Veggie Egg Rolls

Egg RollsHomemade Egg Rolls

If Egg Rolls are on the menu, you can be sure that I’m going to get them.  I’ll even buy them at Jack in the Box or 7 eleven, because I like them that much.  And, if you want to take it step further, dip the Egg Rolls in a Chinese Frying batter, just like the batter that’s on Sweet and sour Pork or Chicken, and then fry it.  Mm-mm; that’s good sheet!  But for this recipe, let’s just focus on the basics, and keep it simple.

Vegetable Egg Rolls consist mostly of one simple ingredient.  Any guess’s?  That’s right, vegetables!  Which means you can put practically any vegetable you want inside these, and as long as you follow a few basic rules, they’re going to turn out great!  First, you have to season your veggies with a light saute.  I say light because you don’t want to over cook your ingredients before you fry them, thus cooking them a second time and creating a soggy flavorless mess.  That being said, 1 minute of pan time is all you need to lightly salt and pepper, maybe a pinch of sugar for sweetener and your favorite sauce.  In this case I use Tempura Dipping sauce, and I talk about it HERE!  As for the rest of my recipe, I just use a coleslaw premix I bought in the produce with the addition of Bean Sprouts.  Egg Roll Wrappers can usually be found there too.

Egg Roll Ingredients:

For 8 Egg Rolls I use
Egg Roll Wrappers
1/2 bag of Coleslaw Premix (about 8oz)
1/2 cup Bean Sprouts
2 tbsp Tempura Dipping Sauce (Teriyaki is a half decent substitute)
1 tsp Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Soy Sauce Chicken or Shoyu Chicken

North Americans Call it Soy Sauce Chicken!

Soy Sauce Chicken is what the Hawaiian’s call Shoyu Chicken. Obviously a Soy based recipe involving chicken.  Not too complicated, but it does take a good hour and a half to get to the finished product.  Reduction is your friend when it comes to cooking this recipe, so you do need to pay attention to what you are doing; to an extent anyway.  Once you have all of the ingredients put together, all you have to do to manage the cooking is flip the chicken back and forth in a timely fashion; every 25 to 30 minutes.  In between I usually do other things.  I actually got a work out in and exercised in the back yard the entire time I filmed this recipe.

In the video, I mention that you can further reduce the sauce after you’ve pulled the chicken from the pot.  The reason why this is a good idea is because you can lay down another layer of sweet caramelized sauce over the top of the chicken once you pull it from the grill, and you can add it to your rice.  My biggest problem is that I don’t like to waste.  If I can flip the reduction and turn it into an awesome sauce, that’s a win-win for everyone.  I mean, we make gravy from Beef Roasts and turkey don’t we?  Exactly!

So there’s one of two things you want to do when you’re making this Soy Sauce Chicken.  You can add all the ingredients at the beginning and have a perfect sauce just waiting for you after you’ve taken the Soy Sauce Chicken to the Grill(which is easier and more ideal), or you can spare yourself the sugar content and control how much you add when you reduce the Shoyu Chicken Sauce.  Because we are reducing, the salt from the Soy Sauce is going to impose an overwhelming flavor if you don’t add other ingredients to get it under control.  Among these ingredients is Vinegar, more Sugar and water.  And it’s simple.  You add twice the sugar, half the vinegar and an equal amount of water.  That means, if you started out with 1 cup of sugar at the beginning of the recipe, you are going to add a second when you reduce the sauce; 1/2 a cup of white vinegar and 1 1/2 cups of water.  Taste it.  If it’s too bitter or too salty, just add more sugar.  Bring this to a boil and reduce while you’re grilling the Soy Sauce Chicken.

Soy Sauce Chicken Ingredients:

1 dozen mixed chicken pieces, wings, thighs, legs and Breasts
8 oz Soy Sauce then fill to the top of chicken with water
2 Green Onions
4 slices of Ginger
1 cup of Brown Sugar
1 tsp Anise
Fresh Cilantro (small hand full)

Bring all the ingredients to a boil and reduce the heat to medium, stirring and turning the chicken occasionally (every 25 to 30 minutes).  Cooking time will take approximately 1 1/2 hours to fully absorb the flavor and get tender enough to take it to the grill.  Be sure to save the leftover sauce in the bottom of the pan for basting and also for seasoning over rice.  Grilling on High heat will only take about 5 minutes.  It’s not required but it puts a nice texture and some beautiful grill marks on the skin.  I hope you try this Soy Sauce Chicken recipe soon!

Secret Sauce for Ham or Shrimp Fried Rice

Secret Sauce is made by Kikkoman

I think most people would agree that they struggle with the right flavoring when they try to throw together a homemade Ham or Shrimp fried rice; if they’re not ordering take out that is.  Well it just so happens that I have a quick fix to your flavoring needs.  The only problem is it’s hard to find on the shelf at any grocery store.  But if you manage to get your hands on a bottle, try this the next time you make your favorite fried rice recipe: Canola oil, eggs, steamed rice, scallions, and your favorite cooked Ham or Shrimp, then add this Tempura Dipping Sauce over the top and stir.  Trust me!  And you can thank me later!