Fresh Thai Spring Rolls

There is nothing more tasty that fresh spring rolls.  Oh how I love them and they were just one more thing that I never ate much because I didn't know how to make them.  Yeah that and the fact that I can't get half the ingredients at home.  San Diego on the other hand has tons of Asian Markets and I was able to get a few pantry staples. 

Hold onto your hats because this is a long post.  I'll try and arrange it in simple, logical steps.  First you make a sauce, then you get your veggies/protein (if using) ready, then assemble your rolls



For the sauce you need.... soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce and sugar (oops forgot that in the picture)

 In a small bowl add 2 Tbl soy sauce

 1 Tbl Rice Vinegar

 1 Tbl Fish Sauce

 1 tsp sugar

 Give that a mix until the sugar is dissolved

 Grab some bean threads.  There are 3 "bundles" in the pack.  I only used 1.

Put them in a bowl and cover them with hot water until they're soft.

 like this

 Next your filling.  I used some thinly sliced precooked chicken, bean sprouts, grated carrot, chopped green onion, cilantro and basil.  My little prep bowls hold 1 cup.  Spring Rolls are very forgiving and you can pretty much put anything in them you want.  Have fun.

 If  you're the sort of person that needs measurements..... add 1 cup bean sprouts to the bowl with the bean threads

 3/4 cup thinly sliced cooked chicken.  Mine is boiled but you could use roasted.

 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

 1 cup grated carrot

 1 cup chopped green onion

 Mix the filling and pour the sauce over it

 Mix it all together.  You really want everything incorporated otherwise you'll get some rolls with mainly bean sprouts and some with mainly basil, etc.  You get the picture.

 Now get a bowl of hot water and place a rice paper wrapper in it to soften.  Sorry I forgot to take a picture of what I used.  The package will say "Fresh Spring Roll Wrappers" or something to that affect.

 Place your softened wrapper on a clean surface.  Put in some filling.  How much depends on how full you want your roll to be.  You do want to put it toward the bottom (the end closest to you).

 Fold the bottom and edges in tightly and roll to the top.  You may need to use a little water to seal them.  Now if only TGIM hadn't gobbled them up as I was rolling them I could have had a picture for you.

 Manage to get one on your plate before they're all gone.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.  Mine is Sweet Chili Sauce and you'd totally be able to see if if I hadn't used a red plate. 

Egg Drop Soup

Hey my two readers, did you miss me?  We snuck down to San Diego for the weekend to visit the grandparents so I didn't do much or any cooking for a few days.  It was nice.  One of the main reasons I cook so much at home is there is a definite lack of good restaurants in my town.  Plus, living 15-20 miles away from said restaurants, it's a commitment to go to one.  While there are a few restaurants that we like to go to, there is not a good Chinese one.  TGIM wanted some Asian food recently so I decided to give it a try.  Since I knew he'd be starving when he walked in the door (and he had to stop at the store for a key ingredient so dinner wasn't going to be ready when he got home) I decided to make up a pot of Egg Drop Soup.  Had I know how ridiculously easy it was I would have been making this all the time.



 Here's what you need.... chicken or veggie stock, soy sauce, corn starch, some green onion, eggs, ginger and totally optional but I had some on hand, mushrooms.

 First, put your stock in the pot.  Save about 1/2 cup for later.  Then add your minced ginger.

 Rough chop a few mushrooms.  I only used about 4.

 Add them to the pot

 Then your chopped green onions

 and about a Tbl of Soy Sauce.

 With that 1/2 cup of reserved stock add a Tbl of corn starch.  This will thicken the soup a little.

 Mix it up until the corn starch is dissolved

 Add it to the soup and then bring the soup to a boil.

 While you're waiting for the soup to boil, add an egg or two into a dish.  Then sideways beat it up.  Or don't do it sideways and wonder why every time you take pictures of the process, one turns on its side and there's no way in blogger to rotate a picture.

 After the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer.  Slowly pour in the egg mixture while stirring the soup.  The egg naturally spreads into these lovely ribbons.  If I was an octopus, I could have taken pictures while I was pouring and stirring, but I'm not so you're going to have to figure it out on your own. 

Add a little extra green onion for a garnish and serve it immediately.

TGIM thought it was better than any restaurant soup he's had.  I almost agreed.  I thought it needed some salt.  Then I realized that I did use homemade stock with no salt and reduced sodium soy sauce.  That was probably why it needed some.  I added a teeny bit and it was perfect.