Grocery Shopping – Ingredients for Oriental Recipes

Believe it or not, it’s so easy shopping for ingredients for Oriental recipes. I’d dare say, it’s even fun. You get so much culture in such a little place and sometimes its just really nice to get out of my comfort zone only to realize it can be just as comfortable somewhere else.

The folks at this 1st Oriental Market are amazing people. They’re so eager to help with all your needs. And I find that this is common just about anywhere I go when it comes to foreign food. People like to share their experiences and culture. I find that it isn’t any different here and the owner, Earl and his wife, make it a real pleasant experience.

Most Oriental Cooking, these days, is very simplified because almost all of the guess work has already been cut out for you. I don’t have to make every individual sauce that is used to combine with other sauces to make one great recipe. For example: when a recipe calls for Hoisin Sauce, you don’t have to make you’re own Hoisin Sauce from scratch(which would require several other ingredients), you just crack open a bottle. And what about Plum Sauce… could you imagine having to make that beforehand too? Both of these ingredients are in my Chinese Barbecue Sauce recipe, which only has 5 or 6 ingredients: Hoisin, Plum Sauce, Ketchup, Sugar, 5 spice powder etc., and that makes it really simple just buying each one of those premade bottles. But, could you imagine having to make all of those ingredients as well? You’d be making ingredients for your ingredients.

That being said, I would just like you to understand and realize that you don’t have to learn translations of ingredients you’ve probably never heard of in the first place. Because, most of the basic ingredients I show you in this video are very versatile to most of the popular Americanized Oriental recipes that you’re likely familiar with anyway.

So get familiar with the few I show you now and I’ll introduce more as we go and you’ll be a pro before you know it!

Original Egg Rolls

The Best Egg Rolls

For some reason what people are calling the “Original Egg Roll” has slipped through the cracks with online recipes. All it is, pretty much, is just a normal egg roll that is dipped in a Chinese Batter before its fried. I’ve researched it a little bit and some claim that the egg roll wrapper is suppose to be a crepe but I’ve had it served both ways. I find using a normal wrapper is much more practical for sealing and they’re fairly cheap so I don’t bother with the extra hassle of making my own.

My experience with Egg Rolls

These Egg Rolls leave little to be desired. Except for the fact that you’ll probably want more. One bite into these crunchy vegetable and pork fried rolls sends me spinning. And because these aren’t made at most Chinese Restaurants anymore, I’m left with making my own and it took me a while to perfect. But now that I’ve got it down, I thought I’d share it with the world. I’ve included my Sweet and Sour sauce and my normal egg roll recipe in the links below, if you’re interested. Also my Chinese Batter is there if you didn’t fully understand the way I make it here.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Egg Rolls
Chinese Fry Batter

The Original Egg Rolls Ingredients:

Egg Roll Wrappers or Crepe Pancakes
1/2 lbs Ground Pork, cooked
1/2 cup Bean Sprouts
1/2 Onion, sliced
1/2 cup Cabbage, chopped
1 tsp Soy sauce White or Black Pepper to taste

Fry Batter
1 cup Self Rising Flour
1 cup Water, maybe a little more

Follow the instructions in the video tutorial to make the Original Egg Rolls.

Firecracker Shrimp with Spicy Mayo

The Best Firecracker Shrimp

This Firecracker Shrimp Recipe is a very fast and simple way to just knock out a great appetizer that everyone can enjoy. There are many different ways you can make these and as you can see I’ve chosen the easiest way to demonstrate by practicality and availability so that everyone can enjoy these little poppers. The more authentic version requires Spring Roll Wrappers which aren’t often, if at all, stocked in regular grocery stores. That is why I’ve chosen the Wonton Wrapper because they’re made more readily available. To make these Firecracker Shrimp you only need a few ingredients, which I’ll list below.

Other Firecracker Shrimp Recipes

The more commonly known Firecracker Shrimp recipe is different than this appetizer and it is normally served as a side or main dish. Some restaurants even have it listed on their menu under a different name; Bang Bang Shrimp. But they are, both, one in the same and it doesn’t reference the look of the firecracker as much as it does the spiciness of the dish. It’s generally made with pre-fried, battered shrimp with Red Chili’s and a sweet and spicy sauce. And, lucky for you, I just so happen to have the number one fried shrimp recipe on YouTube, so all you have to do is combine that recipe with the sauce and you’ll be on your way. Click Here for that recipe!

Firecracker Shrimp Ingredients:

1 pkg Wonton Wrappers
2 lbs Medium or Large Shrimp
1/4 cup Water for Wrappers
Oil for Frying

Spicy Mayo Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Sriracha

Peal and de-vain Shrimp but leave the tails attached. Roll each Shrimp in one Wonton Wrapper, leaving the tail out, one half roll, then fold the bottom of the wrapper over the end of the shrimp like a burrito and roll the Wrapper and Shrimp together as one until you reach the furthest edge and stop. Dab the edge with water and seal by pressing firmly. Fry at 350 degrees for 4 minutes or until golden brown. Mix the two ingredients together for Spicy Mayo, adjust for taste and enjoy your Firecracker Shrimp.