Pork Spring Rolls with Chili-Hoisin Sauce and Spicy Cucumbers

Here I have a couple of Chinese-inspired recipes for you. The first is a spring roll stuffed with pork and cabbage and served with a chili-hoisin dipping sauce. The second is my answer to an overwhelming number of cucumbers thanks to my organic produce deliveries the past few weeks. I do love cucumbers, but I swear if I see one more slice in a salad I'm going to go on a mad rampage.

Or not. I mean, cucumbers are pretty tasty.

Anyway, the spicy cucumbers get a near-pickled treatment from being sautéed in the tamari "brine." I like to eat them on their own, but they would also be a nice change of pace as a salad topping.

The spring rolls are fairly traditional, save for not being deep fried. Obviously if you prefer the crunchy wrapper to the fresh, you can fry them. For the vegetarians out there, soy crumbles can be used instead of the pork with similar results. For an even more authentic flavor, add 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro to the cabbage mixture when preparing the spring rolls. I skipped it, since the oldest spawn can't stand it.

Pork Spring Rolls with Chili-Hoisin Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1/4 c tamari
2 tbs garlic-chili sauce
1 tbs honey
1/4 c water
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
4 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
1 tbs peanut oil
1 lb ground pork
1 1/2" piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
12 rice paper wrappers

Directions:
Whisk together the hoisin, tamari, garlic-chili sauce, honey, and water in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage and green onion. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Brown the pork until no pink remains. Add the ginger and sauté for one minute. Pour about half the chili-hoisin sauce over the pork and sauté another three to five minutes, or until most the moisture has evaporated out. Transfer the pork to the bowl with the cabbage and toss to combine.

Soak the spring roll wrappers according to package directions. One at a time, lay a soaked spring roll wrapper on a flat surface and arrange one-half cup of the pork filling on the rice paper, about two inches from the edge closest to you. Roll the wrapper tightly around the filling, tucking the ends on the left and right toward the center as you go. Repeat until each wrapper has been filled.
Serve the rolls with remaining chili-hoisin sauce for dipping.


Spicy Cucumbers

Ingredients:
1 tbs tamari
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbs peanut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2" piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
2 tsp garlic-chili sauce
2 cucumbers, halved, seeded, and sliced into 1" pieces

Directions:
Whisk together tamari, salt, and sugar. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the peanut oil over med-high heat. Sauté garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, then quickly whisk in the garlic-chili sauce. Add the cucumbers, tossing to coat, and sauté for three minutes. Add tamari mixture sauté another 3-5 minutes, or until cucumbers just start to soften. Remove from heat. Can be served immediately, at room temperature, or after chilling in the fridge (the latter is my favorite!).

Garlic-Ginger Chicken Lo Mein with Bok Choy

Craving Chinese, but hate the grease of take-out? Or love the grease, but hate your thighs? This is an absurdly easy noodle dish that packs a punch without ruining the diet. The majority of the flavor comes from tossing the cooked chicken in the simple Asian dressing. Stir-fried bok choy adds color and extra flavor to the noodles, which only take 3-5 minutes to boil. Enjoy this dish hot or cold, or skip the noodles and serve the chicken over salad.

Garlic-Ginger Chicken Lo Mein

Ingredients:
1 tbs peanut oil
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tbs tamari
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs minced gingerroot
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs chili-infused oil (olive oil, if you are sensitive to heat)
1/2 tbs sesame oil
1/4 tsp cumin
12oz box lo main noodles
fresh cilantro to garnish

Directions:
Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 5 minutes on each side, then reduce heat to med-low and cover. Allow chicken to cook, covered, for 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining ingredients except noodles and cilantro. When chicken is done cooking, remove from heat and allow to rest 5 minutes. Slice chicken into strips and toss with the dressing. While the chicken strips rest in the dressing, prepare noodles according to package directions.

If desired, combine the noodles with stir-fried bok choy (recipe below). Serve chicken over a bed of noodles and topped with additional dressing. Garnish with cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

Garlic Bok Choy

Ingredients:
2 tbs peanut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 head bok choy, washed, stems cut into 1/2" slices and leaves sliced to 1"
1/2 c chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:
Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for one minute, then add the bok choy and stock. Stir-fry until the box choy is wilted and bright green. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Makes 4 side dish servings.

Simple Fried Rice and Chicken Spring Rolls....Leftover-Style

Ever get to the point where you have a fridge full of food, and yet nothing to eat? I found myself in such a situation over the weekend, which lead into a full-fledge fridge-busting operation. I had disposed of my half-head of cauliflower thanks to this soup that I made, but that didn't make much of a dent in my mish-mash of random ingredients. Or were they so random after all....?

I am occasionally amazed at how everything can come together, and this is one of those times. What started as "oh what the hell, just throw everything into a pot" turned into a rather cohesive meal, if I do say so myself. Leftover rice and ridiculous assortment of halves of veggies turned into fried rice. Cabbage slaw left over from one meal and chicken from another combined with a quick Asian dressing to make fresh spring rolls. I had myself a real dinner!

The final product will depend on the ingredients you have on hand, and I have left the ingredient lists somewhat vague to facilitate this. In the fried rice, I personally had on hand 1/2 zucchini, 1 carrot, half a jar of pickled baby corn, 1/4 of a red bell pepper, some celery, and half an onion. Your fridge contents and veggie preferences should lead you, though.This is one of the things that makes cooking fun!

Simple Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 tbs peanut oil

3 c vegetables of choice, julienned or sliced to be about the same size

1 tbs tamari

1 tbs hoisin sauce

3 cups prepared rice

1 egg

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

2 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

Heat the peanut oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, and stir fry for 5 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add tamari and hoisin sauce, stirring quickly to coat the vegetables. Stir in the rice and continue to stir-fry until rice is heated through (about 5 minutes).

Beat the egg, salt, and pepper together. Add into the rice, constantly stirring. Once egg is incorporated, drizzle sesame oil over rice and toss to coat rice evenly. Add additional seasoning to taste. Remove from heat and serve. Makes about 6 1-cup servings.

Leftover Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tbs ginger, grated

1 tbs hoisin sauce

1 tbs tamari

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 chicken breast, cooked, diced

2 c cabbage salad

8 spring roll wrappers, soaked according to package directions

Directions:

Whisk together garlic, ginger, hoisin, tamari, oyster sauce, oil, and cumin in a medium bowl. Toss the chicken with the dressing to coat. Add cabbage and toss to combine.

One at a time, lay a soaked spring roll wrapper flat on a cutting board. Using about half a cup at a time, arrange the filling on the rice paper to be wrapped. Roll the wrapper tightly around the filling, tucking the ends to the left and right toward the center as you go. Repeat until each wrapper has been filled.

At this point, you can deep fry the rolls to create a crispy texture, I personally prefer them as is. Makes 8 spring rolls.

Crispy Tilapia, Lemon-Thyme Quinoa, Sauteéd Bok Choy

This is a leftover from last month that I just got around to typing up. This fish stick is a little fancier than your average minced and frozen variety. By blending the seasonings into the buttermilk-egg bath, you avoid the loss of flavor caused by heat. Instead the subtle garlicky, lemony flavor cozies right up into the fish. You won't even miss the tartar sauce!

The side dishes we flavored to compliment the fish. I used red quinoa, because that's what I happened to have on hand; however, an variety will do. The bok choy is super quick and provides a leafy green to balance out the meal.

Crispy Tilapia Fish Sticks

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/2 tsp lemon zest

12 oz tilapia, cut into 1" wide strips

salt and pepper to taste

1 c coarse bread crumbs (panko, for example)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

In a blender, blend egg, buttermilk, garlic, thyme, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt and pepper; transfer to a shallow bowl. Place the bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl.

Season the tilapia strips with salt and pepper. Dip each strip into the buttermilk mixture, allowing excess liquid to drain off, then coat in bread crumb mixture. Lay on a baking sheet and repeat with remaining fish sticks. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Makes 4 servings (about 2 fish sticks per person).

Lemon-Thyme Quinoa

Ingredients:

2 c fish or vegetable stock (or amount required per your quinoa package directions)

1 c quinoa

juice of 1 large lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small shallot, minced

1 tbs fresh thyme leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare quinoa according to package directions using stock of choice.

Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining ingredients to form the dressing. Toss the dressing with the prepared quinoa until it is well mixed. Serves 4.

Herb Sauteéd Bok Choy

Ingredients:

2 tbs light olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp lemon zest

1 head bok choy, rinsed, and sliced into 1/4" inch ribbons (including stems)

1 tbs fresh thyme leaves

1/4 c fresh basil leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and zest; cook an additional minute. Add the bok choy and oregano into the pan; stir to combine with the onions. Cook it for a couple more minutes, or until cabbage just begins to wilt. Remove from heat.

Toss cabbage with the fresh basil and season to taste. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

BBQ Pork, Apple-Cabbage Slaw, and Fried Pickle Wontons

Ah, summer....sun, baseball, swimming pools, and--at least here in the Midwest--barbeque. This meal started out with me realizing that I forgot to thaw the pork loin that I had intended to prepare and asking the kids for input. As it turned out, my offspring had no strong feelings on what to have for dinner. So we headed to the store without a list or any idea what we were looking for. Pork roasts were on sale, and so a plan started to develop.

I am not allowed the luxury of a grill at my apartment, so this is strictly stove-top fare. The pork is essentially braised in the homemade BBQ sauce. The slaw is pretty and cools the palate nicely. The real star of this meal, however, is the fried pickle wontons.

'Round these parts, you can't have barbeque without pickles. Fried pickles are even better, but I have an aversion to the mess that batter creates. The last time I battered and fried something, I ended up covered in the cornmeal and egg combination. While I do believe that a person hasn't lived until she has had to wash an egg-based batter out of her hair, I am quite content with never experiencing it again.

Anyway, I had wonton wrappers, so I figured what the hell? It worked, and the kids absolutely flipped out over my version of fried pickles. Even better, it is nearly impossible to accidentally splash wonton wrappers into your hair.

Shredded BBQ Pork

Ingredients:

2 slices thick-cut bacon

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

1 tsp fresh lime zest

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 c tomato paste

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 tbs salt

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp cayenne

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs stone ground mustard

1/2 c beer

2 lb pork roast

8 whole wheat rolls

Directions:

Heat stock pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside for fried pickle wontons. Reduce heat to medium and saute onions in the bacon fat for 3 minutes. Add lime zest and garlic and saute another minute.

Stir in remaining ingredients except for pork until well-combined. Place pork roast in pot and cover. Allow to cook about 30 minutes, spooning sauce over the roast every ten minutes or so. With 2 forks, shred pork in the pot. Stir to combine with the sauce, turn heat to low, and allow to simmer another 10 minutes. Serve on whole wheat rolls. Makes 8 sandwiches.

Apple and Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:

juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbs)

splash rice vinegar

1 tbs stone ground mustard

3 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp sugar

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and julienned

1/2 head purple cabbage, cored and shredded

1/4 c parsley, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wisk together juice, vinegar, mustard, oil, cumin, and sugar until combined. Toss apples, cabbage, and parsley with the dressing and season to taste. Serves 8.

Fried Pickle Wontons

Ingredients:

1 c dill pickles, chopped

2 tbs onion, diced

2 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled

3 tbs provolone cheese, shredded

20 wonton wrappers

oil for frying

Directions:

Combine pickle, onion, bacon, and cheese. Place about a teaspoon of the pickle filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Moisten the edge of the wrapper with water and fold over the filling corner to corner to make a triangle, then bring the small corners together and moisten to seal. Repeat until each wrapper has been filled and folded.

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan over med-high heat to 350F. Fry wontons until golden (1-2 minutes), turning halfway though. Remove from oil with slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Makes 20 wontons.

Red Cabbage and Cashew Salad

The winter weather has me craving color, which was the only real inspiration for this salad. My goal was to create something pretty that--of course--tastes good.

In the recipe, I state to use light olive oil, but any oil of choice will do. When I made this, I actually used red chili oil to give it a bit of a kick (a little too much kick, according to the offspring....use at your own risk!). This works equally as well as a warm salad as it does chilled. Add some lentils or edamame, and it could even be a main dish.

Red Cabbage and Cashew Salad

Ingredients:

2 tbs light olive oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

4 tbs honey

1 tbs lime juice

1/4 c fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

4 c red cabbage, shredded

3/4 c cashews

Directions:

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute shallot until transparent. Add honey and stir until combined.

Remove from heat and whisk in lime juice, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Toss dressing with cabbage and cashews. Serves 4-6.

Edamame Salad with Roasted Cabbage, Red Pepper, and Noodles

This salad started as an "oh shit" moment when I realized I forgot to (1) buy green beans and (2) make the rice one night while cooking for myself and the offspring. I didn't catch on to this until the pork loin I was roasting was about 15 minutes from its egress from the oven. A mad flurry ensued as I combed the fridge and cabinets for something acceptable to fill the role of "vegetable" in our dinner. The red cabbage was something I needed to use, and I had a container full of edamame leftover from my last venture out to a sushi restaurant. Honestly, this salad came together because I thought the contrast of the light green and the dark purple was pretty. Sometimes I'm shallow like that.

Recipe Notes:

I like to vary the types of oil and vinegar I use. It adds an extra depth to the flavor, I think. If you don't happen to have multiple options, however, this dressing will taste quite good with one or the other type oil and/or vinegar.

The edamame can be prepared from fresh or frozen. Pick whichever tastes the best from your favorite grocer. The same goes for the roasted red pepper. You can roast your own from fresh if they are in season, or you can cheat (which I am a big fan of doing!) and use jarred peppers.

Soba noodles are also a good choice for this salad.

Edamame Salad with Roasted Cabbage and Red Pepper

Ingredients:

1 red cabbage, cored and chiopped into 1-2 inch pieces

1 tsp light olive oil

salt and pepper

16oz shelled edamame

1 roasted red bell pepper

4oz lo mein noodles

Dressing:

2 tbs olive oil (light or extra virgin)

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs stone ground mustard

2 tbs grated ginger

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs rice vinegar

juice of 1/4 lemon

pinch cayenne (more if you like it hot!)

salt and pepper

about a tbs each worth of fresh chopped thyme, parsley, and chives

2 tbs coarsely chopped toasted almonds

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread cabbage on baking sheet in a thin layer. Very lightly drizzle with 1 tsp light olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stirring often, roast cabbage in oven about 15 minutes until dehydrated, but not brown.

Boil or steam edamame to desired doneness. Slice red pepper into thin strips.

Wisk together dressing ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare lo mein noodles according to package directions; leave noodles in the water until it is time to toss them with the rest of the ingrediants.

Toss cabbage, edamame, and red pepper with dressing, herbs, and almonds. Drain the noodles and immediately toss with the salad.

Serve warm or chilled.