Fried Rice Fake Out

 Oh my little friend cauliflower who fakes mashed potatoes, you about to become 'fried rice'.  Thankfully K-man loves cauliflower so this offering was pretty easy for him to accept...PLUS he can't stand plain rice.  "Come here my pretty..." (rubbing hands)

This does NOT need to be a labor-intensive recipe.  You can use leftover chicken, the packaged chicken strips (near the deli sliced meats) or you can take your raw chicken marinate it Asian style and cook it yourself.  WHATEVER works for YOU! 

As for the veggies that goes into my little fried rice fake out...that depend on what I have on hand or what I like.  Who SAYS I have to follow some recipe or commonly do what the Chinese take out does???  Who's the boss here?  Me.  When you make this at home....YOU are the boss for veggie choice.  This recipe is for two, feel free to double it or use it more like a side dish for four if you like.

Chicken Faked Fried Rice
by JennyMacsLipsmack

2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (suggested marinade below)
half head of cauliflower, grated (directions below)
1/2 cup chopped onion (red onion pictured)
2 jalapenos, seeded and deveined, minced (we likey spicy)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 green onion, sliced (set aside for garnish)
oil of choice (sesame- if you REALLY want an Asian fla-vah)

Whenever you do stir fry....get everything ready to go first.  Everything chopped, beaten and ready to go?  Proceed.

Heat skillet to medium high.  Add oil.  When a drop of water sizzles in the oil you are ready to stir fry, baby.

Add your onions and pepper and season with S/P to taste.  STIR....When the pepper and onion start to soften add the cauliflower.  SIZZLE. 

Add your meat now if it needs to heat through.  Stir constantly....that is why it's called STIR fry!!!  The next step will be fast one....It is critical to taste your cauliflower for you don't want it raw but you don't want it mushy either.  Just when it is over the raw stage (about 2 min) push all the stir fry to the edges and pour your beaten egg in the middle of the skillet.  Let set for a minute and push it around as though you would scrambled eggs.

Dish onto plates, top with green onion garnish.  OH YUM.  K-man told me this beats any fried rice he's eaten out.....YAY!

Cook's Notes:

1.  Chicken Marinade:  In a  ziploc bag put 2 chicken breasts, (butterflied if they are full sized), 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp grated ginger,  1 Tbsp sesame oil,  1/4 cup soy or tamari sauce and 2 Tbsp vinegar.  Red pepper flakes for heat if you'd like.  Marinate in fridge for 2 hours or more.

2.  Do not use a box grater for the cauliflower!  So old school.  Get out that food processor, put in the grating blade.  Break the cauliflower into chunks that will fit into feeding tube and push away!  A whole head of cauliflower makes ALOT.  Enough for two meals.   I used half of the grated cauli and put the other half in the freezer.  Got me about 1/3 of a gallon ziploc bag.  Press out air, ZIP!  So easy and I saved your knuckle skin too!

3.  The veggies in your fried rice can be fresh or frozen (ack- not canned!).  If you want EASY, just toss in two handfuls of frozen mixed veg....It's summer and we have a plethora of fresh veg.  Use them!

4.  Don't think it's redundant or overkill to have chopped onion AND green onion in this.  AU contraire, mon FRERE!  The chopped onion whether white or red is essential to flavor the cauliflower and will soften in the process.  The green onion for garnish renders the typical 'oniony' zing plus with crunch.  Don't go thinking you will need a breath mint after this dish.

5.  I am all about herbs and cilantro would be FAB here.  We've had unfortunate heat wave of 11 days 90-103 degrees and most of my herbs became toast.  The sun just killed them.  Fill free to go 'herby' on this if you'd like.


BONG! Dinner's served,

BAKED Egg Rolls

Yes, I said 'baked' WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Two things are going down over here at Lipsmack Land:

1. Counting down the days until summer vacation.
2. Restyling some of my class recipes to cut costs*.

That is when I discovered you can BAKE egg rolls...OMG....why didn't I think of this sooner? First, I hate using so much oil just to fry egg rolls for one class. Second, I know I could use that oil to make other things during the day...but trust me frying foods all day long is not fun (been there done that). I kn0w I could store the oil for later use but again...I don't have the time to wait 3 hours after school for it to cool down....ANYWAY. I don't know why I am justifying myself here (warding off comment making the aforementioned suggestions I guess)....it's MY blog....sheesh. lol

My students love Egg Roll day. I make the filling ahead of time and I teach them how to fold it, roll it and fry it. Kinda sketchy for some kids who are afraid of oil....but I am there to assist....no one ever burned (that badly- lol- kidding) I found this recipe for baked egg rolls and totally ignored the recipe but read the process. I love MY recipe....just was not thrilled over the amount of oil that is being consumed. Problem NOW solved.

Of course my recipe is enough to feed 30 students, several staff members and a carry out plate of like 6-8 for my BFF coworker and me. Forwarning...this recipe makes alot** (60?). Not a number for your typical family of four. Have an egg roll making party! Freeze half of the batch. Share some with neighbors. Eat only egg rolls for dinner one night. Set up an egg roll stand in front of your house. Encourage your child to do a report on China and bring these in to their class.....

Baked Egg Rolls

Filling:

1lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 napa cabbage, shredded (use a food processor)
4-5 carrots, peeled and grated (use the smaller holes on the food processor)
1 pkg; cellophane noodles, softened
season salt/pepper

Egg Rolls:

3 pkg egg roll wrappers (about twenty each package)
1 egg, beaten
oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Boil hot water and soak cellophane noodle in a bowl until soft. Cut noodles with scissors to make shorter pieces. Set aside to cool.

Prepare filling by: cooking turkey, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until turkey is no longer pink. Cool turkey mixture while preparing vegetables.

Using a food processor, shred washed cabbage, grate carrots. Set aside.

Mix cooled turkey, cooled noodles with vegetables in large bowl. Add season salt and pepper to taste. DON'T SALT YOUR MIXTURE IF YOU ARE PUTTING IN FRIDGE OVERNIGHT. The salt will pull out the water and leave your mixture soggy as though the cabbage was cooked.


Put 1/4 cup of turkey mixture in the center of egg roll wrapper.























Kinda like the bottom of an envelope.










Making sure being gentle yet tightly tucking filling and rolling.


Brush the top of the unrolled wrapper with egg wash.





Place on foiled line cookie sheet with seam side down; brush with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes.


I am never deep fat frying these egg rolls ever again!!! These were absolutely the same. Crispy, crunchy. Great texture inside, not over cooked. Bring on the hot mustard and duck sauce!!!


*The cost cutting was not from this recipe but swapping this recipe being done as a lab experience and the chicken with broccoli stir fry as a demonstration. I was able to buy considerably less chicken and vegetables by doing it as a sample demonstration. During lab they would get a hefty portion with rice. Sad to say that buying a package of 100 chopsticks is probably the cheapest I have to buy.


**Look at the bowl of filling....I said a LOT. Perhaps you could only shred half of the cabbage....or use half a package of noodles....1/2 lb of turkey and one package of egg rolls wrappers. Dunno, play around with what works for you. Honestly I just think you should file this recipe under...party appetizers and keep the amount so you don't have half a cabbage, half cellophane noodle and half an open package of turkey to use up afterward. Hey, the more you make, the more friends you will keep. Works for me!

Don't be intimidated. If my 8th graders can do this...so can you!




Rolling around in the joy of less fat in my egg roll,

Same dish, different country

I found the recipe to these Asian meatballs and kept it immediately. YUM....but other than serving them for a appetizer what could I do to make them dinner?

Of course I tweaked! Keeping with the Asian theme, I put them on soba noodles, created a simple sauce....and TADA

Asian Spaghetti and Meatballs (Asian Meatballs with Soba Noodles)
adapted from Lisa of Cutting Edge of Ordinary who got it from Life's Ambrosia

Cook's Notes: Fry these meatballs if you want a crispy golden brown outside with a tender flavorful inside. If you would prefer to bake them, I would recommend drizzling them with a little olive oil before cooking them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until cooked through.

1 ½ pounds ground pork
½ cup finely minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dried cilantro or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
1 egg, beaten
2 serrano peppers, minced
½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon fish sauce
¼ cup of oil (if frying)
1 package soba noodles (usually found in the Asian section of your grocery)
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp. corn starch
veggie of choice (I used fresh green beans as seen in pictures)

Soy Garlic Dipping Sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1-Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Short drizzle sesame oil
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat the oven to warm setting. In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the oil. Mix well. Roll into 20 meatballs.

If frying: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry meatballs in batches until they are golden brown on all sides and cooked through. About 8 to 10 minutes total. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer cooked meatballs to the oven to keep them warm while you finish cooking the remaining meatballs. Keep the pan with oil and brown stuff stuck for next direction.

Prepare your soy dipping sauce in a custard cup and set aside.

Prepare the soba noodle according to the directions. While the noodle are cooking I added the green beans to cook with them. Drain into colander when your noodles/beans are cooked.

Heat up pan that you used for the meatballs. Add your cornstarch, stir around and pour in chicken broth. Use a wire whisk to mix up the chicken broth, cornstarch and to incorporate/dissolve those tasty brown bits left from the meatballs. Heat until thickens. Dilute sauce with more chicken broth if desired. Add back noodles/beans to coat with sauce. Don't be alarmed if sauce starts to disappear into noodles. That's okay...they are soaking up FLAVOR!

Taking your tongs...put generous pile of noodles/bean onto plate. Swirl tongs so the noodles look pretty. Top with your Asian meatballs, put cup of dipping sauce on the side and serve some oranges on the side. PERFECTION!

K-man and I actually started drizzling the soy dipping sauce all over the meatballs, noodles and beans for the flavor of it all was fantastic! Thanks Des and Lisa! What a hit!

Enjoy!