Egg Roll Soup — Fusion Is Just Confidence in a Bowl

We moved. Not the house — same house, same neighborhood — but Diego and I drove over to Eldorado Prep to start the enrollment process and I walked the sideline of the field for the first time as its coach. It's a different feeling than visiting as a candidate. The field is yours now. The weight of that settles differently.

The weight room is everything they promised. Three Olympic platforms, a full rack of dumbbells, updated cardio equipment. I've been in weight rooms since I was sixteen years old and I can read them like neighborhoods. This one is well-funded and well-used — the floor is chalked from actual lifting, not decorative. The kids here work. That's the most important thing.

I'm bringing three coaches from my old staff who were willing to follow. Williams is already on staff as the defensive coordinator — I've met with him twice now and we think the same way about coverage principles, which is rare enough to be worth protecting. My relationship with a staff is the foundation of everything. I've seen brilliant coordinators fail because the head coach relationship was wrong. I won't let that happen here.

Green chile pork ramen this week — not traditional, not even close, but mine. I use a pork-and-green-chile broth as the base, add ramen noodles, soft-boiled egg, cilantro, pickled jalapeño. The kids call it "Dad's weird ramen." They eat two bowls each, so I'm not concerned about their opinion of the name. Fusion is just confidence in combination. You take what you know and apply it where you want to go.

The green chile pork ramen has been my signature this season, but this week I landed on something that scratches the same itch — the egg roll soup, which follows the same logic: take a form you already trust, strip it down, rebuild it as a full meal. Walking that field at Eldorado for the first time as its coach, I kept thinking about the word “mine.” The field is mine now. This soup is mine now. You build ownership one decision at a time, and that starts in the kitchen as much as anywhere else.

Egg Roll Soup

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 medium carrots, julienned or shredded
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or sriracha), plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 3 green onions, sliced thin
• Wonton strips or crispy chow mein noodles, for topping
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

1. Brown the pork. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it apart, until fully browned and no pink remains, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed.
2. Build the aromatics. Push the pork to one side and add the sesame oil to the cleared space. Add the onion and cook 3 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant. Mix everything together.
3. Add the vegetables. Add the shredded cabbage and carrots to the pot. Toss to coat in the pork and aromatics. Cook 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage begins to wilt but still has some texture.
4. Pour in the broth. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and white pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 12–15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
5. Taste and adjust. Taste the broth and adjust with more soy sauce for saltiness, more rice vinegar for brightness, or more chili sauce for heat. This is where the soup becomes yours.
6. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with sliced green onions, crispy wonton strips or chow mein noodles, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 21g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 980mg