Oriental Recipes

Years ago I contacted a number of Culinary Schools in the US to see if by chance they had any kind of correspondence cooking classes. One lady sounded very insulted as she could not see how you could learn how to cook by a correspondence class. I had taken a photography course by correspondence and also an interior decorating class that way so I saw no reason why you couldn’t do the same with cooking especially now with the Internet.
I was so excited, when a few years later, I found Rouxbe. I signed up for a life-time membership. That was one of the best decisions I have made as now all the new classes they offer I can enroll in for at no additional cost. I love taking online courses as you can work on them whenever you can find a minute. With the online videos you feel like you are right in the kitchen with the instructor, you can download the recipes and print them out so you can follow along, you can rewind and go back over what they said and how to do it, you take tests (like a “real” class), and get graded.... then you can do it all over again!
Lately I have been taking a few classes through Craftsy. They have all kinds of online classes; anything from food to sewing. Their format is a little different than Rouxbe’s but very well done as well. The last classes I have taken through them were: Chinese Takeout Favorites and Asian Wrap & Roll and I just signed up for the Art of the Wok: Stir-Frying at Rouxbe.
This last weekend I had a couple of friends over and tried some of the skills I have recently learned and made a Chinese dinner and they said if they had to give the meal a grade it would be an A+.... so I guess the classes are paying off!;>)
The recipes I used came from a variety of places including ones that I already had. The recipe for the Chow Mein came from a cookbook that another friend had recently given me. When she gave me the cookbook she commented that I probably already had lots of cookbooks - but I told her that “you can never have too many cookbooks!”
When I find a recipe I really like I add it to “My Favorites” in my computer cookbook Shop’NCook; that way I can find it fast when I want a “reliable” recipe.
I do like to experiment with new recipes though - always have, always will. When I was married my husband asked me once if I ever made the same thing twice - and I answered, “Not if I can help it!” That is not really true as I do have my favorites, as I mentioned, but I love to learn new things - I guess that is why I became a Home Economics teacher.
One important thing to remember when cooking, especially stir-frying, is to have all of your ingredients measured and prepared ahead of time (mis en place). This is what takes the largest amount of time. I like to prepare the ingredients the day before so I can concentrate on the cooking the day I plan to serve the dish.

Crispy Chinese Egg Rolls

Source: Craftsy

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 pound ground pork
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms - stems discarded
1/2 head napa cabbage - about 11 ounces
2 carrots
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic - very finely minced
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
50 spring/egg roll skins - (about 2 packages), defrosted unopened at room temperature for 45 minutes or in the refrigerator overnight
1 tablespoon cornstarch - mixed with
1/4 cup cool water
Cooking oil - for frying
In a bowl, stir together the soy sauce and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the pork and mix until it’s thoroughly combined with the soy sauce mixture. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.
In a food processor, pulse the shiitake mushrooms a few times until finely chopped. Using the shredder disk, shred the cabbage and carrots.
Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat. When the wok is hot, add 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the pork and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned. Scoop the pork onto a baking sheet.
Return the wok to the stove and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Use a spatula to make some room in the center of the wok. Drizzle in the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons cooking oil.
Add the ginger and garlic and quickly stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds, then combine evenly with the vegetables.
Add the rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Return the cooked pork to the wok. Mix well and stir-fry for an additional minute.
Scoop out the filling onto the baking sheet and spread out to cool. Prop up one end of the sheet slightly to allow excess the moisture to drain to one end. Let cool for 15 minutes and then discard all the accumulated juices.
Now, you’re ready to wrap - IMPORTANT: Only use 1 heaping tablespoon filling for each egg roll. These are slender egg rolls; each should only be 1 inch in diameter. Keep the filled egg rolls in a neat, single layer and covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. If you want to stack the egg rolls, make sure you have a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap between the layers to prevent sticking. Also keep the unused wrappers covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Refrigerate the filled egg rolls up to 4 hours until ready to fry. Alternatively, you can freeze them.
To fry the egg rolls, fill a wok or pot with 2 inches of high-heat cooking oil. Heat the oil to 350 F. Gently slide in or lower the egg rolls into the oil, frying 4 to 6 at a time, turning them occasionally until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Place on wire rack to drain and cool.
Note: To fry frozen egg rolls, do not defrost them—just add to the oil frozen, frying 4 to 6 at a time. Increase the frying time by 1 1/2 minutes.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

Source: Craftsy Asian Warp & Roll - Jaden Hair

3 T. hoisin sauce
3 T. peanut butter or other nut butter such as almond
1/4 c. hot water
1 t. rice vinegar
1/2 t. Asian sesame oil
In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients

Well, I have run out of room for this week so the other recipes will have to be in next week’s issue. Print this post