Recipe Mutiny steals recipes from food blogs and recipe sites. Then we publish them. With credit (Naturally).
A classic little treat perfect for a date or as a gift, chocolate covered strawberries are a defined part of romance in America. But don’t stop with simple dipping, dress them up to the nines with white and dark chocolate tuxedos!
Could they be more cute?
Super easy to make too!
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The mischievous Peter Rabbit is in trouble again, although for reasons you probably wouldn’t expect. The new children’s movie named after the popular Beatrix Potter character had to issue an apology for a scene which some say makes light of food allergies.
In the film, the villainous Mr. McGregor is pelted with blackberries by the bunny and suffers a severe allergic reaction. One berry enters his mouth and he goes into anaphylactic shock, stabbing himself with an EpiPen. Wow, they sure are taking creative liberties with the original, turn-of-the-century text.
Some parents were angered and thought it encouraged kids to bully those with food allergies. To be fair, bullying of any kind is never cool, but neither is kicking innocent rabbits out of your garden. It goes both ways, you know! But as a result of the outrage, a #BoycottPeterRabbit hashtag even emerged on social media over the weekend
And to make matters even more serious, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America CEO Kenneth Menendez also wrote an open letter to Sony Pictures stating, “making light of this condition hurts our members because it encourages the public not to take the risk of allergic reactions seriously, and this cavalier attitude may make them act in ways that could put an allergic person in danger.”
The filmmakers eventually apologized, probably to save face and squash the controversy as quickly as possible. In a joint statement to the New York Times, Sony Pictures and the filmmakers said, “Food allergies are a serious issue. Our film should not have made light of Peter Rabbit’s arch-nemesis, Mr. McGregor, being allergic to blackberries, even in a cartoonish, slapstick way. We sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologize.”
In the meantime, we’ll stick with the ever-so-polite Paddington Bear, thank you very much.
Not to go all “where’s the beef?” on the classic Chinese-American appetizer, but the snide literalist in me has occasionally taken pause to wonder why the egg roll only delivers on half of its name. (Only brief pauses, of course, in between crunchy, enthusiastic bites.)
No but seriously, why egg roll?
One possible explanation is that the dough traditionally used to make the wrapper calls for eggs. Even though recipes now often omit the egg, it’s possible that the name stuck. Although, to be honest, I have a hard time buying that so many doughs are made with eggs and yet the foods and dishes made from them don’t find it necessary to give the ingredient a special title shout-out.
Another interesting theory posits that instead of being an Americanized variation on the Chinese rice paper-wrapped spring roll (allegedly introduced in New York in the early 1930s), the egg roll is actually a riff on a dish called Dan Gun. Featured in a Chinese-American cookbook from 1917, the recipe calls for chicken, ham, sprouts, and mushrooms to be wrapped in a thin egg omelette. So, literally, an egg roll.
Unfortunately, speculation is about as good of an answer as we’re going to get on this one—while it may not be satisfying, at least dish still is. Here are nine favorites to try.
Crispy Chinese Egg Rolls
Hey, you there, put down the takeout menu. Once you see how easy it is to make these deep-fried rolls stuffed with ground pork, cabbage, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms, you’ll have no excuse not to choose DIY over delivery. Get our Crispy Chinese Egg Rolls recipe.
Crispy Avocado Egg Rolls
I Am a Food Blog
Forget toast, the next time you’re looking for an inspired way to enjoy your favorite lime zesty, jalapeño, and onion-flecked avocado mash, try wrapping some in egg roll paper. Sure, the crispy, deep-fried finger food doesn’t have quite the same good-for-you vibes as the toast, but trust, it’s just as addictively delicious (and not to mention a unique egg roll variation for vegetarians). Get the recipe.
Cuban Egg Rolls
A Zesty Byte
The Reuben? Philly cheesesteaks? Sloppy Joes? Yup, all of these iconic sandwiches have been given the egg roll treatment (and rocked the look to boot), but if we have to play favorites, this ham, roast beef, Swiss cheese, and pickle-filled variety really captures the vibe of the beloved Cubano. The only thing missing is a Mojito and a lounge chair on South Beach. Get the recipe.
Freezer-Friendly Shrimp Egg Rolls
Damn Delicious
Looking for a good make-ahead cooking project? These savory, crunchy shrimp and slaw-stuffed egg rolls can easily be prepped out in large batches and kept frozen until needed (like, say, in the middle of the week when you’re working late, haven’t had time to go to the store, and don’t want to drop cash on takeout). Get the recipe.
Breakfast Egg Rolls
The Candid Appetite
If you’re like, literally in the mood for an egg roll, these come stuffed with a mixture of cheesy scrambled egg, bacon, and potato hash. Think breakfast burrito but skinnier, crispier, and deep-fried. Get the recipe.
Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls
Small Town Woman
If you’re a two-for-one special kind of person, there’s no way you aren’t swooning over this classic Chinese-American appetizer mash-up. Besides, from a more-is-more perspective, how do you not love that these crab and cream cheese-filled rolls are about double the size of the usual crab puff. Get the recipe.
Baked Tofu and Vegetable Egg Rolls
Food 52
The fact that these are baked instead of fried and teaming with tofu and fresh veggies means that you can feel totally guilt-free about going back for thirds (and fourths), right? Get the recipe.
Egg Roll Soup
Gimme Some Oven
If you’re looking for a clever way to shake up your egg roll routine—besides simply switching the filling, of course—give this deconstructed soup variation a try. Here, the classic filling ingredients like carrot, cabbage, and ground pork take center stage, but don’t worry, the broth-based soup is still garnished with fried egg roll wrapper strips so you still get that satisfying crunch of texture. Get the recipe.
Apple Pie Egg Rolls
Just a Taste
The egg roll proves it can play sweet just as well as savory in this creative bite-sized revamp of the iconic dessert. Think of it as a kind of Chinese-American spin on an apple hand pie. Get the recipe.
When you go up the massive escalators into Jing Fong, a dim sum restaurant and staple of the New York City Chinatown food scene, you know you’re ascending into something extraordinary. The dining area occupies over 20,000 square feet and has the capacity to sit up to 800 people. Despite the sheer size, on a typical weekend, customers are still found amassing at the entrance, waiting for their chance to have pushed carts of food bob and weave around them. For Jing Fong first timers, it really isn’t until they have reached the top of the escalator and set their sights on the banquet hall, do they even have a taste of the awesomeness of Jing Fong.
Restaurants like Jing Fong serve as a window into the culture and energy of New York City’s Chinatown back when it was first settling its roots. Jing Fong was originally situated on Elizabeth Street, back in 1978, only three decades after the Chinese Exclusion Act (prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers) was lifted.
Jin Fong
For many Chinese immigrants, New York City’s Chinatown serves as the beginning of their American dream, and the origin story of the generations of Chinese-Americans that are now witnessing the evolution of their very neighborhood.
“Most Chinese immigrants have lived or worked in Chinatown at one point in their lives,” said Richard Tam, a long time resident of Chinatown and co-founder of 10Below, an ice cream shop serving Thai-inspired ice cream rolls, located right in the heart of the neighborhood. “For my parents’ generation, they view Chinatown as the landing spot for most immigrants.”
New York City’s Chinatown is still a tightly-packed neighborhood, sprawling with grocers, restaurants, and mom-and-pop shops, but now, it’s experiencing a fast crawl towards a more contemporary future. This kind of transformation is often a harbinger of incoming wealth and affluence, as well as the positive infrastructure changes—cleaner streets, construction and more proper repairs—that come with wiping out the culture of a neighborhood and displacing its veteran residents.
Nom Wah. Photo by Barbara Leung.
Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a dim sum restaurant that first opened in 1920, sporting a vintage aesthetic that channels 1960s Hong Kong, has found the sweet spot of having history and a stake in the culture, while also making Chinatown accessible to tourists, young professionals, and the like. For Nom Wah’s head of marketing, Barbara Leung, Nom Wah is “a living reminder of the history in the neighborhood.”
More contemporary restaurants like Danny Bowien’s Mission Chinese and Jeff Lam’s Chinese Tuxedo are the kind of establishments that are a marker of the changing neighborhood’s clientele—shifting away from the cheap eats crowd and their demand for heaping bowls of BBQ Roast Pork Noodles that go for under $6, to one that can drop over $20 on an appetizer or salad.
Nom Wah. Photo by Paul Wagtouicz.
Chinese Tuxedo’s proprietor Edward Buckingham understands the impact commercialization has on a historic neighborhood like Chinatown, as well the imperative to sustain its culture.
“Price points, offerings, and the values of food and beverage ventures can go a long way in impacting a neighborhood or community’s identity,” said Edward. “Change is a constant, particularly in NYC, but there is a difference between thoughtful and thoughtless change. All of our decision-making is inspired by the simple informing principles—does this honor the traditions and history of Chinatown, and does this represent a positive move, born of love, for our favorite neighborhood moving forward?”
Much of Chinatown’s burgeoning modernization can be attributed to increasing rent costs and property values, pushing out residents and businesses that have called Chinatown their home for decades.
Chinese Tuxedo
According to a 2016 report from the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the Lower East Side/Chinatown sub-borough area experienced a 50.3 percent change in average rent between 1990 and 2014, whereas the average percent change for all of New York City was only 22.1 percent.
Soaring rents, an aging population, and younger, more educated generations moving out of the area, is causing growing concern that the neighborhood is losing its character, and even potentially, its future.
“Things aren’t how it is was back in the day, and if we want Chinatown to still be ‘Chinatown,’ we need to make sure that local mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, and signages must be kept as part of history,” said Truman Lam, general manager for Jing Fong. “It’s sad to say this but, Chinatown might not be around for the next 5-10 years if we keep modernizing it this quickly.”
10Below
Richard Tam’s ice cream shop, 10Below, dons a clean, sleek and minimal design, obviously contrasting the neighborhood’s busy, crowded interiors, but as a local, Richard wants to preserve the culture and history of the community while helping it grow. “This is our home and this is where my grandparents, parents, myself, and my future children will frequent, and I want to be able to share with them the rich Chinese-American history,” he said. “It is important to my own cultural identity and I think that it is important to share that with the next generation.”
Time is up for one of Lucky Charms’ marshmallows. The yellow hourglass, which has been in every box for over a decade, is being retired this spring. Its replacement has yet to be announced.
There isn’t a specific reason for this announcement, beyond marketing hype. But we should come to expect this by now. Historically, Lucky Charms is merciless with its marshmallow rotation. When the cereal was first introduced in 1963, it contained green clovers, pink hearts, orange stars, and yellow moons. Of that original line-up, only the hearts remain today. Those leprechauns sure are a fickle bunch.
Over the last five decades, a variety of limited edition charms have come and gone. Most are nonsensical, like the swirled whales in 1986 and the blue diamonds in 2015.
But some actually have legit meaning behind them. In 1990, a pine tree marshmallow was added to help promote Earth Day. They even offered free Colorado Blue Spruce seedlings with proof of purchase. And in 2013, two new rainbows were created for LGBT pride month. How else would leprechauns show their support of gay marriage?
It’s also worth noting that the mythology behind the cereal is far more expansive than we ever imagined. Each one of the marshmallow charms represents a different special power that their cartoon mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun, has. The heart signifies the power to bring things to life, shooting stars represent the ability to fly, and blue moons equal the power to become invisible. I had no idea.
The newly retired hourglass symbolized Lucky’s power to control time, but we’re guessing he’s losing that ability? I’m not sure how these magical creatures operate. Lucky for us, General Mills’ press releases rival Tolkien in their fantastical logic and expansive world-building. I’m eagerly awaiting a three-hour cinematic saga. ‘Lord of the Rings’ has got nothing on Lucky the Leprechaun.
If you’ve ever watched a rotisserie chicken turning slowly on a spit—my local supermarket has several going at once— then you’ve seen the tray underneath the birds to catch the drippings. Those drippings are gold!
Now, imagine those chickens roasting over a baking dish filled with pasta: All those juices from the bird would drip into the pasta and give it an unbelievably delicious roasty flavor.
This idea of roasting meat on top of other ingredients is actually an ancient technique from when individual families didn’t have their own ovens, and cooks brought pans of meat or poultry and whatever went with it to the local baker to roast in the baker’s big oven. This approach inspired this recipe.
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