Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls are surprisingly easy. With fresh veggies and herbs--how can you go wrong, really? I use these measurements as a guideline based on my preference, and you should too.

Spring Rolls
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, grated
• 2 green onions, sliced into matchstick pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded or finely chopped cabbage
• 4-6 shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchstick pieces
• approx. 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• Optional: 1/2 C chicken or tofu, diced
• 2 Tbsp. oil, plus more for deep-frying
• 1 pkg. small spring roll wrappers (thawed if frozen)

Stir Fry Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (if vegetarian, substitute vegetarian oyster sauce, or extra soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sake or sherry

Serve with
• Thai sweet chili sauce
• or 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part rice vinegar with sriracha to taste
• or 1/3 cup plum sauce with 3 Tbsp. soy sauce. Add cut fresh chili or cayenne pepper if desired.

Directions

1. Place 1 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add garlic, ginger, and shallots. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add a little water to the pan if it starts to get dry.
2. Add cabbage and mushrooms (and chicken or tofu if you choose). As you stir-fry, add the sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
3. Remove from heat and add bean sprouts, coriander and basil tossing to mix in.
4. Do a taste test for salt, adding 1 Tbsp. more fish or soy sauce if not salty enough.
5. Set up for assembly--have a bowl of water for your fingers and a clean, dry working surface for the rolls. To assemble rolls, place a spring roll wrapper on the clean working surface. Place one heaping Tbsp. of the filling on the wrapper (if using large wrappers, you will need more). Spread the filling lengthwise along the spring roll wrapper nearer the end closest to you. Also, try not to include too much of the liquid left in the bottom of your wok/pan (a slotted spoon works well for this - drier filling is better.
7. Fold the left and right sides of wrapper over filling, then lift up the wide end nearest you and tuck overtop. Roll to the other end. Secure the roll by dipping your fingers in some water and wetting the end, "pasting" it shut.
8. To fry spring rolls, place some oil (about 1 inch deep) in a wok or deep-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. Oil is hot enough when you flick water at it with your fingers, and the water dances.
9. Using tongs, place spring rolls in oil, allowing them to fry a little less than 1 minute on each side. Spring rolls are done when they turn light to medium golden-brown (see photo). Place on paper towels (or a clean dish towel) to drain while you finish frying the rest. It might take one or two rolls to get the oil at just the right temperature--you don't want the rolls soaking in the oil, but you don't want them burning, either.
10. Serve spring rolls while still hot with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, or your own dipping sauce.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits: a famous, occasionally daunting quick bread. My association with biscuits is often how long they can take to assemble—especially for a "quick bread" that doesn't need to rise. I like this recipe because it is quick and approachable. In terms of fluffiness and flakiness, these biscuits can't beat meticulously cutting in a pound of butter into flour. However, for taste and convenience (start to coming out of the oven, this recipe took 35 minutes), I highly approve. All hail Alton Brown.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. shortening

1 c. buttermilk, chilled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.