Lee's Hot n' Sour Soup w/ Homemade Egg Rolls

As some of you know, I am not the only cook in my house. Lee, my girlfriend, is very good at it as well. One of her must-haves when we have Chinese is Hot n' Sour Soup. She has been saying for awhile how she wanted to make her own, which brings us to the next post. Delicious Hot n' Sour soup with homemade egg rolls! 

Hot n' Sour Soup

Ingredients

• 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped cooked chicken or pork (optional)
• 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 ounces firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon chili paste
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablesppons cold water
• sliced green onions for garnish

Directions

Combine chicken broth, chicken/pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, venegar, soy sauce, chili paste, pepper and garlic in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 3-4 hours or on high 2-3 hours or until done.

Stir in tofu/ Combine cornstarch with water; mix well. Stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until thickend (about 10 minutes).

Garnish with sliced green onions.

Pork Egg Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 quart canola oil for frying
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 cups coleslaw mix
• 8 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers

Directions

Season pork with ginger, garlic and garlic powder and mix thoroughly. Heat mixture in a medium skillet, stirring, until pork is cooked through. Set aside.

In another large skillet heat oil to about 375 degrees F. While oil is heating, combine flour and water in a bowl until they form a paste. In a separate bowl combine the cabbage, carrots and reserved pork mixture. Mix all together. 

Lay out one egg roll skin with a corner pointed toward you. Place about a 1/3 cup of the cabbage, carrot and pork mixture on egg roll paper and fold corner up over the mixture. Fold left and right corners toward the center and continue to roll. Brush a bit of the flour paste on the final corner to help seal the egg roll. 

Place egg rolls into heated oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or rack. 

**A really interesting video on the history of American Chinese Food**

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

Cold Beer, Pulled Pork Sandwich & Football...sounds like a great time right? I am a huge beer fan and I love cooking with it as well. So when messing around with making pulled pork in the crock pot, I decided that instead of cooking it in water...might as well add some more flavor by cooking it in some Yuengling (Pennsylvania Lager, for those who don't know). This is a very easy, quick and cheap recipe that would be great at your Super Bowl party or to have ready when you come home from a long day at work! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

• 4 Lbs. Boneless Pork Roast
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 (12 oz.) Bottle Yuengling (or whatever beer you want)
• 1 (18 oz) Bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)
• Cole Slaw; optional (Recipe Follows)

Directions

Season the outside of the pork roast with salt and pepper. Place pork in the crock pot bowl with onion, garlic and beer. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove pork from crock pot to a cutting board and shred with a fork. Drain left over liquid in crock pot through a fine-mesh strainer and reserve liquid. Return pork to crock pot, add bbq sauce and a few tablespoons of the liquid (just to help keep the pork moist). 

I LOVE COLE SLAW ON SANDWICHES!! :)

Cole Slaw Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) bag cole slaw mix
• 1 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  

Directions

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix together and serve as a side or on the pulled pork sandwich.

Prices subject to change; cole slaw not included

 

Kitchen Word of the Day

Lager (German: storage) is a type of beer that is fermented and conditioned at low temperatures. Pilsner pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world. Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager. There are also dark lagers, such as Dunkel and Schwarzbier.