Fun with Asian style fried foods

One Sunday Shells and I were bored and wanted something fun so we decided to cook up some Asian style food.  I decided to go with an "egg roll" and some spicy shrimp, so I headed to the store to figure out what I was going to go with.

Shopping List:

5 oz boneless pork tenderloin

10 21/25 count shrimp

6 large shiitake mushrooms

1 carrot

2 large jalapeños

1 pkg wonton wrappers

Slice the pork, carrots and shiitake mushrooms into thin slices and sauté until cooked, set aside.

To make the egg rolls, set out a small bowl of clean water and heat a sauté pan with 1/4" of oil (grape seed or canola).  Put a mixture of the filling into the wrapper diagonally and fold the top and bottom in and then the sides.  Directions are usually on the won ton wrapper packaging.  Brush lightly with some water to ensure a seal.

Fry the egg rolls, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and then serve with the dipping sauce of your choice.

For the shrimp, de-shell the shrimp except for the last section (with tail) and de-vein.  Thinly slice the de-seed the jalapeño and then thinly slice lengthwise.  Cut the wonton wrapper in half across the diagonal, and lay them point up.  Put the shrimp in the middle, tail down and about 1/2" from the point, with two strips of jalapeño.  Fold the point down and then fold the sides in, using a brush and clean water to ensure they seal closed.  Fry until golden brown and then serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.  Enjoy!

Cuban Pork, Rebooted

Sometimes it's the simple preparations that make something so tasty and this dinner proved that point yet again.

Cuban style roasted pork is all about having the right cut of meat, balance of fat and meat is critical, and the time to do it right.  For this dinner I used a small (~2 lb) "Boston butt" (a cut of pork that is actually from the front shoulder).  I seasoned the pork with salt, white pepper and garlic pepper, put it into an oven proof dish, drizzled it with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and then covered with aluminum foil.  After prepping, the pork went into a pre-heated 350F oven for three hours.

With about a half hour left to go for the pork, I made a pot of white jasmine rice and a pot of black beans.  For the beans I used a 14.5oz can of Goya black beans (beans and juice), 4 cloves of lightly crushed garlic and salt & pepper.  I mixed all the ingredients and cooked over low heat until the liquid evaporated.

Once the pork was done I used tongs to transfer the pork to a clean mixing bowl, discarding the excess juice.  I used the tongs and a meat fork to pull the pork apart and then added a good amount of mojo sauce (I cheated and used Goya sauce, but this is a good recipe if you have the time: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/mojo-sauce-107099).

Finally I plated the pork over the rice and served alongside the beans, finally I garnished with fresh avocado and chopped green onion.

Sweet Potato "Pancake" Sandwich

 It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I would come back something fun and new, sweet potato "pancake" sandwiches.

For this dish I sliced a sweet potato into circles and then baked them on a cookie sheet at 350F until soft and just browned.  After cooking, I wrapped them in a dry towel to keep them moist.   I sautéed a mix of sliced peppers (mild and hot) and red onions to serve as the filling.  

Once I was ready to assemble I put a thin slice of mozzarella cheese on a potato slice, followed by the pepper mix, another mozzarella slice and finally the last potato slice.  I returned the assembled sandwiches to the oven for about 5 minutes and then plated them.

For this dinner I served the sandwiches with roasted sunchoke, sauteed kale and grilled ribeye that was thin sliced.  Try it and enjoy!