Easy Holiday Entertaining Ideas with Asian Cuisine: Homemade Peanut and Sesame Ginger Sauces

Entertaining during the holidays can be so easy and yummy with today’s restaurant-inspired recipe ideas including warm-up Tai Pei Egg and Spring Rolls served with homemade Peanut and Sesame Ginger Sauces.  These are sure to be a hit with the guests!

My husband and I are huge fans of Asian food.  So I thought, why not serve it at a gathering with friends this holiday season?  It’s a winning idea!This time of year is always really hectic with lots of activities and events pulling for our time and attention.  It can get quite stressful for me, unless I simplify wherever I can.  So rather than spend hours upon hours in the kitchen prepping food, I like to intermix some homemade, make-ahead items with other frozen goods that I can simply pop in the oven to warm while I’m working on other things before the guests arrive.  This method really takes a load off my shoulders!

I wanted a variety of flavors to be represented on the food table, so I selected Tai Pei Pork Egg Rolls and Mini Chicken Spring Rolls.

Then I got busy making delectable dips.  They come packaged with great sauce, but I had a few other homemade ideas that I whipped up to serve alongside the tasty rolls.These spring rolls are loaded with fresh-cut veggies and hearty chicken and then enveloped in a perfectly crispy wrapper.  All I had to do was set the oven, pop them in, and, BAM! I was just about ready to wow the guests.

I say just about, because I wanted to add a little pizzazz to my baked egg rolls by chopping them in half, then skewering them on wooden sticks with sliced cucumbers, green leaf lettuce, and carrots.  It just makes them a little more impressive, and when hosting guests, presentation really counts!  And the added time to accomplish it was negligible.

I also whipped up a savory Sesame Ginger Sauce earlier that day to accompany the rolls.

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. water

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. sesame oil

1/8 tsp. ground ginger (or 1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together well.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

My original plan was to serve the Tai Pei Pork Egg Rolls with a Peanut Sauce.   Although, I changed my mind when each of the sauces tasted fantastic with both the egg and spring rolls, so we enjoyed dipping around.

1/3 c. water

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce

4 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. chili sauce

1 tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together well.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

This was such an easy appetizer array to throw together, and I must say that it was delicious too!  It tasted as if we’d ordered take-out, yet I didn’t have to run out to get it!  Winning!I just set everything out on a vinyl snowflake tablecloth with a few peppermint-filled glass hurricanes as a backdrop and then layered pretty, festive platters on cake stands to serve up the rolls.  See, holiday entertaining can be a breeze!  I love it when that happens!

Be sure to follow Tai Pei on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to keep up with the latest and greatest that Tai Pei has to offer.  Right now, through December 31st, you can receive a rebate on your purchase of Tai Pei products.  Go HERE for details.Happy hosting!