Tag: appetizer
Chicken Egg Rolls
Chicken Egg Rolls
Egg rolls have been around for hundred of years as part of southern Chinese cuisine, but are really only eaten during Chinese New Year and Spring Festivals. You won’t really find them on any menu unless at a dim sum restaurant. They aren’t part of a households daily diet. They’re not even called egg rolls. In China, they’re known just as spring rolls. Egg rolls are really more popular in Chinese American cuisine, since they come with pretty much every menu item. With that being said, they’re fairly easy to make. There are a couple important tips and techniques for making egg rolls. Make sure that the filling is complete cooled before rolling. If it is warm, it will create condensation in the wrapper, making the egg roll soggy before you even fry it. Make sure your oil is hot enough and don’t overcrowd the pan when frying. This will also create soggy egg rolls. Drain the grease on a rack instead of paper towels. This will keep your egg rolls crispy instead of soggy. If you haven’t yet caught on, the ultimate goal here is crispiness instead of sogginess. Soggy egg rolls bad. It is best to fry up the whole batch of egg rolls and then freeze down what you don’t plan on eating. The egg rolls will need to be reheated in the oven from frozen. If you freeze down raw uncooked egg rolls, you introduce moisture to them. When you go to fry them, you get – soggy egg rolls. Soggy egg rolls are the enemy.
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups cabbage shredded
- 1 cup carrots julienned
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 green onions finely chopped
Egg Roll
- 25 egg roll wrappers
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the cabbage and carrots for 2 minutes.
- Add in the bean sprouts. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Add in the soy sauce and honey. Cook for 1 more minute. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
- Sauté the garlic and ginger in the same pan for 30 seconds.
- Add in the ground chicken.
- Brown for 6-7 minutes, making sure to break up large clumps into fine crumbles. Add in the hoisin sauce and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Let cool.
- Stir in the cabbage mix and finely chopped green onions.
Egg Roll Assembly
- Place a couple of heaping tbsp of the filling across the bottom center of an egg roll wrapper like so.
- Fold up the bottom over the filling.
- Fold in both corners. Rub a little bit of water on the top point of the wrapper.
- Roll it up. Don’t spark it.
- You should yield 20-25 egg rolls.
Frying
- Heat up 2” of cooking oil in a pot or sauté pan over medium high heat. Place some of the egg rolls into the oil, making sure not to overcrowd. Fry for 3-4 minutes a side.
- Drain the grease on a rack.
Hummus and Ground Beef
Hummus and Ground Beef
You probably have never seen hummus topped with ground beef before, but it is a popular dish in Lebanese cuisine. The hummus is a basic recipe with garbanzos, lemon juice, garlic, and tahini; all puréed in a food processor. The ground beef is browned and seasoned with Lebanese 7 spice. The beef is then place in the center of a mound of hummus; garnished with pine nuts, fried garlic, parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil. You can serve as an appetizer or as a main course with pita as a scoop.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
Hummus
- 1 can garbanzo beans
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
Ground Beef
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Lebanese 7 spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Garnish
- olive oil
- parsley chopped
- fried garlic
- toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Purée all of the hummus ingredients in a food processor. Place in a bowl and set aside.
- Add the olive oil is a small sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the ground beef until cooked through.
- Turn off the heat. Season with 7 spice, salt, and pepper.
Tetelas Oaxaca
Tetelas Oaxaca
Tetales are a refried black bean stuffed masa cake; much similar in concept to the Salvadoran pupusa. The tetelas are pan fried until crispy and topped with crumbled cheese, sour cream, salsa, and cilantro.
Equipment
- tortilla press
- gallon sized storage bag; cut into 2 sheets of plastic
Ingredients
- 1 cup masa harina flour
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 2/3 cup refried black beans
- vegetable oil for frying
Garnish
- queso fresco crumbled
- cilantro chopped
- Mexican sour cream
- red or green salsa
Instructions
- Mix together the mass flour and warm water.
- Roll into 4-6 equal sized balls.
- Place 1 sheet of plastic on a tortilla press. Place 1 of the dough balls in the center, with the other sheet of plastic on top.
- Flatten to 1/8” thick. Remove the top sheet of plastic.
- Place a heaping tbsp of refried black beans in the center of the pressed dough. Spread it around.
- Using the plastic, fold up the bottom third of the tetelas. Fold back the plastic.
- Fold over the right side at an angle. Fold back the plastic.
- Fold over the left side, creating a triangle. Seal the corners.
- Heat up vegetable oil on a griddle over medium high heat. Place the tetelas on the griddle.
- Fry for 4-5 minutes until crispy.
Yucatán Fried Beans
I love refried beans. This is possibly the easiest and most flavorful recipe to make Yucatán style fried black beans. Toast the onions and habanero. Purée the black beans with the onions. Fry the purée with the habanero until it reaches your desired consistency. That’s it. You can use either vegetable oil or lard to fry the beans in; depending if you want them vegan or not.
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 2 slices white onion
- 1 habanero
- 4 cups cooked black beans with broth
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Dry toast the onion and habanero for 5 minutes in a sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Place the onions and black beans in a blender .
- Purée until smooth.
- Heat up vegetable oil or lard in a sauté pan over medium heat. Pour in the beans. Add the toasted habanero back in. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the beans are thickened to your liking. Season with salt.
