My Laotian Egg Rolls Photo Recipe For Your Next Party

Estimated cost per serving $.25 per eggroll

Hello my Socialites! Eggrolls are a traditional appetizer in our culture. I am not much of a fan of eggrolls at Chinese restaurants because it's bland and they are never generous on the meat. Usually I just end up with a big chunk of fried cabbage and oil. Our Lao eggrolls are tasty and full of generous portions of variety of ingredients. Every Asian culture makes their eggrolls differently but the concept is basically the same. Yes, no two household will ever make the exact same egg rolls. I used ground pork in this recipe but you can always substitute it with ground chicken or veal if you prefer.  This is a great party appetizer for your guests. I hope you experiment and let me know how it goes! Enjoy!


Vegetable Mixture Ingredients: Makes around 50 eggrolls

• 2  cups Carrots shredded
• 2 cups Cabbage shredded
• 2 cups Onions chopped
• 1 cup Shittake mushrooms chopped (optional. I didn't use any in this recipe bc I was out of mushrooms)
• 1 package Vermicelli Cellophane Noodles soaked in hot water and then cut into 2 or 3 inch long.

Pork Mixture: (combine below ingredients)

• 2 lb Ground Pork
• 8 eggs
• 2 tbsp Salt and Pepper
• 2 tbsp MSG
• 2 tbsp fish sauce 
• 2 tbsp of oyster sauce 
• 3 Garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 tbsp ginger powder (optional)

For Rolling Mixture

• 2 package Spring roll  wrapper shell (comes in sheet of 25) It comes frozen so thaw at room temperature before attempting to fill and roll.
• 1 egg for sealing the ends 
• Vegetable oil for frying

* *You can make these and freeze it to use later for parties or to give away to friends. When you do decide to freeze it for later use, do not defrost the egg rolls. Just cook it in oil in high heat and add extra time for it to cook.

Step by Step Photo Instructions. Now let's get started!

 *Pardon my mom's bad manicure. Looks a lot better than mine if I were the hand model in these pictures! I hate rolling egg rolls.

Seared Tuna on Top of Soba Noodles Photo Recipe

Estimated cost per serving $4.00

Hi my Socialites! This is a recipe that is packed with nutrients, flavors, texture, and very easy to make. Very simple and healthy but yet delicious. Great food does not have to be hard to make. Don't be afraid to explore and experiment.  I made this recipe for a party of me, myself, and I. That's 1 lonely date. I'm not great with recording exact measurements but only estimation of how much spice or sauce I put in. Enjoy! Let me know how it goes!

Ingredients For Soba Noodles:

Soba Noodles

Shittake mushrooms 

Chopped cilantro

Chopped cucumbers

Chopped scallions

Chopped sweet mangos (optional)

Ingredients for Noodle Sauce:

Mirin sauce

Sugar

Soy Sauce

Lemon juice

Ingredients for Tuna: 

Tuna Steak

Rice vinegar

Sesame oil

Soy sauce

Salt and pepper

Crushed nuts of your preference

Flour

Egg

Shrimp Spring Rolls For Your Next Party: Photo Recipe

(Photo courtesy of Mani Nanthalangsy)
Estimated cost per serving $1.00 

Mani's Shrimp and Pork Belly Spring Rolls Photo Recipe that she made and was kind enough to share it with us. This is an easy and delicious recipe for your next get together. It's packed full of flavors. Remember that if you don't like shrimp or pork in this recipe, you can always substitute it with chicken or any other protein you like. Sometimes my family would use grilled fish in it. And remember, if you are going to do a get together, make several hearty food besides chips and dip if you want people to remember your parties. Food brings people together. Let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

• Pineapple with the juice
• Peanuts
• Fried garlic
• Fried shallots
• Chili sauce for added kick
• A cup of sugar
• Salt is optional

Ingredients to Make the Spring Rolls:

• Vermicelli Noodles
• Rice Paper
• Pork Belly
• Raw Shrimp
• Shallots, green onions, chopped garlic (to cook the pork belly with)
• Cilantro
• Mint
• Romaine Lettuce
• Cucumbers

The Art of Making Lao/Thai Spicy Seafood Salad Photo Recipe

(Photo courtesy of Mani Nanthalangsy)
Lao Spicy Seafood Salad

Hello my Socialites! Tonight's Recipe is courtesy of my good friend Mani Nanthalangsy. This is a Thai/Lao spicy seafood salad she made for dinner tonight. Below you will see that this salad is packed full of spice and sour flavors. You can also vary the ingredients to your preference. I added in some ingredients in the recipe below that Mani didn't add to her recipe due to her taste. If you like tomatoes, add it. If you don't care too much for lettuce, don't add it but I like both and if I have it handy, I will add it in. Thanks again Mani for making another delicious Lao/Thai recipe and sharing it with us! I hope ours is as good and spicy as yours! Let me know if anyone attempts this dish. Remember, even if you do not prefer spicy, it's ok. Just add a little bit of the pepper. The great benefits of cooking is that you are the head chef and you get to control the amount of spice that goes into it. Enjoy! 

Chicken Scaloppine Di Pollo Photo Recipe

Estimated cost per serving $3.00

Hello my Socialites! I introduced this Scaloppine Di Pollo Recipe awhile back ago in another social platform and am reintroducing it to my readers. If you ever been to Macaroni Grill and had their Scaloppine dish there, this is pretty much the same technique. I haven't eaten there in a number of years but it has been my favorite dish to order when I was a regular customer.

So I am bringing this dish back to my Food For Thought section. This is an easy dish to make if you take your time. The ingredients and instructions are simple. I included step by step pics instruction for your convenience. This is my own version of how I  make this dish. Let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!                  

Bon Appetit!

The Art of Making Papaya Salad Photo Recipe

Estimated cost per serving $1.00

Hello my Socialites! I hope everyone had a great weekend and getting ready for the week to arrive. Today I had a great opportunity to watch my good friend Mani make her hot and spicy papaya salad. I've eaten her papaya salad many times before and even watched her make it and today I wanted to show you guys how it's prepared. I love seeing a great cook cook in front of me. And I so happen to have my camera on hand to document her in the process.

Papaya salad is a staple in our eating. We literally will make it as often as we can during the weekend. It compliments all meats such as grilled rare steak, ribs, BBQ chicken, grilled pork nose (yes, grilled crispy pork rinds), any kind of meat. And we also like to eat it on its own but it has to be HOT. The papaya salad you get at Thai restaurants is a dumb down version and is NOT true to what the real authentic taste is. 

We love this salad for every occasion for our weddings, parties, gatherings, everything. If we do a get together, we usually will make sure someone is making papaya salad. We never ever get tired of eating it, ever. 

Mani's papaya is a balance of hot and sour. We do not play around when it comes to our peppers. 

 As I watch her prepare the salad, I notice how very skilled and comfortable she is in her cuts and shredding because of practice. She has perfected this recipe to a T. 

So the papaya itself is tasteless. People make it differently from one another due to the shredding of the size and length and how fresh the papaya fruit is. When looking for this fruit to make this kind of salad, if it's too soft when you press it, it's too ripe. You want it to be semi- firm. Did you know that fresh papaya has tons of antioxidants and helps prevent arthritis, lung disease, and heart disease?

So thanks Mani for letting me take pictures of you making this amazing salad! I can't wait to learn more from you.  

First peel the green skin off the papaya (not shown)

Then use a sharp knife to chop all areas of the papaya to loosen the papaya and get ready to shred it

In a mortar and pestle throw in at least three peeled garlic, a few Thai chili peppers (around 10 here), and cherry tomatoes and pound it. Add a teaspoon of MSG. Stir in a few shredded papaya and mix well.

Add homemade fermented fish sauce that contains tamarind and crab. Stir well. You can buy fermented fish sauce in a bottle at the Asian market. I recommend adding in a dash or two of fish sauce to this since this homemade fermented fish contains tamarind and crab and doesn't need fish sauce.

Squeezing lime into the mortar

Keep adding a handful of shredded papaya and stir. Slice in Thai green eggplants. If you have snake beans, cut and add a handful in to this. We didn't have any.

Slicing chives into the mortar and stir well. Taste.

The mortar is made of clay and weighs at least 4 pounds

Fresh and HOT and beautifully colored

Ready for some hot and sour papaya salad? Made vermicelli rice noodles to go with it 

Mani's homegrown cluster tomatoes. We use tomatoes for everything in our culture

Kaffir lime leave tree in her garden. This is a huge tree that has to be stored inside during the winter season. This is a crucial ingredient to our many Lao dishes.

Mint bed. We use mint in everything so this too is a must have in an Asian garden.

Jasmine plant. I asked her if we can use this for a dish. She said you use it for  natural  perfume to scent your house. The flower smells like honeysuckles 

Mani picked some yummy tomatoes for me to take home. Fresh and delicious!