Flashback Friday - Baked Mushroom Spring Rolls

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on September 29, 2014.

At last year's (2013) Summer Fancy Food Show, I had a taste of The Ginger People's Sweet Chili Ginger Sauce and fell in love. It's a lot like the sweet chili sauce one finds accompanying fried things at Thai restaurants, only better. When I found it at the grocery store (I do believe it was MOM's Organic, but it may have been Whole Foods) I bought a bottle...which then languished in our pantry for at least six months.

Every time I opened the pantry, I spotted the bottle and made a mental note to make spring rolls at some point. Every time I closed the pantry, I forgot that thought. (Hey, I'm old. Memory's not what it used to be.) Except the very last time, when I remembered to write "spring roll wrappers" on the grocery list hanging on the fridge all of 18 inches away.

I decided that vegetarian or vegan spring rolls would be easier than the meaty sort, so mushrooms also went into the shopping cart that day, as did a head of cabbage.

I was making cole slaw for another meal, and after I chopped up the cabbage, I saved a cup of it for the spring rolls. In retrospect, I could have used more cabbage and fewer mushrooms, but I liked the idea of mushroom spring rolls. They would seem meatier, so we wouldn't miss the, er, meat. And a fear of frying (in addition to a fear of absorbing too much cooking oil/not needing those extra fat calories) led me to bake the spring rolls. Baking produces a crunchier eggroll than frying does, but it's also not greasy, so not a bad exchange.

You, of course, can make these the way you like. Heck, put some ground pork in the pan with the mushrooms if you want. I won't tell.

Baked Mushroom Spring Rolls

1 pound of mushrooms (your choice), chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil
Big pinch of salt
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Soy sauce
1 package egg roll wrappers
3 scallions, chopped
Cooking spray

In a large pan set over medium-high heat, cook the mushrooms in the oil with a pinch of salt until they give up most of their moisture. Add the onion and cabbage and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook an additional minute. Season with sesame oil and soy to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature/refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by topping it with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment. Keep a small bowl of water at the ready.

Take one spring roll wrapper and arrange it so the corners are facing the compass points (the southernmost/bottom point should be pointing directly at you). Place two heaping tablespoons of the mushroom filling in the lower center of the wrapper; top with a sprinkling of the chopped scallions. Fold the bottom point up over the filling, then fold the east and west points in to form an envelope. Dip a finger in the water and apply it to the northernmost tip. Roll the whole thing up and place on prepared baking sheet.

Repeat with the remainder of the filling. I got 12 rolls; you'll get more or less depending on how generous your "heaping" tablespoons are.

Spray tops of rolls with cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms have begun to brown. Using tongs, turn rolls over, spray with more cooking spray, and bake an addtional 10-12 minutes, until rolls are crispy.

Serve with your favorite spring roll dipping sauce.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

On the Hunt for Good Chinese Food in Baltimore County

When we were growing up, there was a Chinatown of sorts in downtown Baltimore. A good handful of restaurants dotted the area around Park Avenue and Mulberry Street, including Mee Jun Lo, which was a family favorite. In the 80s, we had some pretty terrific "Szechuan" restaurants in the City, including Szechuan in Federal Hill, Bamboo House at Harborplace, and Uncle Lee's on Greenmount Avenue. Theminx's family frequented all three on a pretty regular basis.

Today, we live in the county. There seems to be a tiny Chinese carry-out in every shopping center, but are any of them good? Szechuan House, up in Lutherville, used to be pretty good. There are still folks who dine there regularly, but it's been a while since we've had a good meal there. Normally, we order delivery, and food arrives impressively fast and somehow the spring rolls are always crisp. But, dishes like orange chicken and General Tso's are gloppy and uninspired. And they cannot do a good kung pao chicken or moo shu pork to save their lives. We've tried several times, and been disappointed each time. The moo shu, in particular, offends. For some unknown reason, the smell of it reminds me of the elephant cage at the Zoo. But kung pao and moo shu pork are among our favorite American-Chinese dishes, so we needed to find someplace that made them well. Well enough to suit us, that is.

We started our search at Lucky Inn, in the North Plaza Shopping Center. We weren't sure if the stereotypical lantern-bedecked decor was a good or bad thing, but we persevered and ordered.

We tried their won ton soup and the eggrolls to start. The soup was tasty, but there was something very commercial, from-a-can-ish, about it. The eggrolls were inedible, at best. They smelled funky and tasted worse. Not quite freezer-burned, just horrible.

I had the General Tso's. The all white meat chicken was moist, with a light tempura-like batter, but there was far too much sauce, which was sweet and not spicy. I prefer dark meat, and some spice, but it wasn't horrible.

The kung pao chicken had big chunks of green pepper (ugh), and was somewhat spicy, but I didn't think it had any other flavor.

The fried rice, which accompanied both dishes, was pretty good. Decently greasy, as it should be.

Not a complete failure, but probably not worth a return trip.

Lucky Inn
8924 Waltham Woods Rd
Baltimore, MD 21234
(410) 665-8383

We then tried OrderUp for the first time. We'd eaten food from Towson Best in the past, and remembered that it had been decent.

Their won ton soup wasn't bad. The broth was nicely gingery, and the won tons were plump, but there was a dearth of roast pork pieces and scallions.

The Mandarin-style spring rolls were a joke. They were tiny and flat, as if whomever made them forgot to add any filling. Oddly enough, they did taste pretty good.

The kung pao was all chicken and peanuts, with a mild spiciness. Overall, pretty darn good (no green pepper was a huge plus).

My moo shu pork had a generous amount of pork and tasted good. The pancakes were a little thick though, almost tortilla-like.

Portions, apart from the spring rolls, were generous. We'd definitely order from Towson Best again.

Towson Best
527 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21204
(410) 825-3770

Our next OrderUp order came from China Wok. There are myriad China Woks in the area; this one was on York Road in Towson.

The won ton soup was really nice. The broth was well-seasoned with a light body and nice flavors. The won tons themselves were not only stuffed with the typical gingery ground pork mixture, but also small pieces of pork.

The egg roll was meh, neither good nor bad. We added on an order of shrimp toast, which was an expensive disaster. It was burnt and lacking seasoning.

The kung po chicken
was a little atypical in that it contained tons of veggies like baby corn, carrots, green pepper, and celery. The sauce was a bit spicy, and a little salty. The chicken breast meat was sliced rather than diced, and it was extremely tender.

The moo shu pork was also a little salty, but otherwise quite good, with a generous amount of pork. The five pancakes were thinner than those from Towson Best. They were generous with the plum sauce, giving us two containers of that, but only one small container of rice.

As a bonus, we got dessert: four small pieces of sponge cakes in four flavors--coffee; chocolate; vanilla with strawberry frosting; vanilla with coconut frosting. Unexpected and pretty good.

China Wok
714 York Rd
Towson, MD 21204

Three down, many others to go... Stay tuned for more posts in the future.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Kahiki Foods Brand Ambassador and a Giveaway

Sadly, there aren't a lot of good Chinese restaurants in the Baltimore area. There's Grace Garden in Odenton and Hunan Taste in Catonsville, and that's about it. So most of the time, we just go without, which pains me to no end. I love Chinese food! Even mediocre American-style Chinese food can hit the spot when I'm in the right mood. But when local restaurants don't even hit that low level, well, it makes me sad.

And then we were asked if we'd be interested in becoming brand ambassadors for Kahiki Foods. And now we can have Chinese food any time, without having to drive across town, or, if we're desperate, wait for carry-out. And end up disappointed either way.

Kahiki (cuh-hee-kee) products are all-natural, with no MSG, additives, or preservatives. They offer stir fry-type dishes, like beef and broccoli or sesame chicken, and bags of tempura battered chicken with various sauces. Egg rolls, too, and chicken fried rice and lo mein. Many items come in both single- and multi-serve meals.

We've tried several Kahiki products so far, including crispy tempura chicken with honey sauce, chicken fried rice, and General Tso's. We chose to oven bake the tempura chicken, rather than to deep fry (the other option suggested on the box), and were pleased that the large chunks of white meat chicken came out of the oven so crisp. Another thing I really like about the tempura chicken dishes is that I have the option of drenching the chicken with sauce, using it as a dip...or not using it at all. The General Tso's, which comes together in one package (sauce on the bottom, topped by rice, then with veg and meat) had admirably crisp veg and a sauce that was not overly sweet. So it doesn't look exactly like the photo on the box when you stir it all together...but what does that matter when it's so tasty?

Minxeats is giving you the chance to try Kahiki products for yourself--for free. We have three vouchers worth a combined $22 to give away to one lucky winner. If you want to be that winner, leave a comment on this post about how much you enjoy Asian food. Please make sure to give us your email address so we can contact you if you win.

All are eligible. Giveaway ends May 25th.

Kahiki’s products can be found in retail grocery stores, membership warehouse clubs and with food service operators across the country. Visit Kahiki’s website at kahiki.com or connect on Facebook or Twitter to learn more.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.e 



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Baked Mushroom Spring Rolls

At last year's (2013) Summer Fancy Food Show, I had a taste of The Ginger People's Sweet Chili Ginger Sauce and fell in love. It's a lot like the sweet chili sauce one finds accompanying fried things at Thai restaurants, only better. When I found it at the grocery store (I do believe it was MOM's Organic, but it may have been Whole Foods) I bought a bottle...which then languished in our pantry for at least six months.

Every time I opened the pantry, I spotted the bottle and made a mental note to make spring rolls at some point. Every time I closed the pantry, I forgot that thought. (Hey, I'm old. Memory's not what it used to be.) Except the very last time, when I remembered to write "spring roll wrappers" on the grocery list hanging on the fridge all of 18 inches away.

I decided that vegetarian or vegan spring rolls would be easier than the meaty sort, so mushrooms also went into the shopping cart that day, as did a head of cabbage.

I was making cole slaw for another meal, and after I chopped up the cabbage, I saved a cup of it for the spring rolls. In retrospect, I could have used more cabbage and fewer mushrooms, but I liked the idea of mushroom spring rolls. They would seem meatier, so we wouldn't miss the, er, meat. And a fear of frying (in addition to a fear of absorbing too much cooking oil/not needing those extra fat calories) led me to bake the spring rolls. Baking produces a crunchier eggroll than frying does, but it's also not greasy, so not a bad exchange.

You, of course, can make these the way you like. Heck, put some ground pork in the pan with the mushrooms if you want. I won't tell.

Baked Mushroom Spring Rolls

1 pound of mushrooms (your choice), chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil
Big pinch of salt
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Soy sauce
1 package egg roll wrappers
3 scallions, chopped
Cooking spray

In a large pan set over medium-high heat, cook the mushrooms in the oil with a pinch of salt until they give up most of their moisture. Add the onion and cabbage and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook an additional minute. Season with sesame oil and soy to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature/refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by topping it with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment. Keep a small bowl of water at the ready.

Take one spring roll wrapper and arrange it so the corners are facing the compass points (the southernmost/bottom point should be pointing directly at you). Place two heaping tablespoons of the mushroom filling in the lower center of the wrapper; top with a sprinkling of the chopped scallions. Fold the bottom point up over the filling, then fold the east and west points in to form an envelope. Dip a finger in the water and apply it to the northernmost tip. Roll the whole thing up and place on prepared baking sheet.

Repeat with the remainder of the filling. I got 12 rolls; you'll get more or less depending on how generous your "heaping" tablespoons are.

Spray tops of rolls with cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms have begun to brown. Using tongs, turn rolls over, spray with more cooking spray, and bake an addtional 10-12 minutes, until rolls are crispy.

Serve with your favorite spring roll dipping sauce.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Cookbook Review - Fusion Food in the Vegan Kitchen

I was sent a review copy of Fusion Food in the Vegan Kitchen: 125 Comfort Food Classics, Reinvented with an Ethnic Twist! by Joni Marie Newman some weeks ago and didn't get around to cooking anything from it until now. There were just too many interesting choices, and I couldn't make up my mind as to which recipes to try.

I'm a fan of fusion cooking--taking elements from different cuisines and mixing them in one dish--and have been doing it for years. The way I think about it, seemingly disparate cuisines have similarities: Italian ravioli and spaghetti and Chinese dumplings and lo mein; Slavic rice-stuffed cabbage and Greek rice-stuffed grape leaves; the spicy cumin and coriander flavors of both Mexican and Indian foods. To me, Newman's fusion concoctions make sense. And while I'm not a vegan, I'm not adverse to experimentation. In this case, it's easy--there are many cultures that don't consume the vast quantity of animal-based products that we do in the US. Combine two or three of them, and there's enough good stuff going on without adding meat.

Take, for example, Newman's recipe for Korean Barbecue Satay, which mixes elements from Korea (the sauce) and Indonesia (the technique). The sauce is flavorful enough to give slabs of skewered tofu a nice kick in the pants. The recipe for El Paso Egg Rolls stuffed with black beans, corn, and avocado will be familiar to anyone who's eaten a similar dish at Chili's or Cheesecake Factory. There are so many things going on in it, so many textures and flavors, that nobody will miss the meat or cheese.

In that vein, we tried a recipe for pizza, something usually found topped with both meat and cheese. Newman's version involves a crisp crust, a Thai-style peanut sauce, and a salad of cabbage and sliced fennel. We didn't have cabbage on hand, but we did have sugar snap peas and asparagus, so I substituted. The combination of crisp and fresh with the contrast of creamy peanut sauce was really stupendous. I can see myself making this recipe over and over, using whatever vegetables that are on hand.

The dish was even visually beautiful, the proverbial feast for the eyes.

I also appreciate that Newman gets creative with her meat substitutes. There are recipes that involve tofu and tempeh, but also jackfruit, which has a stringy/meaty texture that simulates pulled pork. And several recipes involve home-made "wheat meat" or seitan, a simple technique that involves vital wheat gluten, an ingredient found in any supermarket (it's also used for baking bread).

Overall, Fusion Food in the Vegan Kitchen is a lovely book with a good solid concept, well-thought-out recipes, and photos for most dishes. There are even recipes for desserts and libations. I recommend it for vegans and meat-eaters alike.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.