When Did I Become A Cook?

Our family's favourite meal is my Chicken Stir Fry, but I haven't made it since this happened. To say I was leary of making it again is an understatement. The boys aren't adventurous in their eating, so for supper tonight, I planned to make them the Stir Fry and scoop out some of the chicken to make spring rolls for Mike and I. I have never worked with rice paper or bean sprouts before and I have never made vermicelli, so needless to say, there were a few phone calls to my parents' house between 5:00 and 6:00. The last time I phoned, my dad didn't even wait to hear who it was. He just picked up the phone and yelled "Sautee them for 15 minutes in canola oil!" and hung up.

I will skip all the cooking details and jump right to the punchline - the spring rolls I made tonight were absolute heaven on earth. Spicy Peppercorn has got nothing on me. Each time I make my stir fry, I add a little something different. Tonight's concoction ended up consisting of water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, chow mein, bean sprouts, sliced carrots, snap peas and teriyaki/ginger/garlic chicken. You scoop a spoonful of the stir fry onto the rice paper, slather a little extra teriyaki on, roll it up and mmmmmm! When Mike giggles, I know it means he really likes something. As he was eating the spring rolls, he was giggling so much I thought I was back in the sixth grade lunch room.

On a side note, the first time I ever ate Vietnamese food was in Regina in 1990 (I was eleven). The date and place stand out because we went down to see Les Miserables. As I was scanning the menu, I asked my dad what spring rolls were. He pointed towards the saloon style doors that lead to the kitchen and said, "They are only available in March, April and May. For $3.95, the chef somersaults through that door".