Crab Rangoons and Fried Rice

Last night as I was watching the Sun Devil baseball game, my stomach reminded me that it was time for dinner. When I opened the fridge, I noticed the container of cooked white rice that I had made last week in anticipation of making fried rice. Well, that night I ended up going out to dinner with a friend, and so the rice sat in my fridge for a week. I decided I better use it before it passed the point of no return, and while I was rummaging through my deli tray, I stumbled upon cream cheese and won ton wrappers. A can of crab meat was waiting patiently in my pantry...so it was decided...I was going to cook up an Asian feast!

This was my first attempt at crab rangoons, and I just threw in what I had on hand and what I thought would taste good...and it worked! I had a bit of an issue with the frying, I didn't really want to deep fry them (even though that tastes so good) so I put just a little bit of oil in the pan to pan fry them. I had some splattering issues and some of the filling started oozing out, but overall it worked. I think next time I will try baking them, and there will be a next time because I ended up freezing a batch without cooking them to save for a rainy day!

Crab Rangoons

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (I used light)
1 (6 oz.) can crab meat
4 green onions, finely minced
1 pkg. won ton wrappers
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Canola oil
(I guess I forgot the green onions in the picture, and disregard the ginger, I didn't use it.)

Soften cream cheese in microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir in crab, green onions, garlic powder and salt. Place a small spoonful of mixture on each won ton wrapper, fold over into a triangle, and seal the edges with water.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a deep skillet. Add the rangoons in batches, turning occasionally until browned. Drain on a cooling rack with paper towels below. Repeat until all are cooked. Serve with sweet and sour sauce or sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Fried Rice

(I basically just followed the directions on the back of the packet.)

1 packet Fried Rice seasoning mix

3 cups cooked rice, cooled

3 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp. oil

2 Tsp. soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

2 eggs

1 c. peas and carrots mix (I just defrosted and let them warm up in the cooking, but you could pre-cook them)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add in green onions, saute for 1 minute. Add rice to the skillet, breaking up any clumps, and cook until heated through. Add seasoning mix and soy sauce; stir to combine. Push rice to one side of the skillet and crack in the eggs. Let eggs set for about 1 minute, then scramble them into rice. Add peas and carrots mixture; stir, combining all ingredients until combined. Heat on low until vegetables are heated through.

Fusion Sushi & China Bistro

My sister and I had made plans to go see a movie on Saturday, and I asked her if she wanted to try out a new restaurant afterwards since I realized that I had not done a review in awhile. She agreed, but just had one request...No Mexican Food! I guess she was over me dragging her around last month to eat Mexican food everyday. I said that was fine, cause I had already had it for lunch that day! We had a bit of time before the movie started to discuss where we should go, I suggested sushi, which received an enthusiastic yes. I suggested this new place that I had noticed went into an old Pick Up Stix up in North Scottsdale, since it was near the movie theatre, we decided to give it a try.

Even though we had some popcorn during the movie, we were both ready for some real food. We arrived at around 7:00 on a Saturday night, and were promptly seated in a booth. The inside of the restaurant was very clean, with mostly booth seating in addition to a high-top sushi bar. We looked over the menu and decided we wanted to try a bit of everything. Laura and I both love Crab Rangoons, and after some disappointing ones at Malee's a few nights before, we were hoping for better with these.

I seriously think that these were served within 3 minutes of ordering, the service is FAST! The order came with six rangoons and sides of sweet & sour suace and hot mustard. We both dipped our rangoons in the sweet & sour sauce and took a bite, we were immediately pleased. They were not greasy at all, which is common with many rangoon versions, and they had a good balance between the crab and the cream cheese. Both flavors were present, but neither overwhelmed the other. We both thought that these were some of the best Crab Rangoons we had ever had. My only issue with them was the shape. I prefer when they are served in the little triangle shapes, but these were kind of like star shapes. While these are much prettier presentation wise, they make them much harder to eat!

Laura took hold of the sushi menu and immediately marked down her favorite roll, the Philly Roll. It doesn't matter where we go for sushi, she always has to get a Philly Roll. I myself am not a fan of the Philly; for one, I don't like salmon; and secondly, I don't like the rolls that have cream cheese in them. It is nothing against the cream cheese, I just find it very weird with raw fish, but give me a bagel and I will slather it on. I secretly think that Laura always orders this one because she knows that she will get it all to herself; but whatever the reason is, she just loves it. She said that the roll was very fresh. I looked at it and noticed avocado in it, I asked her if that was normal, she said, "It is at the good places." Well, that was all I needed to hear, she had already decided that this was one of the good places when it came to sushi.

One of Laura's other favorite rolls, and actually it is a family favorite, is the Spider Roll. Basically, it is a fried soft shell crab and crab meat, with a topping of eel sauce (sweet) and chipotle sauce (spicy). I have always been a fan of these rolls, but many times they make the pieces so big that they are hard to eat and end up falling apart. That was not the case with this version, the pieces were still good size, but they were much more manageable. The flavor was wonderful, the sauces on top really accentuated the flavors and brought the whole roll together. Laura really liked this version as well. By this time, we were getting a bit full, but we still had to tackle our main dish.

Besides sushi, the restaurant also features what I would call Asian Fusion. They had dishes that were of Chinese, Thai and Japanese origin. We decided to order the Pad Thai and share it as our main course. Laura does not like spicy food, so I agreed to order it mild so that we could share. The plate came out and was heaping with noodles, shrimp and chicken. We couldn't believe the size of the plate compared to it's price tag of just $8.00! Our first impression of the dish was about the chicken. Laura typically only gets shrimp pad Thai because she doesn't always like the cooking method with the chicken, but this dish was an exception. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and was of very good quality. The flavors together in the dish were quite good for a place that doesn't specialize in Thai food. I had to kick the heat up in mine by adding some siracha, but then I was able to control the heat, so it worked out well. We had a lot of this leftover, and Laura was looking forward to eating it for lunch the next day.

It was a nice, relaxing Saturday night with my sister. First, we laughed our heads off at "The Hangover," then we stuffed our faces with sushi! We both agreed that we would definitely make a return visit, the food was fresh and the service was quick and attentive.

Fusion Sushi & China Bistro
15768 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
www.echandining.com

Tottie's Asian Fusion

On Saturday night I had a hankering for some Asian food, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do about it when I got a call from my dad to meet him and my mom at J. Alexander's for dinner. While not the Asian food I was craving, it was a free dinner....so I abandoned the craving and had ribs instead. Sunday rolled around and after a lazy day I realized I still wanted some Asian food, more specifically Pad Thai. The only problem is, having a craving for Pad Thai on Sunday is like having a craving for Chic-Fil-A on Sunday.....you can't get it because all of the restaurants are closed!! Not willing to let the craving live on for another day, I had to figure out a solution. So I went to my "Restaurant's to Try" list to see if I could find a solution, and there it was, Tottie's Asian Fusion. My friend Meghan had just told me the other day that they had great Pad Thai, so I checked their website....and yes...they were open on Sunday....Pad Thai here I come!!


I called and placed my order for pick-up, the girl told me it would be about 20 minutes, so I scanned Facebook one more time and then was out the door. I had been in this shopping center many times before, mostly because that is where Sonic is, but I had never really noticed Tottie's. I was pleasantly surprised when I went inside, it was quite large and tastefully decorated....and it smelled....amazing!


When I got home I was ready to dig in and watch the ACM Awards (I am so glad Carrie Underwood won entertainer of the year!). I had ordered the Shrimp Puffs and the Chicken Pad Thai, medium heat. First came the shrimp puffs; most Asian restaurants serve crab puffs, so I was eager to try a different spin. Well, I think I prefer the crab puffs. It is not that these weren't good, it is just that a few of my puffs were missing a crucial ingredient....shrimp....so it was basically just cream cheese and won ton. Also, I wasn't such a fan of their design. Typically, crab puffs are served as little triangles, full of filling, but these they tried to make look a bit more fancy, making them harder to eat and resulting in less filling. They came with a side of sweet and sour sauce and some hot mustard, but I decided to skip the mustard because I was already getting the spice from the Pad Thai. These were decent, but I probably wouldn't order them again.



Now it was on to the main event, the Pad Thai, when I opened the box I couldn't believe the massive amount of food that it contained. I think the Pad Thai could easily serve a family of 4, and for just a mere $8.50! My first impression was I was surprised out how thin the noodles were, most Pad Thai dishes that I have had, have medium size flat noodles, these were very thin and not flat. But, as I started to eat, I realized that the noodles shape didn't matter....cause this was some good Pad Thai! I mixed in the shredded carrots, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and cilantro and all the flavors blended together really well.....the medium had a bit more heat than I was expecting....but I think it is the heat that makes it so addicting! It is a good thing that I enjoyed it so much, because I think I am going to be eating the leftovers for the rest of the week!




So if a craving for some Thai hits you on Sunday (or really any other day, except Monday, because they are closed), check out Tottie's!!


Tottie's Asian Fusion
7901 E. Thomas Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
http://www.tottiesasianfusion.com/