Chinese Dumplings or Potstickers!

Dear Cooking Fans,

This was not the smoothest cooking event this girl has ever taken on.  I learned that it is VERY important to use a fresh clean pan or perhaps a nonstick pan.  The dough is delicate and sensitive and well, using the same pan resulted in bottomless potstickers.  By the third round, I started to get this down.

Would I make these again?  Oh HELL  YEA.  They were so unbelievably good!!  Would I make them all at one time?  HELL NO.  Next time, I would make them all, but freeze 2/3 of them, only cooking up about 8 of them.

I was surprised at how simple the dough was.  Flour and water.
Take 1 1/2 cups of flour, form a hole and pour in 1/2 cup of water.  I discovered that it wanted to leak out the sides very quickly, so don't talk on the phone while doing this as I did!

The Pile O Flour

The Water has been added

Then after you carefully fold in the water to the flour and it starts to actually look like dough, knead it for about 5 minutes.  Add little bits of water if the dough is too dry.  Once it's all nice and springy to the touch, divide it in half and roll into two 6 inch logs.  Sprinkle with some flour and cover with a towel.

Two Dough Halves.  Looks like a brain, doesn't it?

Logs.  

Now to make the filling!  And seriously, this was so tasty.  The Boy really liked it alot.

Here is the recipe:
2 cups finely chopped napa cabbage
Kosher salt
12 oz. ground pork
8 oz. peeled, deveined shrimp, coarsely chopped
3 medium scallions, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. Shoaxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry (I actually did have this ingredient.  Tasted just fine without)
1 1/2 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. toasted Asian sesame oil
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

Put 2 tsp of salt into the cabbage and let sit for 30 minutes to remove any moisture.  Squeeze with a towel to finish up the job.

Shredded Pork!!

Cut up raw shrimp

3 scallions

Chopped Garlic

Add the cabbage to the above ingredients.  Mix well!

The dough has been cut up into 36 little pieces.  Basically cut each log into 18 pieces.  Easiest way is cut each log in half.  Cut each half into thirds and then each of the thirds into thirds.  Should equal 36 pieces.

Roll each dough coin out into a flat piece.  The recipe said to make it thicker in the middle, but honestly, I don't think it really mattered too much.  And yes, I don't own a rolling pin.  Beer bottle worked just as well.

Take about 1 tablespoon or so and stuff!  Simply fold around your filling and pinch the ends together!

Arrange in a pan to fry, using just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then pour in enough water to go about 1/3 of the way up the potstickers.  ADVICE - pour the water in with a lid on the pan!  It really makes a mess otherwise!!  Let it boil with a lid about 3 minutes.  Remove the lid and cook until the water is gone.  I did all of this on about medium heat.

The final product!  Not the prettiest potstickers in the world, but gosh darn tasty!!

Finally, make your dipping sauce!

Soy Dipping Sauce
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. hot chile oil or toasted Asian sesame oil
small scallion, thinly sliced

Dip and eat!  The dipping sauce was absolutely fabulous!!!

Savoy Slaw with Mint and Cilantro

Hello Cooking fans!

I don't know why I don't do more slaws. They are always so refreshingly tasty and so damn healthy. So, I had some carrots to use up and decided that a slaw would be the best place for them.

And you know, it's pretty cheap to make a slaw and it makes so much. I don't think I smack myself in the head nearly as often as I should.

So, let's get to it!

The Ingredients

6 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage
1 cup coarsely grated peeled carrots
1 cup coarsely grated peeled daikon radish
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 2x1/3-inch strips (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 green onions, sliced
7 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 serrano chiles, seeded, minced

So, the Xena substitutions:
I used one giant jalapeno instead of serranos. I didn't want it to be too hot and the Boy likes the flavor of jalapeno.
I didn't measure the cabbage, carrots or radish. Just chopped or grated it all up and threw it together.

And now for the steps!

First, cut up your cabbage into thin strips and put it into a big bowl


Grate the carrots and put into the same bowl


Peel and grate the daikon radish and put into the same big bowl


Slice up the red bell pepper into super thin slices and make the length about 2 inches or so. I just sliced and then cut in half. Place in big bowl.


Chop up about 1/2 cup of mint and place in big bowl


Chop up about 1/2 cup of cilantro and place in big bowl.


Finally, thinly slice up your four green onions and place into the big bowl.


I didn't mix up yet, because you have to mix it really good when you add the dressing, but it's your choice. Mix once or Mix twice.

Now to make the dressing!
Chop up your jalapenos or serranos after seeding them and place into a small bowl.


Then pour in your 7 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. (I ended up doubling this part because it didn't seem like enough to me)


Whisk all that together and add some salt and pepper.


Pour over the big bowl of stuff and mix really well.
Very tasty.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Wedges

Hello Cooking Fans!!

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but it's just so simple and it made the cabbage so delicious!

I happen to love cabbage and in case you didn't know, it's loaded with nutrients!

Here are the basic ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 head green cabbage, quartered through the core
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
course salt and ground pepper

And now onto the pictures!

I cut the cabbage up in quarters, but I found it didn't really want to stay in quarters, so I went with it.


I cooked until they started to brown and then added in the liquids. I would advise browning more than I did. The browning really added some nice flavor to the cabbage.


Once it was nice and cooked, about 12 minutes later in the liquid, I served it up into a bowl and sprinkled with salt and pepper!


Now, you can also do this with brussel sprouts or maybe even broccoli!

For tonights dinner, I bought some brussel sprouts at the store because they were on sale.. and I'm going to use this same recipe and see how it turns out!