Mahi Mahi with Jalapeno Ponzu

Vocab lesson of the day--

Ponzu: a citrus and soy based sauce used in Japanese cooking.

My interpretation--

Ponzu: an orange salty thin sauce that makes fish (in this case, mahi mahi) extra delicious regardless of your ethnicity. I picked up some mahi mahi from Trader Joe's during a trip to Indianapolis this fall and have been looking for good recipes to use up my freezer stock. This flavor profile worked perfectly. I spiced it up with some jalapenos. Definitely a quick and easy main course dish. Try it with another hearty fish like salmon or even chicken.

Mahi Mahi with Jalapeno Ponzu (adapted from Cooking Light's The Complete Quick Cook)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sesame oil
1 4-6 oz mahi mahi fillet
slices of fresh jalapeno pepper

Directions:
Whisk together the soy sauce, orange juice, mirin and lemon juice.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mahi mahi and cook about 4 minutes on each side until cooked through.

Place your fish on a plate and top with jalapeno slices. Spoon the ponzu over the fillet. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Serves 1.

Shrimp Fried Barley

I'm nothing if I'm not a weirdo. I like peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I dance like a crazy person around my apartment all by myself because sometimes music makes me hyper. I spend a few hours cleaning my desk at work and then the following day cannot figure out for the life of me where I put a specific piece of paper that I need. Let's not even talk about the assortment of music I have on my iPod.

So here I am, weirding up (or it is out?) your life with fried barley instead of rice. It is a nice change that I fully support.

Get down with your strange self. :)

Shrimp Fried Barley
Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp peanut oil
2 green onions, diced, white and green parts separated
4 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup chopped green beans
1 cup cooked barley
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp fish sauce

Directions:
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the white parts of the onions and saute for about 1 minute until softened. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1-2 minutes until no longer completely pink. Add the green beans and saute for another minute. Add the barley and toss to mix everything, cooking for about 2-3 minutes. Push the barley mixture to the side and slide the beaten egg into the pan. Scramble. Mix the cooked egg into the barley. Sprinkle in the soy sauce, sriracha and fish sauce and toss to combine.

Serve topped with the green parts of the onion.

Serves 2.

Slow Cooker Hoisin Pork Tenderloin

Here's the deal. My friend Teresa is trying to kick my butt into shape. Somehow she has convinced me to ride a bike to work with her. She does this a lot in the spring/summer... me? I've accompanied her twice in the past two weeks and plan on trying to kick it up to twice or three times a week. Until she convinced me to do this, I could not remember the last time I had been on a bike (well besides the stationary ones at the gym). I thought back and I really think it was the summer after my first semester in college when I biked over to my friend Jennifer's house. That was like 10 years ago!?!

I'm beginning to really appreciate the saying "just like riding a bike". Somehow, I had not forgotten how to peddle, shift gears, or stop from moving. My leg muscles, on the other hand, forgot how to function the day following a bike ride. Wow-sers! Ow-sers! And my bottom... I had to tenderly sit down for the next few days.

But truthfully, it felt good to be outside and stretching my muscles. I had been to complacent lately with working long hours and not getting myself to work out. This really helping me out. You know the best thing about riding a bike to work? You have to bike home too. No take backs, sheets, or give-ups. You gotta get back on it at the end of the day and push through.

For all this bike riding, I need some extra protein to feed my muscles. This pork tenderloin in the slow cooker is great. The Asian flavor of hoisin sauce and chili paste is great. The pork is tender and ready when you get back to the apartment. Serve it up with a baked potato and broccoli and you will have a filling and nutritious meal to refuel you for the next ride.

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin (adapted from Rachael Ray)
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tbsp chili paste (like Sambal Oelek)
1/2 tbsp dry sherry
1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Directions:
Coat crockpot with cooking spray.

Whisk together the garlic, hoisin, ginger, chili paste, sherry, soy sauce and sesame oil. Place the pork in crockpot and pour the sauce over it. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high 4-5 hours).

Remove the pork from the crockpot and let rest until ready to slice.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Turn the crockpot to high and whisk in the cornstarch solution. Heat until thick.

Serve the pork topped with the hoisin sauce.

Serves 3-4.

Dragon Noodles

Do you like a dinner from the fridge to the table in about 10 minutes?

Do you like the burn of sriracha sauce to stay in your mouth for the rest of the night?

If you answered yes to both of the above questions, then do I have the perfect recipe for you. These are certainly dragon noodles because they will make you breathe fire. And you can whip them up in less time than it will take you to order your favorite Asian takeout.

You can obviously cut back on a little bit of the heat by eliminating some of the sriracha sauce, but if you don't like things spicy, you may want to avoid this one altogether. If you do love the spicy, you should try them out :)

Dragon Noodles (adapted from Budget Bytes)
Ingredients:
4 oz somen noodles (or other noodle of choice)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2-1 tbsp sriracha sauce (depending on your spice level)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 egg
sliced green onion, for garnish

Directions:
Cook the noodles according to the package and drain.

Mix together the brown sugar, soy sauce and sriracha.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the CRP and cook until fragrant about 30 sec. Crack the egg into the pan and beat with your spatula to scramble the white and yolk (alternatively, whisk the egg in a small bowl before adding to the pan). Cook until the egg is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the drained noodles and sauce to the pan and toss to coat the noodles. Heat on low for about 1 minute until thickened.

Serve hot topped with the green onions.

Serves 2.

Tofu Peanut Stir Fry

Are you looking for something easy and light amongst on all the goodies this holiday season? Then look no further. Here I made a tofu stir fry full of vegetables set atop some noodles. The peanut flavor is reminiscent of Pad Thai but since I just winged it, it's not exactly the same. As I always say with tofu, you have to make a nice sauce to get it flavorful, and I think that is just what I've done here.

So set aside your cookies, cheese and crackers, bread, and decadent holiday dishes for a night and make this. Your waist line with thank you ;)

Tofu Peanut Stir Fry
Ingredients:
For marinade:
1/2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium, preferred)
1/2 tbsp mirin
3 oz extra firm tofu, cut into bite sized pieces

For stir fry:
1 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium, preferred)
1/2 tbsp creamy natural peanut butter
1/2 tbsp mirin
1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 scallion, sliced thinly, whites and greens separated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
pinch of sugar
1 1/2 oz somen noodles
1 cup broccoli slaw
4-5 mini sweet peppers, sliced thinly
4-5 button mushroom, sliced thinly
peanuts, for garnish

Directions:
Mix together corn starch, soy sauce and mirin and toss the tofu in it. Refrigerate until ready to stir fry.

Prep all of your vegetables and set them close to the stove.

Whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, mirin, hoisin sauce, corn starch, Sriracha and broth. Set aside.

Heat 1/2 tbsp oil over medium heat in a wok. Pour off any excess marinade and then add the tofu to the pan. Cook, flipping gently, for 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove to a plate and wipe out the wok.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through. Drain.

Heat another 1/2 tbsp oil over medium high heat in the wok. Add the white of the scallion and the garlic; cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and sugar and cook for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and peppers and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the broccoli slaw and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add back the tofu, sauce and noodles. Mix completely and heat until thickened.

Serve garnished with the greens of the scallion and peanuts.

Serves 1-2.

Pork and Green Onion Wonton Soup

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope that you have plans of costumes, pumpkins and candy tonight. Me? I've got a date with my oven to make some pumpkin flavored treats. Don't worry, I'll share them with you later.

For now, I'm sharing this AMAZING recipe. No joke, it has some of my most favorite characteristics in a recipe. Number 1- it is delicious (you know how much I love some yummy food). Number 2- it is so quick and easy to put together, like literally 10 minutes to cook (well once you have the wontons frozen). Number 3- I will definitely be eating it again (and not only because I have a freezer bag of wontons ready to go).

So here's the deal, spend a little bit of time on the weekend prepping the wontons and you are ready to go with a simple weeknight meal.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to play around with some different flavors inside of the wonton wrappers to mix it up in the future. But this combo of pork, green onions and ginger is great. You've got to try it out.

Pork and Green Onion Wonton Soup (adapted from Foodie with Family)
Ingredients:
For Pork and Green Onion Wontons:
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 green onions (green and white), finely minced
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp rice vinegar
24-32 wonton wrappers (depending on how much you put in each)
1 egg, beaten

For 1 serving of soup:
1 tsp oil (sesame, peanut or canola)
7-8 frozen pork and green onion wontons (from above)
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
3-4 button mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and whole
1 green onion, diced
1 tbsp of Asian chili sauce (more or less to taste)
Fried rice noodles, for serving

Directions:
To make wontons:
Combine the ground pork, fish sauce, ginger, green onions, cornstarch and rice vinegar in a bowl and mix until homogeneous.

Working with 4-6 wonton wrappers at a time, brush the entire wonton with the egg and then place approximately 1 tsp of the pork mixture into the middle of the wrapper. Bring together the corners and squeeze to close. Place the prepared wontons on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Once you have assembled all of the wontons (I ended up with 32 wontons), place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze through, at least 2 hours. At this point, you can put all of the wontons into a freezer bag for longer term storage.

To make the soup:
Place the oil in the bottom of soup pan. Add the frozen wontons, carrot matchsticks, mushrooms, garlic clove and white parts of the onion. Add 1 cup of broth and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a strong boil, add another cup of broth and bring back to a boil. Once that reaches a strong boil, add the last cup of broth and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.

To serve, remove the wontons, carrots and mushrooms to a bowl and pour the broth over them (discard the garlic clove). Garnish with the green parts of the onion and fried rice noodles.

Serves 1.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I know the saying is "America runs on Dunkin"

But today the truth is "Julie runs on Dunkin". I had an early morning (think 7am) date with the car dealership for an oil change. Of course I picked up a large coffee on my way to drop it off.

I went back this afternoon to pick up the car and this necessitated another stop at Dunkin Donuts for a medium coffee.

For those of you counting that 36 ounces of coffee today. Certainly needed after only about 6 hours of sleep last night. It has kept me alert and fairly productive today so that's a good thing, right?

Completely unrelated, but another fun fact about today. It is in the high 70s and b-e-a-utifully sunny outside.

Duh duh duh duh duh I'm loving it.

Oh wait. Wrong restaurant.

Anyway.

This beef and broccoli stir fry is great. Broccoli is probably my favorite vegetable for stir fry because it soaks up the sauce so well. Mushrooms are probably a close second. That's why I loaded this up with both of them. Be creative with the veggies that make you tick. Feel free to substitute vegetable or chicken broth for the beef broth if you don't have it on hand.

As always with stir fry, your meal will be ready in as much time as it would take you to run out and get another cup of joe from Dunkin.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1/3-1/2 lb top loin steak (or other steak), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp peanut oil (or other vegetable oil)
approximately 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
approximately 1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/3 cup sliced onion
1 tbsp diced onion
1 garlic clove, diced
1 pinch sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dry sherry
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sriacha sauce
2 cups cooked rice, for serving
sliced green onion, for topping

Directions:
Whisk together the egg white, 1 tbsp sherry and 1 tbsp corn starch. Pour over the beef in a bowl and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 30 min to 1 hour. Drain off excess marinade.

Prep all of your vegetables while the meat marinates. Also, cook rice as indicated on the package.

Whisk together the beef broth, 1/2 tsp corn starch, soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp dry sherry, hoisin sauce and sriacha. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat in a wok (or large skillet). Add the beef and cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the beef to a plate and wipe out the wok.

Heat another 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat in the wok. Add the garlic and diced onion. Cook, stirring until softened, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and salt and stir to mix. Add in the broccoli, mushrooms and onion slices and stir fry until crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Add the beef back to the wok. Add the sauce and stir everything until it thickens, about 1-2 minutes.

Serve the beef and broccoli over cooked rice topped with sliced green onion.

Sriarcha White Bean Dip

This week at the farmer's market I bought a watermelon. After I got it home, I immediately went to work with my melon baller. I don't know about you, but I think any type of melon tastes best when in perfect bite-sized balls. It may take little more patience and time than simply chopping up the watermelon, but it is worth it in my book. After the task was completed, I was left with an overflowing bowl of juicy red goodness (in one of my largest bowls that could no longer be closed with its lid). Needless to say, I've been eating lots of watermelon since Saturday. And it tastes just like summer!

Speaking of summer, can you believe that it is the last day of July!?!?! It feels like I just moved to IL but I've been here for more than six months?!?! 

Oh my goodness <<shakes head>> 

Realizing how "long" I've been here makes me start to think of what's going to happen next. Please keep a look out for job postings for organic chemistry professors for me, ok? The application process is speedily approaching. And no matter what we do, time doesn't slow for anything.

Completely unrelated to job searching, but related once again to summer foods, is a pita pocket stuffed with lots of fresh veggies like cucumber, spinach and tomato. Of course, you will need some sort of a "dressing" for this sandwich. My suggestion this spicy bean dip. It is kinda like an Asian inspired hummus. No tahini so I don't think we can technically call it a hummus, but it is still pureed beans. The sriarcha gives it a nice kick and the flavors are rounded out with curry powder, soy sauce and lime juice. It was a great compliment to my pita, but I also enjoyed it by the scoopful on top of multigrain Tosititos scoops and assorted vegetables.  

Sriarcha White Bean Dip (adapted from White on Rice Couple)
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked Northern beans (or 2/3 15 oz can, rinsed)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sriracha sauce
1 glove of garlic
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup water, plus more if necessary
juice of 1/2 lime

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached.

Serve with crackers or tortilla chips. Or use as a spread for a sandwich or pita full of veggies and shredded cheese.

Chinese Noodle Salad

I told you that I traveled to NC for a wedding this past weekend. I can’t help it, but every time that I fly I HAVE to purchase a new food magazine. I currently get Food Network Magazine and Everyday Food by Martha Stewart and will soon be getting Everyday with Rachael Ray (thanks, Living Social $7 deal!) delivered directly to my house. I used to get Cooking Light but for some reason I let my subscription run out. Fortunately, that meant I hadn’t read the June 2012 edition so when I was perusing the magazine selections at the airport, I just HAD to buy it. :) Don’t judge me. I flipped through the magazine reading the articles and the recipes marking the pages that I was interested in making one day.

When I got home on Sunday evening, I sat down to make my weekly meal plans and decided to plan something from the new magazine. I also took a look at the Meijer ad and saw that it was 10 for $10 (get the 11^th free) week. Some of the 10 for $10 included cherry tomatoes, English cucumbers and green onions. In my fridge I had some sugar snap peas from the farmer’s market the week before. So, essentially everything was setting up perfectly for this Chinese Noodle Salad. Of course when I got to Meijer, I couldn’t find the Chinese-flat noodles that the recipe called for so I went for somen noodles which are thin Japanese wheat noodles. They worked great. Although, maybe I shoulda changed the name to Japanese Noodle Salad. Oh well.  

Now for those of you afraid of tofu, I would totally suggest trying this recipe. I used to be afraid like you. However, I find that any stir fry/saucy meal can really up the flavor of tofu, and it is certainly waaaay better than the first time I tried it from the salad bar in college (super wet and slimy with no taste whatsoever). 

Chinese Noodle Salad with Tangy Cucumbers (adapted from Cooking Light, June 2012)

Ingredients:

Noodles:

4 oz package uncooked noodles (I used somen noodles, but could use udon or spaghetti or whatever you desire)

1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed

2 tsp peanut oil

1/2 cup cubed firm water-packed tofu (about 3 ounces)

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup drained, sliced water chestnuts

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions 

1.5 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar 

1/2 tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce 

1 tsp dark sesame oil

1 tsp chile paste with garlic

Pinch of kosher salt

1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Tangy cucumbers:

1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar 

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, more or less to taste

1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber 

Directions:

For the cucumbers, whisk together vinegar, sugar and CRP. Add the cucumbers and toss to coat. Chill until ready to eat.

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add peas during last 1 minute of cooking. Drain; rinse with cold water.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add peanut oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add tofu to pan and cook 5-10 minutes until browned, stirring frequently.

Combine noodle mixture, tofu, tomatoes, water chestnuts, and onions in a large bowl. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste, salt and sesame seeds in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add vinegar mixture to noodle mixture, tossing gently to coat.

Serves 2.

Thai Fried Rice with Runny Egg

I GOT A NEW COOKBOOK! I’m not sure how to explain to you my enthusiasm for cookbooks and cooking magazines. I’ll flip through the same cookbooks over and over marking different pages and trying to plan out recipes to try. Cooking magazines are great because they are also chalked full of new recipes and ideas for the kitchen. A new cookbook is just as great… well, except for the fact that sometimes the spine isn’t worn enough for you to keep the page open to the recipe you want to make and you have to figure out how to hold it down so you can read and cook at the same time. Oh the woes of a home cook. ;)

Ever since I’ve been living alone and cooking for myself, I’ve wanted a “cooking for one” cookbook. However, a lot of the reviews for single cookbooks that I have read seem to classify the books as more introductory cooking (how to make a hamburger, how to cook a chicken breast, etc.) designed for college kids that are trying to get away from dorm food. Not really my style—I mean, I can adapt most recipes for four or six down to one or two especially when it is things with which I’m pretty familiar. Recently, I came across the cookbook “ServeYourself” by Joe Yonan, and since I still had a B&N giftcard from Christmas (yes, I realize it is May), I figured I would give it a whirl. It is certainly an interesting cookbook with lots of “different” types of recipes. I would say he gets a lot of his inspiration from Asian cuisine. But I’ve bookmarked some recipes and will be giving them a try and sharing what I like (and potentially dislike) about them with you. What I like most about his cookbook is his mindset about cooking for one that I also share:

           “Cooking for yourself doesn’t need to feel like a chore or, perhaps worse, it doesn’t need to bring to mind that character in Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Remember Miss Lonely Hearts? As Jimmy Stewart’s character watched through his binoculars from across the courtyard, she set a table for two, raised a glass, forced a smile, and mimed a romantic dinner with an empty chair… I gotta eat, I gotta cook, and I’m determined to do both well. When I make myself dinner, I don’t pretend my true love is sitting across from me—I’m often too excited about the flavors I just put together to think about much of anything else.” –Joe Yonan, "Serve Yourself" introduction

Isn’t that just the perfect attitude? I really enjoy cooking and eating the food I make, so cooking for myself is a pleasure. It makes me happy to spend time in the kitchen and then to share those recipes here with you. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to cook for others as well. It’s just that some nights, you are eating dinner alone so you should appreciate not just the guests or family you cook for but yourself as well.

Ok, I’m stepping off the soapbox and going to share with you the first recipe I tried from Joe’s book. I chose this Thai fried rice recipe because I had some extra rice in the fridge from the weekend and fried rice is always a good bet with leftover rice. He includes a recipe for Nam Pla Prik, Thai chiles rehydrated in fish sauce, to serve alongside it. However, I didn’t have the chilis and wasn’t up for a trip to the market. Instead, I spiced it up with a drizzle of Sriracha sauce at the end. I also didn’t quite have a cup of chopped mushrooms, mine was closer to 2/3 cup, but next time I will certainly up the mushroom content. I’m not sure how I feel about Asian fish sauce. I’ve had this ginormous bottle in my pantry for a while (I bought it for some recipe) and will add it when it is called for, but I don’t really experiment with it. It has such a strong smell of fish, and I like fish, that is just so overpowering. But the taste is fine. You really just have to get over pouring it into the skillet and the flavor is good. There’s my warning.

Thai Fried Rice with Runny Egg (from “Serve Yourself” cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp + 1 tsp peanut oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup (or less) mushrooms, cutting into ½ in pieces

1 cup cold white or brown rice

2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

½ cup canned diced tomatoes (or 1 tomato, cored and chopped)

2 tsp Asian fish sauce

1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 egg

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup thinly sliced cucumber

Sriracha sauce

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and stir fry until golden, about 30 sec. Add the mushroom and stir fry until softened, 1-2 min.  Add the rice, breaking it up with your fingers as you toss it into the wok. Keep the rice moving for 2-3 minutes, scooping and tossing and pressing the rice against the bottom and sides of the wok to sear it. Add the scallions, tomato, fish sauce and soy sauce. Stir fry about 30 sec. Transfer to plate.

Wipe out the wok and decrease the heat to low. Add 1 tsp oil followed by the egg. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the top of the egg as barely filmed over with the white and the yolk is still runny, about 2 min. Carefully lift out the egg and place on top of rice.

Garnish with cucumber slices and Sriracha sauce (as desired).

BLTA Spring Rolls

Confession-- I’m totally into rice paper right now. Why? Because spring rolls constitute a healthy, quick and easy summer dish that can be packed with lots of goodness. I’ve made a number of different flavors in the past few months and enjoyed all of them. You can basically do WHATEVER you want with these little guys. You can add some protein (shrimp, bacon, beans, etc.) to make them a main dish or just opt for an assortment of veggies, kinda like a salad repurposed, served alongside grilled chicken or fish.

I introduced my parents to them this weekend when they were visiting. We had them stuffed with tons of vegetables as a side to sesame chicken and rice (I totally forgot to take a picture, but I promise I will next time and share the recipe here... it is great!). We had a blast making the rolls right at the dining room table.

I need to prepare you that these are certainly an “eat with your hands” food, especially if you want to dip them in some sauce (which I would suggest). Make sure to keep a napkin handy because they can be messy! :)

I’m sharing with you today a recipe for BLTA spring rolls, but I just encourage you to find the rice paper (should be in the Asian section of your supermarket) and play around with what you like best.

BLTA Spring Rolls (adapted from White on Rice Couple)

Ingredients:

Rolls:

2 strips bacon, cooked to your desired crispness, cut in half

4 leaves bibb lettuce

1 small or medium tomato, sliced thinly

½ avocado, sliced thinly

2 pieces of rice paper

Dipping sauce:

1/8 cup soy sauce (I prefer low sodium)

1 tsp Sriracha sauce, more or less to taste

1 tsp mayo

Directions:

Whisk the sauce ingredients in bowl until completely combine (alternatively, combine in a mason jar and shake to completely mix).

Fill a pie pan (or large bowl) with warm to hot water (the hotter it is, the faster the rice paper will hydrate). Gently dip one piece of rice paper into the bowl until it hydrated, approximately 10-30 seconds. Remove and spread out on plate or cutting board.

Add one piece of bacon, two lettuce leaves, and half of the tomato and avocado slices to one side of the rice paper. Start rolling the paper over the filling away from you, tucking in the sides as you go.

Eat immediately, dipping into sauce between bites.

Serves 1. 

** You can easily double, quadruple, etc. the recipe to fit the number of people who will be at dinner.