Crispy Egg Roll Cookies (香脆鸡蛋卷）

We are counting down to the Chinese New Year at our house. And the plan is that we will make a traditional Chinese snack every day until the New Year's day. So this is item #1 on our count-down menu: Crispy Egg Roll Cookies.

You may have seen the store version in Asian grocery stores.

But the homemade ones are so much more buttery and delicate.
And Here's the recipe:
(translated from http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5c6213d10102e1hr.html)

Ingredients:
（Makes about 30)

• 3 1/2 TBSP butter (soften)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 2/4 cups of cake flour
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• roasted sesame seeds (optional)

How to:

1. beat the sugar and butter together on low speed with a hand mixer
2. add one egg at a time to the butter sugar mixture, until all eggs are combined in the mixture
3. add the vanilla and lemon juice to the mixture, mix until they combine
4. add the cake flour to the mixture, and mix until smooth
5. let the batter sit for 15 minutes.
6. heat up a pan on low heat for a minute.
7. drop a tablespoonful of the batter in the middle of the pan
8. twirl the pan and make the batter roll in a circle from the center to the side, forming a very thin layer of crepe looking batter. 
9. let the batter cook for about 25 seconds (on low heat) or until the bottom is slightly brown.
10. use a chopstick/skewer to roll up the cooked sheet quickly on the pan (the sheet is soft and hot when it is just cooked, 1 second after you lift it up in the air, it will crisp up and then it will be impossible to roll)
11. let the roll cool down for 5 minutes.

For sesame version, just mix in the sesame seed into the batter. And cook it the same way.

Enjoy!

香脆鸡蛋卷食谱

蛋卷糊的食谱是完全按照这个博客上做的。
香脆蛋卷-零失败且不腻不膻的秘方
（我所有材料减半，做出来大概30个蛋卷，上面英文版里是转换成cup/TBSP/tsp的计量）
因为家里没有电饼档 （有的话可以直接跳过转蛋浆的程序，快好多）

调好蛋卷糊之后

1. 小火烧热平底锅
2. 把一小勺蛋糊到在锅中央
3. 用转锅的方法把蛋糊摊成很薄的一层蛋饼
4. 小火大概20-30秒，到能隐约看到蛋饼的底层有点浅棕色
5. 用筷子/竹签之类的，在锅里迅速把蛋饼卷起来（动作要快啊，锅里的蛋饼是软的，很好卷。一旦离锅一秒钟之后就成脆的卷不起来了）
6. 把蛋卷架着凉凉（凉了以后才会脆）就可以开吃啦。

喜欢吃芝麻口味的，在蛋糊里加上熟芝麻，一样的方法做就是啦。

Welcome back!

As I was looking through my Facebook page for some old photos, I came across this long lost blog page from my pre-children years. (I've tried to look for it several times in the last few years but could never find it). What a pleasant surprise.

Since I am finally over the craziness of having babies/toddlers at home, it is a great time to resume my blog postings on food.

Welcome back!

"Peking Duck" copycat

As much as I love the authentic Peking Duck, it just won't work as a weekday home-made dinner.
This 30-minute meal copycat version gives me 90% of its taste and texture, and it is much cheaper and easier. All the ingredients are easy to be found in any grocery stores.

It is a perfect summer BBQ recipe: juicy grilled chicken thighs (boneless skinless) coated with honey soy sauce, refreshing cucumber sticks, sweet carrot, and thinly sliced green onion that gives a little bit kick to the taste; all wrapped up in a tortilla with hoisin sauce.

The non-Mexican ways to use tortillas in cooking II: Chinese crepe (煎饼)

So this is one of the most popular street-vendor breakfast in many places in China,
I have craved for it for years since I came to the U.S.
Now there is an easy make to make it.

Ingrediants:

• Tortillas
• Eggs
• chopped cilantro
• chopped green onion
• hoisin sauce
• Chinese fried dough

Procedure:

• heat up a cooking pan over medium heat, with one table spoon of oil;
• heat up one side of tortillas for 20 seconds, then flip over;
• crack an egg on the tortillas, use a spatula to break the egg and spread it on the tortillas, doesn't have to be perfect;
• when the egg is half cooked, sprinkle some chopped cilantro and green onion;
• flip the tortillas carefully, so the egg side is now facing down;
• brush hoisin sauce on the top side, and wait till the egg is fully cooked;
• put a piece of fried dough on the top (the hoisin sauce side), then roll and fold the tortillas around the fried dough. 

It is ready to eat in 3 minutes.

The non-Mexican ways to use tortillas in cooking I: Chinese empanadas (盒子)

After tasting many ethnic food and seeing my friends cooking their home food,
I realize that there is so much overlapping of cooking styles and ingredients across different styles of food.
Being a busy mom, tortillas become a shortcut to making many Chinese food.
#1 Chinese empanadas 

Ingrediants:

• uncooked tortillas
• fillings (almost any mix of finely chopped vegetables and proteins: meat/eggs)
• one egg

Procedures:
 I got my uncooked tortillas from Costco.

For filling, I used one pound of ground pork, 1/4 pound of ground shrimp, 1 egg, 1 table spoon of minced ginger, 1 table spoon of finely chopped green onion, 1 pound of finely chopped Chinese green leafy vegetables, finely chopped of one pack of 8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms. Mixed well and seasoned with Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, and salt.

Put a generous scoop of the filling on the tortillas so it covers half of the tortillas surface, fold the other half other and press the edge tight (a little bit of egg wash along the edge make help the fold to stay together during cooking)

Heat up a pan with a table spoon of oil over medium heat, cook the empanada until each side turns golden brown, and transfer the empanada to a pan over  low heat, finish cooking the empanada over low heat, in the covered pan, for about 8 minutes.

Baked Pork Chop over Fried Rice (焗豬扒飯)

A little bit tired of regular grilled pork chop and panko crusted pork chop.
Also tired of plain fried rice.
Then I remember this classic Hong Kong style meal.

Ingredients:
Panko crusted pork chop:

• 3 pieces of thick cut boneless pork chop;
• Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce;
• one egg;
• one cup of flour;
• one cup of panko breadcrumb (or original flavor bread crumb)

1 1/2 cups of fried rice (with eggs, chopped tomatoes, diced onion, diced pepper, diced onion);

1 8oz can of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of chicken broth/water, soy sauce,

1 cup of Mozzarella cheese

Procedures:
Panko crusted pork chop:

• pound the pork chops to medium thickness;
• marinade the pork chops with cooking wine and soy sauce, for about 20 minutes;
• beat the egg in a shallow bowl;
• heat up a pan with a tablespoon of oil over medium heat;
• coat the pork chops in flour, then egg, and then panko bread crumb.
• cook the pork chops in the pan, about 3 mins each side. Then set aside.
• pour the tomato sauce, soy sauce, and the chicken broth/water in the pan, mix well, and put the pork chops into the sauce, coat the pork chops evenly with the sauce.

put the fried rice in an baking pan,  then lay the pork chops on top of the rice, pour any remaining tomato sauce on the top, and cover the top with Mozzarella cheese.

Baked the pork chop with rice in the oven at 350F, for about 20 mins, or until the cheese totally melts and starts to brown a little bit.

Ready, set, eat.

Chocolate Chips & Cranberries Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter; mix well to cream together.
3. Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, baking soda, salt, flour, oatmeal, dried cranberries and chocolate chips, and mix well.
5. Fold in the dry ingredients in the sugar & butter bowl and mix well.
6. Scoop out a tablespoonful of dough for each cookie and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer cookies to cooling rack.

Makes about 36 cookies.