Here is step two in getting the man in your life to like Asian cooking. Remember that steak you have leftover from the “steak sandwich” (also known as Banh Mi)? Put it to good use in the next few days by making steak summer rolls! (or spring rolls, if you want to know all about the many different names check out my shrimp roll post). This will definitely be stepping out of the meat and potatoes comfort zone, but just remind him that it has the same amazing steak that he loved in his sandwich.
I’ve found that summer rolls are a great healthy snack for kids, but it’s all in the name. Call them peanut butter salad rolls (emphasis on the peanut butter) and they’re sold! Eric and I have our friends’ 3 year old begging for bites whenever we eat them around her. If the word salad scares your child off, try peanut butter veggie rolls, or peanut butter roll ups. Be creative, you can do it!
Another option, is if you want to use this as an easy lunch for kids, lay out all the ingredients and let them choose what goes in or how much. I love getting kids to cook in the kitchen! You might have to help with the rolling, but as I show up above, it’s pretty easy. The hardest part is getting it rolled nice and tight. You might have to assist them with that depending on their manual dexterity. Wow, I bet that sentence just totally raised the reading level of my blog 😉
Now I promised in my last post to tell you all about my friend Jaden’s cookbook tour stop in Seattle. Part of her tour was teaching cooking classes at Sur La Table, and Jaden was kind enough to cover my cost so I could be a part of the class. I’m in the process of putting together cooking classes in the city of Auburn and it was a great opportunity to watch someone with so much experience. I definitely learned some great bits of info that I’ll be implementing, most importantly to be yourself and have fun!
This photo is from my friend Nurit who also took the class. Look at that intense concentration! Jaden’s recipe are basically quality Asian recipes made as simple as possible. I LOVE pretty much everything I’ve tried from it, and as one of her recipe testers, I’ve tried A LOT. If you haven’t got a copy of Jaden’s book yet, I have good news, you can win one here! More about that after the recipe.
My mom took the class with me, and it was such a fun mother daughter date! I think she’s felt like she’s been in a bit of a cooking rut lately, and seemed very inspired by Jaden’s cooking style and cookbook. She took TONS of notes! The next night Eric and I went to a potluck/Q&A with Jaden put on by Keren Brown. Check out the video below for an overview of both events.
Jaden Hair SteamyKitchen Book Tour Seattle from Diana Johnson on Vimeo.
Jaden has a summer roll recipe in her book which we made at the Sur La Table class, but the great things about summer rolls is you don’t need a recipe because you can really put any vegetables or meat in them. These are so different from the shrimp rolls by leaving out the noodles, adding red pepper and cucumber, and subbing the beef for the shrimp. Totally new flavor. My peanut sauce is slightly different too, because I love how the Vietnamese restaurant down the street used coconut milk in theirs, so I added some to mine.
Beef Summer Rolls Recipe
makes 10Ingredients
Instructions
Spread your ingredients out to make it easy to work with.
GIVEAWAY!!!
That’s right friends, you can get a free copy of Jaden’s cookbook. Like a dope, I forgot to have her sign it while in Seattle, so if you win you can get it immediately, or wait until after Jan 16 to receive it signed specifically to you! (I’ll be seeing Jaden at this exciting event). Several ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment below about why you want this cookbook, Asian cooking, the video, pretty much anything really.
2. Tweet, Facebook, blog post, Digg, whatever a link to this post and then leave a comment letting me know you did so I can make sure to count you.
I have a crazy couple weeks coming up so will give you plenty of time to enter. I’ll close it Sunday the 20th of December and announce the winner Monday the 21st after a random drawing of your comments. Good luck!
Looks like you had a lot of fun! You’re really moving up in your quest to conquer the cooking world. Congrats! Now send the cookbook this way!
These summer rolls look great, and the class looks like it was a blast! I wish Jaden would come to Michigan…
These look totally YUMMY! I’ll have to try them SOON!!
Yummy! I love that you got to “sit”/work with Jaden on this demonstration. What a wonderful opportunity!
My favorite part about Asian food like this are the wonderful fresh flavors.
just twit about it http://twitter.com/sweesan
I’m an asian but i always leave asian cooking to my mother. So I guess it should be my turn?? with the book 🙂
btw, love the wraps!!
I love Asian cooking but it’s the one cuisine I’m not so comfy with. There’s a new HMart near my house so I will have NO problem finding ingredients for Jaden’s recipes. I hope I win!
I just Tweeted…
Oh, my. I know it is almost lunchtime for me so I’m already hungry but those set me over the edge.
I meant to get the book at FoodBuzz Fest but completely forgot, so it would be great to win!
not looking to win, I have it and love it. I just wanted to say nice post, nice photos and great video
I’ve heard so many positive comments about this book, and I love asian cuisine. However, there’s not much of that to be had around East TN. So, I’d love to get a copy of the book!
Okay Okay I think this is a recipie even I could do, Jolly would be soo impressed and we’d have fun putting different vegies in the wraps! PS if I won the book: you know me…it’d collect dust, either that or it just might make a cook out of me for my future hubby! You know I always feel like I can’t cook because it seems so daunting but reading your blog is inspiring 🙂
The wraps look yummy and I love just about anything with peanut sauce. ‘Bout time I tried making Asian food, so I need the cookbook to inspire me!
this looks SO good I definitely need to try these. That cookbook looks awesome I don’t think I have any asian cookbooks in my stack, I definitely need to fill the gap
Wow…those wraps are drop dead gorgeous! I need that cookbook so I can try to make more Asian stuff like this!
Every since we moved to a place without a Vietnamese restaurant I have been trying to perfect the dishes we miss…I would love to add this book to my library…glad to have found your site…I’ve already gotten a couple of tips I didn’t have before…you are bookmarked!
Sweet recipe! I love the textures inside of the wrappers, and your peanut sauce is money as well.
I am wondering if you know about your H1 titles? They seem wonkey to me.
I am also tweeting this recipe, nice one!
I would love to win this because everything Jaden makes looks delicious. This will help me make the venture into Asian cooking.
I would love to win this for my friend, who is just now starting to get back to her Asian roots. She would so flip out if she got this! thanks!
Jaden’s hilarious and I love Asian food. Both good reasons I think! 🙂
Thanks for hosting this giveaway! I’m pretty good with Japanese food but I’m always interested in learning more about other Asian cultures/foods!
I would so love Jaden’s book! Ever since making her pho for the daring cook’s challenge this has been on my wishlist!
The recipes all look so delicious, would love to have a copy of the Steamy Kitchen.
Hey,
Just discovered your blog! I have been jonsen’ for this book for awhile now! I’ve been making Italian food my whole cooking career (is cooking for your bf a career? I don’t know), but lately I’m trying to jump into Asian cooking. This book would help me make the leap! Thanks!
Love,
Kat
Just retweeted ur link @agreatchef.
Happy Holidays…chefRob
I am so glad I found your blog. I am a fellow admirer of Jaden and she led me to your blog from Twitter. I would love to have a copy of that cookbook. I have given several for Christmas gifts, including the one that was supposed to be for me!
While I already own Jaden’s book, I would love to received a signed copy to give to my family members who are gaga for Asian recipes. Jaden’s recipe and tips are simple and seriously yummy!
Been following you and Jaden for a while and would love a copy of the cookbook!
My husband and I adore Asian food and we love to cook together – he chops (and cleans) and I cook. Tho, he’s game to cook as well. We’d enjoy new recipes to try together! One of my 2010 cooking goals to learn to make pho. Can’t wait.
Oh, I hope I’m not too late for the giveaway! I would LOVE a copy of the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook! I love her blog, her recipes, & her photos. But I really adore Jaden – she has been so sweet to me through emails and tweets even though we’ve never met. I can’t buy my own copy until after the new year, so if I won it would really be the best Christmas gift! Thanks for a chance at the giveaway.
I just tweeted this post (adding @DinasaurDishes so you can see it) – my Twitter user name is ddh77.
I just stumbled this post (user name ddh77)
i love steamy kitchen so i would definitely love this book!! i love how they’re all very do-able!
i borrowed the steamykitchen cookbook from the library and realized that i will have to get one for myself as i will be cooking each of those dishes and looking at the colored pics makes choosing what to cook for dinner easier.
🙂
Jaden has some of the best Asian recipes- simple but so yummy. Love her site, but don’t have her book yet- would love to win this one.
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/ThisFineLife/statuses/6881265142
I would love to learn to cook Asian food. My family and I eat it all the time. With Jaden’s book I could cook at home. Thanks for the chance to win it.
This would make a nice appertizer!