My dad recently retired after working for the same company for nearly 40 years. Every single day, he packed the same lunch-a sandwich with a slice of American cheese and mustard, and a packet of Lipton's Cup-a-soup. I'm embarrassed to report that when my mom would tell me to pack my dad's lunch for the next day, I'd often complain about the chore. It was such a trivial task, and I bitched about it. Thinking about it makes me want to hop in a time machine and go back to 1986 and kick my snotty little teenage ass.
I doubt that it happened with any frequency that my dad was taken out to a nice restaurant for lunch, but I've got a company expense account which permits me to dine at white linen establishments with regularity. God, I'm spoiled. My dad also made his hot tea each morning with a powdered concentrate and Coffeemate. My nose gets bent out of joint if someone asks me to meet them at Caribou instead of Starbucks. I'm pretty sure one day of my Triple Venti Latte habit would cover about two months of his morning beverage consumption.
I suppose the financial pressures of the season have me thinking about all this. My son asked me for a $4,500 laptop the other day and seemed genuinely surprised when I told him his budget for a Christmas present is quite a bit less than a tenth of that amount. He had gone to the extra trouble of outlining all of the tasks he would perform-without complaint-if given such an extravagant gift, so I'll give him points for creativity, but DUDE. Come ON. I'm guilty myself-I would love to have a Rebel XTI, because my pictures would certainly be of gallery quality the second that hot little number was placed in my hands. Truthfully, I lack for nothing.
Just prior to my last trip to Ohio, my friend Marisha invited me to her home to make eggrolls. I'd long ago suggested we do this together, rather than her just handing me a recipe and trying to muddle through it on my own. So I joined Marisha and Connie, another friend of Marisha's, on a Wednesday night for eggroll prep. Marisha had done all of the ingredient shopping earlier in the day, and Connie and I asked how much we owed her. The ingredients were approximately six dollars. We each made forty eggrolls. For a little warmup prior to dinner, Marisha made soup from Wai Wai noodles. Wai Wai is in a little pouch just like Ramen noodles, but it actually has a really good flavor. Marisha had asked the lady working in the Asian grocery store how she prepared Wai Wai and the employee responded that she added fresh cilantro and green onions to the soup mix and prepared it per the instructions. The results were awesome. Robust flavor and noodles with texture. If you're making it at home be careful with the spice pouch, it's potent used at full strength. I wish I'd known about this frugal delicacy years ago when I was flat busted broke. Eating a tasty meal for a dime and some change would have been nice.
As far as the eggrolls...you know I always try to be exacting in my recipe posts. This one won't be like that, mostly because Marisha prepared the filling for us prior to our arrival. Marisha weighs about 85 pounds soaking wet and doesn't quite hit the five foot mark. She's originally from India, but grew up in Kathmandu. She immigrated to the US when she was twenty-two, following her older sister. The woman is like the Energizer bunny. She is constantly in motion, talks at lightning speed and rarely sits down, except to sleep. So I'll try to boost the post with pictures, descriptive technique narration and hyper-links.
Marisha's Egg Rolls
One pack of frozen spring roll wrappers, thawed (Spring Home preferred)
1 large carrot, shredded
3 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 bunch green onions, diced
3 small bundles bean thread
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 tsp MSG
fresh ground black pepper to taste
high quality soy sauce to taste
Take the thawed wrappers and carefully peel them off the stack. One corner should be pointed toward you. Place a small amount of the filling about an inch from the corner of the wrapper facing you-approximately 2 tablespoons. Keep a small bowl of water nearby. Wetting your fingers, rub the edges of the wrapper. Bring the corner facing you under the filling, tucking it tightly. Bring the left and right corners toward the center, overlapping them. Tightly roll the eggroll, moistening the top corner so that it adheres well. The eggroll will only be about an inch thick and five inches long.
They can be cooked immediately in Canola oil on medium heat. Fry until a lovely golden brown. I actually believe they taste better after being frozen. Take them directly from the freezer into the oil, being careful to avoid splatters. Serve with sweet and sour sauce, or fish sauce or whatever Asian condiment you enjoy. You could certainly add pieces of pork or shrimp to these if you like. These are awesome appetizers for the holidays.
This is such a hectic time of year, and I'm grateful that I took time out of my whirlwind schedule to make these. For less than ten dollars, three of us spent a wonderful evening talking, laughing and creating eggrolls. I unplugged for awhile, and I really enjoyed being in that moment. For me, that's no small feat. The constant multitasking, the obsessive checking of email, the steady din of video games and 24 hour cartoons-it was absent for an evening. Thank you, Marisha, for a wonderful Christmas gift.
