My Uncontrollable Craving

Before I go into details about this rediculous craving of mine I'd like to rant for a short moment - where the hell did Fall go?!? My gosh, I'm dying of heat exhaustion. I swear we've had like 3 days in the last 6 months that have been below 85 degrees! I took a recent trip to the South (blog post coming soon) and the weather was full-blown FALL! I loved every minute of it and for the first time in my life I can say that I'm not enjoying living in California at all! Please, Mr. Weatherman, please tell me that 60 degree weather is in our forecast!

Sorry for the off topic paragraph. I'll continue now...

Not too long ago my Aunt introduced me to this new little teriyaki place - Suki's Teriyaki - about a block from my parents house, which is where I lived at the time. She called me one day and said I had to come over and try their spring rolls that she bought and had in her fridge so I could taste them. They came with this amazing peanut sauce and since my aunt knows I'm a peanut butter fanatic she thought I would enjoy this little treat.

I stopped by my aunt's in a rush and she shoved one of these things in my face. I must say my first reaction was something like - OMG this thing has a clear wrapper, funky noodles, and veggies - not my idea of something tasty. I was so wrong - it was love at first bite! The peanut sauce was divine; I could eat it with a spoon! They complimented each other so well. The tangy, spicy (yet sweet) sauce, the slight crunch of the peanuts, and the cool spring roll were a match made in heaven. This sparked my once, twice, even 4 times a week addiction.

Since the place was so close to my parents I would call them up a few times a week and order at least 2 orders of spring rolls at a time. An order consisted of 3 spring rolls that were quite filling but I always wanted the extra for a snack, dinner and/or lunch the next day - with an extra side of peanut sauce of course! One order ran me close to $5 (ouch)!

My addiction was like chickenpox and I quickly spread the disease to some of my geographically closest friends and family. Now I had about 4 followers on this path of tasty distruction.

One day I dialed the number and expected to hear "Suki's Teriyaki, how may I help you?" but it just wrang, and wrang, and wrang. No answer. My heart sunk (no joke)! I hopped in my car and pulled into the parking spot only to discover a sign on the door :( it read something along the lines of, "We would like to thank all of our customers for your loving support. Unfortunately due to the hard economic times and constant increase of food costs we have decided to close our doors." I cried.

The owner of Suki's Teriyaki was a beautiful Asian woman, couldn't be older than her mid 30's. She was married to an Orange County Sherrif's Officer and had one son. She opened up to me one day and told me about some hard times she'd been going through. She told me she felt comfortable with me and just needed someone to talk to. I was honored.

It had been months since I'd had a spring roll and my craving was about to drive me crazy. I thought about them constantly and wondered how I could get some that were exactly like Suki's. There was only one way... make them myself! I drove over to the 99 Ranch Market in Chino Hills and picked up my supplies. I came home and fidgeted with the peanut sauce for a while. I searched all over the internet for a sauce that I thought would be close to hers but to no avail. I had to wing it! I poured ingredient after ingredient into my stand mixer and tasted until it was perfect. I couldn't believe that I had managed to come close to hers. It was almost exactly like it! Next, I rolled myself 4 spring rolls and enjoyed each of them bite by bite. I was a happy camper. So now that I know how to make them myself I do so a few times a day! I'll have one for breakfast, one for a snack, two for lunch. It's bad! I ran out of supplies a few weeks ago and I've been ok. I don't have the shakes, twitches, or anything of that sort which I'm thankful for. I guess now that I know they're within arms reach I don't panic anymore!

I wish I could give out the recipe but I don't really have one. Someday I'll write it down to share with everyone. In the mean time here is the gist of what they consist of...

Spring Rolls:
Spring Roll Wrappers - soaked in water until half-way soft.
Rice Noodles - Not too thin, not too thick either. You have to find the perfect ones. Soak in HOT water for 15 minutes, drain, rinse in cold water.
Teriyaki marinated chicken, grilled and cut into a small 1/2" dice.
Cucumber slices cut horizontally.
Carrot
Cilantro

Peanut Sauce:
Crunchy Peanut Butter
Teriyaki Sauce
Sugar
Water
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Chili Sauce

There is a special technique to roll them too. I just can't explain it. Maybe someday I'll provide cooking classes: SPRING ROLL MAKING 101!

Hello, my name is Tana. I am a spring roll-aholic.