year and a Recipe for Filipino-Style Chicken Empanadas

I haven’t done much cooking in the last few weeks. It has been a mad rush to get ready for the holidays, fly home to San Diego and fly back. I made these empanadas a few weeks ago but neglected to post about them.

This is my favorite recipe for chicken empanadas. I came up with the recipe after tasting the chicken empanadas from the Filipino bakery in San Diego. I haven’t made them in a while. They are a pain to make and they do require a great deal of patience. I was feeling especially patient on this particular occasion.

Filling:
1 pound chicken breast
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 large potato, finely diced
1 carrot, shredded
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup peas
salt
pepper

Pastry:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
ice water

Egg Wash:
1 egg
2 tablespoons water

1. Place chicken in small saucepan, cover with water and poach until cooked.
2. Combine flour, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to until the dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with ice water. Stir to combine. Add just enough water to hold dough together. Form into two disks, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
3. Remove chicken from the poaching broth. Reserve broth. Finely dice the chicken breast and transfer to a bowl.
4. Heat a large sauté pan and add oil. When oil is hot, sauté garlic and onions until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and sauté a few more minutes. Add about a half cup of reserved poaching broth to mixture and cook until liquid is evaporated.


5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Remove the dough from refrigerator and roll to about ¼ thick. Cut dough into circles. I have a handy empanada cutter/filler kit somewhere at my parent’s house.
7. Fill each circle with filling, fold over and press edges firmly with tines of a fork to seal.


8. Brush each empanada with egg wash and bake in preheated oven until golden.

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Chicken Egg Rolls

I wrapped 75 egg rolls last Friday, froze them in layers and then fried them on Saturday morning. I like to make a large batch of egg rolls and freeze them. Sometimes I freeze them prior to frying and other times after frying. They are better frozen in their un-fried state but so much more convenient when frozen after frying. All I have to do is heat them up in an oven for about 15 minutes and they crisp right back up.




I've had this All-Clad 6-quart deep saute pan for a while but I never thought about using it for deep frying. I like my electric deep fryer but that darn thing fries about 5 egg rolls at a time. I wanted to fry in large batches. When I opened the Williams-Sonoma catalog, I saw this set up and wanted to give it a try. I didn't have the fry basket or the tongs but I have the pan. I thought about buying the basket but never really got around to look for it. It is so awesome.

I fried all 75 egg rolls in about 3-4 batches. It isn't my mom ginormous wok but it worked really well for me. So if you are looking for something to take care of your deep frying, I highly recommend this pan. The only downside is that it is not as fool-proof as an electric deep fryer. You can't set the temperature and wait for the light. You can use a separate thermometer. I've never found a need for one. I learned how to deep fry from my mom and we never used thermometers. After a while you just learn how to look at the oil and you can tell if it is hot enough. You can also dip a piece of your food in the oil to see if it sizzles. You also learn to adjust the heat of the oil between batches by judging the rate the food is cooking.

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Egg Rolls: Ambiguous Origins...Perhaps China?

No recipe for this. I basically used the same filling for these egg rolls as I used for the Vietnamese egg rolls. The only difference is omit the sugar, use carrots instead of sweet potatoes and use cabbage instead of potatoes. These egg rolls keep better, are less temperamental and are easier to make but in my opinion are not as tasty as Vietnamese egg rolls.

I usually make them the same time as Vietnamese egg rolls and either freeze them uncooked or sometimes cooked. They actually fry up better straight out of the freezer. The only reason I sometimes freeze them cooked is out of sheer laziness. I don’t particularly enjoy heating up a pot of oil to fry up a few egg rolls. I simply place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for about half an hour or until crispy.

Serve with Nuoc Cham and green leaf lettuce.

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Malisa's Vietnamese Egg Rolls (Cha Gio)

Let me preface this by saying that this is my take on Vietnamese egg rolls. I’m not Vietnamese and I didn’t use a recipe from a Vietnamese cookbook. This recipe is from years and years of experimenting. I try different ingredients and in the end this is what works for me.

Some people might find the use of sweet potatoes and potatoes strange ingredients but I find them integral in the texture of my egg rolls. The sweet potatoes are a substitute for carrots. I am not too fond of cooked carrots and whenever I can find a sub, I will opt for the sub. You can use carrots instead of the sweet potatoes.

I also like to use potatoes to help lighten the filling. The potatoes help prevent having hard fried meat rods. I also use potatoes in my empanadas. Many people will use shredded cabbage as an egg roll filler but as much as I like cabbage, I prefer not to use it in my egg rolls. They contribute too much moisture and then start to ooze out of the wrappers. My friend told me that in order to prevent this, you can shred the cabbage the night before, put it in a strainer and weigh it down to remove much of the liquid. She said that restaurants put their shredded cabbage in one of those mop buckets to squeeze out the liquid. I’m not sure if this is true.

Egg Rolls

Filling:
1 pound Ground Chicken, Pork or Turkey (I used ground chicken because I just got a great deal on organic ground chicken breast.)
½ pound Shrimp, chopped
2 Eggs
Fish sauce
Salt
Pepper
MSG
sugar
1 bundle Cellophane Noodles, soaked in hot water until soft
¼ cup Sliced Dried Wood-Ear Mushroom, soaked in hot water until soft
2 Potatoes, shredded (Russets are fine but I used Yukons because that is what I usually buy)
½ pound Sweet Potatoes or Carrots, shredded
1 Yellow Onion, shredded
3 cloves Garlic, minced

50 Banh Trang Spring Roll Wrappers (Rice paper wrappers)
Oil, canola or peanut

1. Start by soaking your cellophane noodles and wood-ear mushrooms. I use the pre-sliced mushrooms.
2. Mix all filling ingredients together. Take a spoonful of the filing and microwave it about a minute. Taste the filling for proper seasoning. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Refrigerate if not planning on using immediately.
3. To wrap: Heat a large skillet of water. Don’t let it boil. The water should be hot enough to rehydrate the dried wrappers but you should be able to dip your fingers in the water. Soak the wrappers in the water until slightly soft. Don’t soak them too long or they will start to fall apart. The wrappers should be malleable.
4. Place filling on each wrapper and wrap as shown below.

Place filling in the center but about a third of the way from the bottom edge.

Fold in the sides towards the center.
Starting from the bottom edge, roll up toward the top edge.

Your Vietnamese Egg Roll: Slightly stout and pudgy.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls are on the left and Chinese Egg Rolls are on the right.

5. Heat oil in a wok, chicken fryer or electric deep fryer to 350 degrees. Fry egg rolls in batches until slightly golden; about 10 minutes. Vietnamese egg rolls will not completely brown and are a little more difficult than regular egg rolls to work with. The egg rolls will stick together. Let them stick. Once they are almost done they can easily be separated. Tip: Let the egg rolls dry out a bit and they will be easier to work with.

Vietnamese egg rolls are delicious wrapped in green leaf lettuce and dipped in Nuoc Cham sauce or cut up and served on top of vermicelli rice noodles, chiffonade lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and other assorted crunchy veggies and drizzled with Nuoc Cham sauce.

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