Giggly Cooking- Cowboy Cavier & Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

When scrolling through social media I am constantly coming across new recipes that look so delicious, and my mom and I have a habit of sending each other recipes that we want to try but never actually do. So for this week’s learning post, I decided to test a couple out, and TikTok was the platform that I decided shared the best video recipes. In my recent blog posts found here, I have used Tiktok to create videos documenting my learning, and I enjoyed it so much! Video editing was super easy to do and adding captions to describe what was going on was easy enough as well. There are also so many adios that are of access as well to add music to your videos without any copyright issues. So why not try out recipes that are already on the app? The recipes I found are so simple to follow; all of the creators did a great job explaining what is in each recipe and how to make them. I enjoyed using this resource as everything is easy to follow and it was easy to compare different versions of the recipe if I wanted to find a way to change up the recipe I was making. I also like that this resource is very visual based because as I mentioned in my blog reflecting on Pinterest I am a very visual learner, and if the food looks yummy in a photo/video I am more likely to test it out. One thing I did struggle with was that most videos you have to continue to rewatch to make sure that you have all the ingredients and didn’t miss a step, and that information isn’t posted to a link or in the comments either. It would definitely be nice to have a resource like that to look at incases of making a shopping list or just wanting to be able to read the recipe beforehand.

Since the term is coming to the end, as part of this week’s project, I wanted to attempt two different recipes that I found and couldn’t resist trying. Both recipes have the gluten-free goal in mind even though they do not come right out and say they are. I would also like to mention that I had a helper on and off this week when making the food. My three-year-old brother decided that he wanted to be right involved in this project, and I am sure he will give you a laugh with his commentary in the videos.

Cowboy Caviar 

Cowboy Caviar is this delicious recipe that avoids all things that include gluten, as it is simply different vegetables and beans combined to make a delicious dip. In the end, it is similar in comparison to homemade salsa and is best served on a gluten-free tortilla chip. 

For this recipe, you will need:

• ½ cup of cilantro
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• ½ a white onion
• 2 avocados
• ¾ of a jalapeno 
• 1 can of sweet corn
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 limes or ¼ cup of lime juice
• 2 tablespoons of zesty Italian dressing

This recipe has the perfect amount of sweet and spicy to complete this perfect combination. It could be made as a meal or as a snack. It is so easy to make and takes no time to put together, as all there was to chop different vegetables. Easy enough considering my brother helped me with the entire recipe, and he made sure he entertained the camera while doing it. One this I might try next time is trying to add different veggies to the recipe as when you look up the recipe on TikTok you can find so many different combinations. Everyone in my house enjoyed it so much and will definitely be making it again.

Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce and Teriyaki Sauce

The next recipe I decided to try out was these rice paper spring rolls. Spring rolls were something that I test out at the beginning of Covid lockdown but were not something I have made since. When scrolling through TikTok there were so many options; ones that included rice, noodles, different types of proteins, ones with just veggies, and so much more. I finally settled on shrimp ones and a pork option for my dad as he is not a fan of any form of seafood or fish. 

For the spring rolls you will need:

• A protein (I chose shrimp and pork)
• Rice paper wrappers
• Cucumber 
• Carrots
• Cabbage
• Rice stick noodles

I decided to season the pork with lemon pepper spice and lemon juice; then cooked it for approximately 20 minutes or until an internal temp of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The pork alone tasted so yummy. The shrimp I bought was precooked for all I had to prep for that was detailing them. As my knife skills are not the greatest, I decided it would be better to use our StarFrit Pump’N’Slice to julienne the veggies. To soften the rice wrapper, you will want to quickly dip them in some water, and if they are too wet they become very easy to tear, but if too dry won’t wrap properly and tear as well. It took a couple of tries to get the hang of the right amount of water. You will also want to remember to not over stuff the spring rolls as they do still tear easily, and it does not make it easy to roll if over-stuffed. 

I knew that the spring rolls were going to need a nice sauce to dip them in so I watched a bunch of videos to see what sauces were the most popular. The number one sauce made in almost every video was a peanut sauce, and I knew that this was one that I’d have to make. 

For this sauce you will need:

• ¾ cup of peanut butter
• ¼ cup of soy sauce
• ¼ cup of white rice vinegar
• A few cloves of garlic
• A few tablespoons of chilli oil (add to taste preference)
• Ginger
• Water to thin out the sauce

Again this recipe was so good and simple. I made the adjustment of using sriracha instead of chilli oil as the grocery stores in town were sold out, but in my opinion, it turned out so good even with the substitution. I did end up adding a little more garlic and sriracha in the end to add a little more flavour, however, the creator did say that you might need to adjust the recipe to preference right in her video. This was definitely the favourite sauce of the two in this house and everyone went nuts over it. 

The other sauce I decided to make was a simple teriyaki sauce that my mom normally makes for stirfrys. All it consists of is adding ½ cup of any store-bought teriyaki sauce, adding ½ cup of white sugar, and 2 cups of water to a saucepan; bring it to a boil and add cornstarch to thicken it. All though it seems pointless, and someone may ask why we do this rather than just using the teriyaki sauce we bought? The answer is “I Do Not Know!” this is just something we have always done and in my opinion, it just makes it better.

Everything turned out so good, and I’m sure this meal will be made more again. Next time I make this I definitely was to try out different combinations in the spring rolls as well as different sauces that I can find. Another idea is trying to air-fry the springs, as that is something I come across often as well.