Shrimp Fresh Rolls

A whole weekend on my own, with no one’s palate to please but my own. I was a single girl this weekend, but since I was basically bedridden my adventures didn’t stray beyond my kitchen. So this weekend, I got to cook whatever I wanted- all the goodies that I love that my partner in culinary escapades won’t touch with a 10-foot pole. Which means: Shrimp.

My family loves shrimp. In any and every form- You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauteé it (Forrest Gump, remember that movie? No? Rent it immediately). You name it, we love it. You can bet if there is a shrimp option on the menu, at least one of my family members will order it. So it was a given that I make a shrimp dish at some point, I just had to time it right.

The best restaurant on the Island of Maui is A Saigon Café, the best Vietnamese food you will ever encounter. Ask anyone who lives there. It is impossible to find if you don’t know exactly where it is, and it has no sign outside (My mom called it “Opén” for a long time, since the only visible sign was the open sign). To get there, you drive into the creepy area of town, past boarded up buildings and drugged out homeless people, and park on a dark street just under a bridge. But don’t despair, just lock your car and walk inside.

The smiling staff greets you by name, the bright interior sooths your unease. It is always packed- birthday parties, first dates, groups of people eating before they go to the ballet or theater, guaranteed you will run into at least one person you know. The waiters are old friends- trading stories of their families and asking how I am doing on the mainland.

And then there is the food. No matter what you order, you can’t go wrong. My mom and I order about 5 family style dishes, with the intention of taking leftovers home, but it’s just too good to wait. My favorite dish is the make your own fresh rolls, where they bring you the fillings and you roll it all up into a yummy spring roll. While I adore their chicken rolls, I decided to substitute shrimp instead. Though nowhere near as good as their inspiration, they hit the spot.

Shrimp Spring Rolls

For the Shrimp

8 jumbo shrimp, uncooked, peeled and tail off

1/2 tsp chili pepper

1 tsp chopped Sweet Basil

1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

salt and pepper

For the Sauce

2 Tbsp Sweet Chili sauce

1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Rolls

Lettuce

Cucumbers

Cooked vermicelli noodles

Chopped peanuts

Carrots

Spring Roll Wrappers

Bowl of hot hot water to cook wrappers in

- Heat oil in a medium hot pan and add shrimp. Add chili pepper, basil, salt and pepper, and rice wine vinegar and cook until shrimp turn pink.

- Mix the sauce ingredients together, adjusting to your taste.

- Chop the ingredients for the filling and arrange on a plate.

- Dip one spring roll wrapper into hot water at a time, rotating until it softens and becomes transparent

- Lay out flat on a plate and arrange fillings in the middle of the wrapper. Fold edges of wrapper over and roll.

- Dip into sauce.

How Many Veggies...

As the weather gets warm, in theory at least, all sorts of things start to happen in the produce aisle. All these amazing colors start to spring up (no pun intended): sweet corn, peas still in their pods, the greenest of green beans, shiny red peppers- well, just too many beautiful veggies to count! The mission: get as many fresh vegetables as possible into one meal.

Stir-fry is one of my go-to dishes. It’s so easy, so healthy, and best of all, so tasty! I throw whatever I have on hand into it, so it always send up a little different, but each time, just as delicious. I searched high and low, but could not find my favorite teriyaki sauces anywhere, so I had to make do with an imposter brand. Andrew and I have a long-running debate on which is the best…Bad news Andrew, no one can beat Mr. Yoshida’s special blend. This strange brand wasn’t quite up to snuff, so I had to add some chili powder, a dash of Worcestershire, and garlic to improve it.

The trick in making stir-fry is to brown the meat before you add all the veggies. Since the meat takes much less time to cook than the veggies, throw the meat (I chose skirt steak for tonight’s dish) in a hot pan first to sear the it, then transfer the meat to a holding dish and set aside. Cook the vegetables in the same pan the meat was in, soaking up all the yummy flavors. Cover, stirring the mixture from time to time to keep it from sticking.  When the veggies get a little tender, add the meat back in, pour on a generous amount of sauce, and simmer until cooked through.

No Hawaiian girl worth her salt would serve this without a big pot of rice! I always add a dash of salt while the rice is cooking for flavor. This meal is complete for me, but Andrew, for some strange reason, believes that stir fry is served with tortillas. Never mind that they are from a completely different culture, on a completely different continent. It’s something he picked up from Mongolian Grill restaurants that serve their veggie/meat/sauce combos with warm flour tortillas. Now I have never been to Mongolia, I don’t think I have even met a Mongolian person, but I am reasonably sure that their national dishes do include stir-fry from a buffet line with tortillas on the side… But whatever culture it comes from, they may have a good idea there. Delicious teriyaki steak wraps!