Lunch Blog: Cheesy Salsa Rice Rolls & Sweet Potato Cakes

Note by the author: I know a lot of people are wondering how into the Asian/Japanese culture I am, seeing as I cook a lot of Asian-fusion dishes. I am by no means a Japanophile. I don't like anime and I don't even pretend to speak Japanese. I guess the food and love of technology is really where my Japanophelia ends. I do, however, have many Japanophile friends. To each their own!


I hate nori. I hate the taste, the texture, and even the smell. However, I do enjoy sushi, so its one of those... If I buy it somewhere to take home, I'll eat around it. If I eat at a restaurant, the flavor isn't strong enough to stop me from eating it, not to mention how rude it would be to people who prepared it. But thankfully, not when I get the urge to make sushi or sushi-esque rice roll things, I can still get the cute wrapped presentation, and not have to worry about wasting food or dealing with very, very chewy nori floating around in my mouth. I've found a really nice solution, though!

Introducing Yes, soy wrappers. Thin sheets of soy that you use exactly like nori. They have a fairly subtle taste, to be honest, and the texture is pleasant enough. Also, they come in a few different colors, all which have very subtle flavor differences, which is kinda nice. You can find them at some whole foods stores, and yuppie grocery stores like Wegman's (Which is quite possibly my favorite place ever.), in the Asian food asile. Also, as with so many things, they are available on the internet. However, onto the dish.

Again with the rice. I promise I do cook things other than rice dishes. However, rice is something quick and easy, and also... Its been like a month and a half since I last went grocery shopping, and other than rice, there isn't much left in our cupboards. What I've got here today, though, is more Mexican than Asian. Cheesey salsa-rice rolls and fried sweet potato cakes. Both of these were sort of created on a whim, while I was watching the history channel while being oh-so-hungry. Both of these were created with leftovers, which is always a welcome addition to a busy (or in my case, lazy) schedule. Unfortunately, I didn't have that much rice, so the rolls weren't as tight as I was expecting. Oh well, they were still really good.

The main reason for the sweet potato cakes, and I do feel the need to explain this... Is that I love sweet + spicy. Unfortunately, the spicy aspect had to go by the wayside, I'm out of hot sauce and/or hot salsa. All and all, though, still a success.


Enjoy!

<3 Amber