Continuing on with the April A-Z Challenge!
E is for Eggroll in a bowl! I love to get take-out from a good Chinese restaurant. Our 2 favorites have closed and we haven't been able to find another one. Over 30 years ago, there was a restaurant called Joy Youngs in Birmingham, AL. I had my first taste of eggroll at Joy Youngs and they made wonderful eggrolls. To be honest, I haven't had one as good as theirs since they closed many years ago. Joy Youngs was located in "downtown" Birmingham for years and they were a white tablecloth restaurant. They moved a couple of times after that and finally closed. I ate their food for the first time after they moved to the second location. My husband's family loved to eat there. My family had never eaten anything so exotic! We had two other Chinese restaurants that we frequented over the past 10 years or more. One restaurant was primarily take-out only and the line would be down the sidewalk on the weekends. I actually think it is still open but is not run by the same people. Are you familiar with the Seinfeld episode about the soup nazi? When you called to place your order, the lady on the phone was a no nonsense kind of person. She would say something like, "What do you want to order?" As you started naming the dishes, she would say "YES" "YES" after each thing. What was really amazing was when you walked through the door, she knew what each person had ordered without asking. The other restaurant we frequented was The Dragon. For years, my mother-in-law has prepared Sunday lunch for the family but every once in a while we would go out to eat after church at The Dragon. Now it, too, has closed. I've tried making Asian food at home and I never get it just right BUT this recipe has been floating around for a couple of years and I've tweaked and added and subtracted and we love it! I've made it many times over the last year. It is a quick, easy, and fairly inexpensive dinner. There are even leftovers for the next day's lunch.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
1 frozen garlic cube (or 1 tsp of minced garlic)
1 frozen ginger cube (or 1 tsp ginger)
1 bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) - either a 12 ounce or 16 ounce bag
2 tsp sriracha
1 T sesame oil
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 small can chopped water chestnuts
1/4 c low sodium soy sauce (you can use regular soy sauce if you prefer)
1T Hoisin sauce
Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
optional: chopped green onions and sesame seeds
also optional: rice or cauliflower rice
Brown turkey (or sausage/pork) in large skillet (I use non-stick All Clad) until no longer pink
Add garlic cube and ginger cube - these are the most wonderful invention!
Add coleslaw mix to skillet.
Drain chopped water chestnuts and add to skillet (my kids hate water chestnuts so if you or someone in your family doesn't like them, they can be omitted)
Mix together sriracha, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and hoisin sauce.
Add to skillet and gently stir in.
Allow to cook down. Some people like to leave their cabbage "snappy" but we prefer it cooked down a little more. Sometimes I put a lid on the skillet and turn it down really low and go ride the stationary bike for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle chopped green onions or sesame seeds on top (or not).
It is now ready to serve -- we put a portion on our plates (we eat it plain - no rice or cauli rice) and then we put Dijon mustard on top. We have always loved the "special" mustard at the restaurants -- not the packets but the one you had to ask for. They would bring it out in a tiny container. Imagine my surprise when we tried the Grey Poupon on top and it tastes JUST LIKE THE "special" mustard! The mustard is a game changer. Sometimes Mark adds more Hoisin sauce because it has a sweeter taste. If you use the mustard, be prepared. When it hits the roof of your mouth, it will open all of your sinus cavities hahaha! Mark also has been know to put more sriracha sauce on his serving. (total aside here -- if you have Amazon Prime, watch the Sriracha documentary -- it is so good!!)
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I see that I used sliced water chestnuts when I made it. Feel free to add your own twist like we added the mustard! |
What is your favorite dish at your local Chinese restaurant? Do you make Asian food at home?
Never heard of eggroll in a bowl -- but I'm SO going to make it! Not sure why, but I never had Chinese food before meeting Tom in '02. We're such stick-in-the-muds and always wind up getting the same things: Moo Shoo Pork and Beef Broccoli.
ReplyDeleteLast January, the night before Tom's UAB procedure we stayed at the downtown Courtyard and enjoyed some of the best take-out from a little place right across the street.
I love Chinese food and your recipe sounds good. The green onions would definitely be in mine - the more onions the better in my opinion. I had no idea about the frozen ginger cubes - that would be handy.
ReplyDeletesometimes I chop a small onion up (really small pieces) and put it in to brown with the meat. I like cooked onions.
DeleteThis really sounds good! If you have a Vietnamese restaurant near you, give it a try. I actually like it better than Chinese now. The food seems fresher and brighter (if that makes sense) and their egg rolls are delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThat lady who knew the order tight away, now she is a true customer hero! :)
ReplyDeleteOccasionally, we'll make fried rice but otherwise haven't ventured much into making Chinese food. I have a great Chinese cookbook too but I've only used once in twenty years. Maybe it's time to pull it out again.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out the Sriracha documentary. I love documentaries.
Weekends In Maine
I hope you enjoy the documentary. I've watched it several times. It is a "feel good" story to me.
DeleteYour recipe sounds great.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Chinese dish is shrimps with chili sauce.
I live in Japan, so I usually cook Asian dishes. :-)
Maybe you can share some of your secrets to make authentic Asian dishes! Shrimp with chili sauce sounds yummy!!!
DeleteI so want to try this recipe now!
ReplyDelete