My Lazy Secret to Making Frozen Chinese Food Yummy
We've all been there. You are desperate for food and most certainly not leaving your place for food. You reach into the freezer for Chinese food and say, "Gross! This is pretty lousy after it hopped in the microwave! Ew! I'm hungry, but ew, ew, ew!" Don't despair, my friends.
First, grab aluminum foil, leaving it ungreased, and pop those frozens into the oven. You can see my own frozen egg rolls from this morning in the photo beside my words. I'm the kind of chef who prefers a shorter bake time via a higher temperature, but stay within your comfort zone. If you are a more 375 degrees kind of man or woman as opposed to my 450 degrees, do what feels best. Make sure to turn it and consistently check up on your frozens as they toast in the oven, or you'll wind up eating Santa's Christmas coal ashes.
Secondly, mix up an exciting sauce. "Uhhh, I don't have the ingredients at home," you nag me. Fine, dork. Open up your refrigerator and see what is in there.
Do you have mustard? "Yeah..." you say in a frat guy voice. You can mix a pinch of that with any kind of peanuts or fruit jams you have laying around. Add in a bit of vegan or dairy milk. Search through your herbs and spices. What do you have? Peppercorns? Anything? Whatever you have leftover at your house or apartment, please doll something up creative for a side sauce. Most Asian sauces have a bit of kick in them. If you have that red Vietnamese sauce with the rooster on it, you're already in style. You can also blend a bunch of home ingredients with a soy sauce base.
I want you to create a sauce. Sure, I can give you a recipe out of my books for one. It isn't going to make you think on your feet today. What do you think would work? What are you craving? Do you hunger for sweetness or spice? Are you thinking a dose of curry will work? What do you want? You could also make use of mayonnaise by creating a good cream texture base for your hotter spice additions. Don't forget to add some form of liquid gently so your sauce won't be a custard.
You can do frozen dumplings, egg rolls, wontons, crab rangoons, vegan Chinese frozens or anything you desire in the oven. Make sure not to deep fry anything in a wok or skillet unless you want your arteries to burst, "Help us!" No. The whole point of oven toasting your frozens is to replicate a restaurant feel without adding unnecessary sodium or grease.
xoxo,
Richárde
@justricharde on Twitter
