World's Best Eggrolls

What's your favorite eggroll?  I'll tell you my favorite eggroll is a piece of perfection... and it is not even the same each time it is made.  They are magical in that no matter the change in ingredients each time, they always taste the best.  None other in the world compare.  Where does one get these eggrolls?  Well, they are made by my mother.  My mom's eggrolls ROCK.  When I get a phone call that she's just made some a couple of hours prior or is in the process of making them, you know I'm in my car heading home for some freshly made eggrolls! 

Is it bias?  I think yes and no.  She's my mother, yes.  However, I will not say that I love everything that she makes and think it's the best in the world.  Nope nope.  However, her eggrolls are hands down the best eggrolls ever.  Perhaps I should have her start an eggroll place and it'll be featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

I find eggrolls elsewhere to be lacking.  They lack in filling, flavor, distinction.  Raise your hand if you know what I am talking about: the roll itself is about 1/4" thick and all that is inside is sad cabbage and some carrots, maybe a piece of meat here or there and about zero percent flavor.  Hmm?  I'm right, aren't I?

Well, tonight I took a break from doing physics problems and went home for some eggrolls because I received that most newsy phone call :-)  That first bite is absolute... ::sigh::  You crunch through that thin layer of fried wrapper and then your teeth sink into lots of meat and veggies.  As you chew it all together, the flavors just melt away in your mouth.  Then, you must take another bite.  Then, another and another and another and then all of a sudden, the eggroll is gone.  What to do?  Grab another one, of course.  Oh yes, these are so incredibly addicting, definitely a meal in themselves.

Eating eggrolls at the table tonight and talking with my mother and catching her up on my life made me realize something: it'll be a sad sad time when she passes away.  Not only because she won't be here but, because I won't get anymore of these magnificent eggrolls!!!  Major sadness.  You are wondering, "Well, Hester, why don't you just learn from your mother and have her teach you?"  Oh, buddy, that is a difficult task and I will tell you why. 

While some might think I have patience, I think I really don't.  It varies depending on the situation but, my mother and all my coaches can attest to the fact that I can be quite impatient.  However, when it comes to matters in the kitchen, surprisingly, I can become quite the uppity little brat if I am not "getting it."  Now, this is when I am under someone else's tutelage and usually, that is my mother.  So, is it because it is my mother doing the teaching or because I am not getting the hang of it?  Haha, probably both.  I remember years ago she'd taught me how to make the eggrolls and it would take me forever to wrap and my rolls would never come out pretty and uniform like hers.  You look at my pile and then you look at her pile and well, you know who did what, haha. 

However, it is not only about technique.  My mother is one of those "add a little bit of this, add a little bit of that" mothers.  I mean, I totally do that when I am cooking savory dishes--I do not measure.  Thus, to have a person ask you for the recipe is kind of painful.  Even to watch her would take forever because I would probably microscopically eye every single move she makes--what she uses and how much of it.  Case in point: my mother also makes some bomb-diggity fried rice.  And to her, fried rice is a leftovers kind of dish and she usually throws in whatever is in the fridge.  Thus, they're not always the same!  Despite that, they always taste fantastic!  

Now with me, you'll see me measuring out rice, purchasing certain ingredients, mixing it all together... and you know what?  I think it tastes like crap :-(  Maybe it is the precision that I put into it or something because it does not taste right.  Yet, my mother's 15-minute fried rice, the one she'll make after a long, long, long day at work tastes as if it was made specifically for the emperor of... wherever.  How does the woman do it?!?!  That being said, I do not think I will ever be able to replicate her eggrolls or fried rice, for that matter!

I believe I get my drive for perfection from her so, I get upset when things do not turn out correct, especially the first time.  My mother is all about doing it right and doing it well.  Being the wise woman that she is, my mother always told me I needed to be patient and to pay attention.  Heck, take away the past tense because, she still does!  Lo and behold, that advice rings true in all parts of my life, not just in the kitchen.  As a young woman of 23, I am still trying to learn to be patient.  Every single time I see her she'll somehow manage to get a lecture in there.  I don't know how, but it always happens!  Maybe I will never be patient but, I do know this--on her deathbed, my mother will still be lecturing me and teaching me to be a better person. 

She is the kind of woman who will spend her day off making eggrolls (an arduous task that can poop you out) even when she has a million bajillion things she wants to get done.  But, she makes them because 1) she saw that she had none left in the freezer that she had frozen from the last batch and 2) because she likes to make people happy and trust me, these eggrolls make us happy :-)  As rambly as this post might be, let's just say it's all about my mother and her eggrolls!
I love you, Ma Ma!