Egg Rolls. I am ‘the Queen’ of Eggrolls. Self Proclaimed. Without shame.

But here’s what I learned this past week.

I have spent TWO DECADES trying to perfect a New York Egg Roll. Trying to get that Egg Roll just the right size (way bigger than anything I had seen in California).

I went ‘creative’….. with my shrimp and avocado egg rolls, savory with onions and garlic, desserty with apples, cinnamon and nutmeg…. I mean there wasn’t ANYTHING I wasn’t willing to try.

Ok. Here’s what a NY Egg Roll looks like:

Mmmmmm

Delectable…. Right flavors, right ‘package’, right EVERYTHING…

And when I look at a picture of a second egg roll from a different restaurant, it looks exactly the same. And it’s not like they buy them from a distributor. They make ‘em fresh daily!

SIZE. And I’ve been making mine double that size. In my minds eye, as a child, these egg rolls were HUGE. And guess what? They’re not.

So I stand corrected.

And I’m fired! lol

That’s really what I found on many levels during my trip back to NY. Things had seemed way bigger…. the house I grew up in …… My neighborhood…….. the High School……… egg rolls………… all smaller than I remembered them to be.

Maybe it’s about seeing things thru an ‘adults’ eyes, compared to a ‘kids’ eyes.

So that’s my egg roll story and what I’ve learned. A little Egg Roll. A powerful lesson.

And here’s a personal tip for ya: if and when you go home for a High School Reunion, just watch things unfold. Don’t judge, don’t participate. Just look and see. There’s so much to be learned ….. and if you get that, then the trip was worth it.

Back in Cali now…… kissing the floor, so glad to be home.

One more tip? Two wrappers per egg roll. Not one. Makes it firm.

Ciao for now,

Chef Marian