American Chinese Food : Part II

Earlier this summer when we were under the weather, Thomas made a yummy egg-drop-style soup for dinner one night. Recently, he decided to re-create it with some tips from a recipe he found online. We took photos so we could share it with you!

Egg Drop Soup

about 3 cups of chicken broth (we used water with bouillon cubes)
2 eggs
ginger
rosemary
cornstarch
frozen vegetables (or fresh, of your choice)

1. Bring broth to a boil.
2. Scramble eggs. Add them to boiling broth, while stirring. The eggs will begin to coagulate, and the stirring will ensure they break apart. Turn down the temperature so your soup is simmering.
3. Add spices to your liking. Ginger will add a Chinese-food taste. Thomas has also added rosemary. We like rosemary a lot. I like the flavor it adds to this. You can also add a small bit of soy sauce, and perhaps some garlic powder.
4. Stir in a few teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken soup.
5. Add vegetables. We just added some frozen mixed vegetables - the kind with corn, carrots, green beans, and peas. Cook till these are no longer frozen/fresh vegetables are tender.
6. Serve and enjoy!

We ate ours with some chicken & veggie stir-fry on rice.

oxox

American Chinese Food: It's What's For Dinner

We are proud to present, after a few weeks' hiatus, a delightful meal that we highly recommend to our readers: Fried rice with homemade egg rolls. This is even good for leftovers and quite cheap, so make plenty and save money.

Homemade Egg Rolls (makes 24)

Wrapper Ingredients
2 C flour
1 egg
1t salt
1/2 C ice water

1. Pour flour into a bowl.
2. Beat egg and salt in a second bowl. Mix 1/4 C ice water into egg mixture.
3. Add egg mixture to flour along with the remainder of ice water. Mix thoroughly.
4. Knead dough for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
5. Cover the dough and let sit for 30 minutes (you can work on the egg roll innards while waiting).
6. Knead the dough briefly, then divide into 24 equal parts.
7. Roll each part into 3 to 4 inch squares.
8. Stack them with a thin dusting of cornstarch between to prevent them from sticking.

Egg rolls
24 egg roll wrappers
1/2 head of cabbage, in small pieces
10-15 baby carrots, grated
2 chicken breasts, diced
pepper
salt
garlic powder
ginger
soy sauce
oil

1. Fry chicken in oil along with pepper, salt, garlic powder, ginger, and soy sauce.
2. Mix the cabbage and carrots in a bowl.
3. Lay out wrapper. Fill it with about two spoons of vegetables and a few pieces of chicken, then wrap it up.
4. Fry each egg roll in oil, using tongs to turn and remove them as they begin to brown. Don't cook them beyond a golden brown.

Fried Rice
rice
2-3 eggs
peas
soy sauce

1. Cook rice as normal.
2. Begin to fry rice. Add copious amounts of soy sauce.
3. Mix in eggs and peas.
4. Let simmer for a few minutes.

There you have it: a simple yet delightful meal. Bon appetit!