The Daring Cooks take on Chinese Dumplings, otherwise known as pot-stickers or in Japan, Gyoza. Homemade wrappers are filled with a flavorful mixture of pork, green garlic, ginger and water chestnuts and then steamed over a bed of Napa Cabbage. Easier then you think and tastier than the ones from the frozen aisle of the grocery store.
This is the 2nd challenge for the group the “Daring Cooks”. The Daring Cooks are a spin off of the Daring Bakers and we will be challenging ourselves once a month with a dinner. I was very excited when I saw that Jen of Use Real Butter was hosting, her site is brilliant, from the food porn photos to her witty stories of adventure and food. I was pleased to see she picked the Chinese Dumplings as I have been dying to try my hand at dumplings. Every time, I see a recipe for homemade Chinese or Japanese dumplings, I think about it and then decide it will be too difficult. I was wrong.
Lenny and I saved this recipe for a Sunday night dinner, that is the evening we usually do a little something that is more special; nice way to end the week and begin a new. The recipe is very straightforward and the entire process was so easy (we started at 4pm and had dinner ready to eat by 6pm) … mix the dough in food processor, knead, let rest, cut, roll and wrap around your choice of filling.
We decided to go with the pork filling as we both are pork lovers. We did substitute the bamboo shoots with water chestnuts, as we wanted more crunch. As well I added some beautiful green garlic I had picked up at the Farmer’s Market. I did make the mistake of putting everything into the food processor and giving it a whirl. I felt the meat did not have enough texture. Next time I would mince everything except the meat, in the food processor and then mix together.
Lenny even got into it with helping, by pleating and wrapping our fillings. He was definitely much better at it then I was. In fact his dumplings were beautiful and so professional looking …. mine were sad! I ended up being the roller! So, we poured a couple glasses of wine, turned on some music and rolled and wrapped, it was very fun and it would make for a great dinner party!
I had looked everywhere for a bamboo steamer but everyone seemed to be out of them, so I used our stove top smoker, which I have yet to use as a smoker. I filled it with water and lined the rack with a bed of napa cabbage and steamed the buns. I did have to steam them about 20 minutes as the first couple, the filling was not cooked very well, otherwise, it worked out just fine.
End result, I will never go frozen again. This recipe is simple, fairly quick, tasty and you can make a big batch and freeze for a later time! Thank you, Jen, for picking such a great challenge and for getting us out of our comfort zone! Please be sure to check out the other Daring Cooker’s dumplings – they are tasty!
Recipe: Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers
Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers
pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/2 cup water chestnuts, minced
1 green garlic, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch
OR
shrimp filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch
dough: (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches – or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface
dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)
Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).
Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).
Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking – about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.
To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.
To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.
To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.
To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.
To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.
Hungry? No food in the house? Don’t want to do a big grocery shop? Not take out again! This is an easy dinner to make in a snap. Hot Italian Sausage grilled to perfection and served on warm toasty ciabatta bread with caramelized onions, red peppers and fennel pollen.
We are not quit settled into our new place. Boxes are everywhere. The fridge is bare. The pantry is smaller, so there is not much there. And we are tried of take out. On our way home from work we stopped by our favorite little neighborhood market, BiRite, with all intentions of picking up stuff for spring pea soup – they were out of peas. Time to switch gears. After wandering around, I found some of their housemade sausage and decided to make sandwiches.
A couple Superbowls back we made a warm red pepper slaw and served it with sausage, this is where I got the inspiration for this dish. I was going to toss in thin slices of fennel but then remembered the lovely addition to the package, David of Earthy Delights sent us, Fennel Pollen; this would be perfect, I was sure! I slowly caramelized yellow onions with red peppers and seasoned with black Hawaiian Lava salt flakes and before serving, sprinkled the fennel pollen over it – WOW! Not only does the pollen smell fantastic but it tastes amazing.
Before reading the recipes don’t forget to FLIP OUT & enter our gift away!
Recipe: Caramelized Onions and Red Peppers
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
black hawaiian salt flakes, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
3 teaspoons fennel pollen
2 of your favorite sausage, grilled; we used hot italian sausage
2 ciabatta, split in half and warmed
Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add onions and peppers, lower heat, and slowly cook, stirring often until caramelized, about 15 – 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and sprinkle fennel pollen over the top.
To serve: split ciabatta in half, layer with caramelized mixture and top with grilled sausage. Serve. Eat.
A slow baked spiral ham baste with a lavender honey and thyme glaze, served with truffle infused gratin of potatoes and tomatoes.
Sorry we have not been cooking and sharing fantastic new things with you this weekend. We were lucky enough to obtain passes to the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event, courtesy of FoodBuzz – they rock! More will be coming this week on the PBFW, lots of great food to share with you all. In the mean time, let’s talk ham!
This was suppose to be our Easter Dinner but we went to dinner over at some friends. I have been dying to bake this ham all week as I have some great plans for some of the leftovers – if it lasts that long, this was FANTASTIC. I slowly baked this ham and baste it with a very simply and not too sweet, Lavender Honey and Thyme glaze. It was so fragrant and so good, I have a feeling this glaze would go well with a pork tenderloin and chicken.
One cannot have ham without a gratin of potatoes. One of my favorite gratins is a mixture of potatoes, tomatoes (yes, tomatoes) and shallots. I had truffles on the brain, after a weekend of eating just that, wonderful truffles, so I decided to add some of the Truffle infused Artisan Sea Salt that we got at the Fancy Food Show. This was an outstanding addition – the dish was creamy, slightly earthy and mossy – perfect! It really complimented the sweetness of the ham. If you like truffles, cream and potatoes this dish is for you!
Recipe: Truffle Infused Gratin of Potatoes and Tomatoes
* serves 4
5 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed, with skin left on and sliced
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup parmesan cheese grated
1 teaspoon truffle sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit. Add the shallot and cook for about 3 minutes over low heat. Add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper, to taste, lower the heat and stir in the cheese and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Butter a glass dish, put a layer of potatoes, then top with tomatoes, then potatoes, then tomatoes and continue until you have used all the slices. End with a layer of potatoes for the top. Pour the cheese sauce over the top. Bake for 1 hour, until golden and bubbly. Serve. Eat.
Lavender Honey Glaze
4 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons thyme, minced
1/2 cup lavender honey
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Melt butter add thyme, honey and vinegar. Stir over low heat until combined, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Glaze your choice of meat.
In Greece they make Souvlaki by marinating chunks of meat, usually pork or lamb, in olive oil, lemon juice and oregano, then they grill it over an open fire. This dish is easy to make at home and we show you how you can make it with a grill pan if you do not have access to a BBQ or open fire.
We love Greek Food but never seem to eat it that often. Over dinner tonight we reminisced about how much we really enjoy it and that we only seem to eat it when we are in Hawaii or Paris – some of favorite Greek restaurants are there.
This recipe is fantastic as it brings Greece into your dining room, in under an hour. I used fresh Meyer Lemons and oregano for the marinade; it was incredibly aromatic while sitting out on the counter as well as when cooking. It filled our tiny kitchen with fresh scents of citrus and grilled meat just as it is on the streets of Greece … okay, we have not been to Greece, but we have a feeling this is what it would smell like, as it does in one of our favorite neighborhoods in Paris.
Pork Souvlaki is about to become our favorite summertime grilled meals, I cannot wait to try it with lamb. You will love it was well!
Recipe: Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki
* adapted from Food & Wine
1 1/4 pounds trimmed pork shoulder, cut into 3-by- 1/2-inch strips or you can use lamb
1 large onion, cut through the root end into 1/2-inch wedges
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 meyer lemons squezzed, reserve the juice
1/8 cup chopped fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
7 oz Greek-style whole-milk yogurt
1/2 European cucumber, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Warm pita, for serving
n a medium bowl, toss the pork strips and onion wedges with the olive oil, lemon juice, chopped oregano and garlic paste. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and let stand for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the yogurt, cucumber, and the mint. Season the tzatziki with salt and pepper.
Heat a large cast-iron griddle or grill pan until very hot. Add the pork and onion wedges along with any marinade and cook over high heat, turning once or twice, until the pork and onion are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pork and onion to plates and serve with the tzatziki, and pita.
A delightful dish of roasted Pork Tenderloin and fennel scented with Rosemary and served on a bed of baby Spinach. A wonderful Spring time dinner.
The next couple of weeks our posts are going to be short and sweet as we have so much going on at work – it is actually very insane! We do still have to eat and have some very tasty and easy meals planned. Our first one includes “the other white meat”, Pork. Even though we love pork tenderloin, we never seem to make it that often. We really should as it is the leanest and healthiest of the pork cuts. As well it has less fat than chicken and twice the amount of iron. Not only is it good for us but you can do so many different things with it, from roasting or grilling or even stir frying. Tonight I made an easy dish of roasted fennel and pork tenderloin which was tossed with spinach. It was very light and very flavorful. If you love pork and fennel, this is a fantastic combination.
Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Fennel and Rosemary
*Adapted from Donna Hay
1 fennel bulb, trimmed & roughly chopped
1 red onion, chopped
4 gloves garlic, minced
4 springs of rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra, for brushing
1 lb pork tenderloin
sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
baby spinach leaves, to serve
Preheat oven to 400 (200 c). Place fennel, onion, garlic, rosemary and oil in a baking dish, toss to coat. Cook for 15 minutes. Brush the pork with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a medium frying pan over high heat, add the pork and cook for 2 minutes each side or until browned. Place the pork in the baking dish on top of the fennel mixture and roast for a further 15 minutes or until the fennel is tender and the pork is cooked through. Slice pork and toss with the vegetables and baby spinach leaves to serve. Eat.
Star Anise Braised Pork Belly and with quail eggs (Thit Heo Kho Hoa Hoi), which translates for us to: pork, pork fat drippings and caramel sauce.
Ingrid sent us an email last week announcing that Anthony would be hitting Vietnam on Monday night and that it would be the last show of the season! We knew we had to go along …..
This was the best excuse to make some Vietnamese food as I have been itching to try this recipe that Diane and Todd made recently, Star Anise Braised Pork Belly and quail eggs (Thit Heo Kho Hoa Hoi). Think about it, one cannot go wrong with Pork, some pork fat drippings and caramel sauce! As well, we knew from Anthony’s last trip to the Philippines, that he loves Pork!
We started the evening with some veggie spring rolls. We love these little morsels, either as an appetizer or even a light main course. They are incredibly easy to make and you can use so many different options when filling them. I served them with a spicy Nuoc Cham sauce I found in the newest addition of Donna Hay.
Then we moved onto the main attraction, the Pork Belly (butt in this case) with quail eggs (chicken this time). I love this recipe as it was so complex by using the cinnamon (we used the Viet cinnamon bark), black peppercorns, and star anise. It was such an interesting combination, slightly spicy (pepper) and it had this crazy depth to it, I don’t cook with Star Anise that often but I am thinking that is what added this layer. The caramel made it slightly sweet. I was not going to serve with the eggs (I am not a hard boil egged fan) but then, Lenny, thought I was crazy for not following Diane’s suggestions. I served it with rice noodles and a light cucumber salad (a Donna recipe). It was very good …..
Here is a sneak peak about rest of the food being devoured in Vietnam.
Recipes for the sides coming later (sorry swamped today).
Place the fish sauce, sugar, water, lime juice, garlic and chili in a non-metallic bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved. keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Pickled Cucumber Salad
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
Place the sugar, lime juice and vinegar in a non-metallic bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the cucumber and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Makes 2 cups.
I don’t think I have had Schnitzel of any kind since I was in Germany, which was many years ago, so many it will age me! I remember it being crispy and saturated in butter; it was delicious. When I was poking around Simply Recipes a couple weeks ago I stumbled upon Pork Schnitzel and knew immediately, that we would be eating it very soon. Schnitzel is basically a cutlet and in Germany it usually is veal. While I love veal, Lenny is a little suspect so I knew this recipe would be perfect.
I was going to follow Elise’s recipe perfectly but when I got home I realized that I forgot to buy eggs and I could not possibly borrow another egg from my neighbors, I borrowed 3 this week already. The dill I thought was growing in our herb garden was actually chives. The chicken stock I usually have on hand had magically disappeared. I knew the evening was off to a wrong start ….
The recipe was pretty easy and surprisingly, since I was missing so many ingredients, it came out really well. I loved the crunchy texture of the fried panko and the pork came out very moist. The sour cream was a really nice addition to the spiciness of the paprika and the milkiness of the pork. I served it with a classic frisee salad drizzled with olive oil, fresh squeezed Meyer lemon and a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.
Here is the Chez Us version of Pork Schnitzel.
Recipe: Pork Schnitzel
2 boneless pork chops – pounded thin
1/8 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup panko
3 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream – not low fat
Use a meat cleaver and pound the pork cutlets to 1/4 inch thickness.
Set out 3 plates. One will have a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. The second one will have the milk. The third will have a mixture of bread crumbs and paprika.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat, do not allow it to smoke. Dredge the cutlets first in the flour, then the milk, and then the panko. Coat well.
Sauté the cutlets for about 4 – 5 minutes on each side, until golden. You may have to work in batches if your skillet is not big enough for two at a time – we had too. Remove the cutlets from the skillet and cover with foil and keep warm in a preheated oven.
While the cutlets are cooking, in a small bowl mix the chives and salt into the sour cream.
Joan over at the site Foodalogue, invited us to join her on a culinary adventure as she travels around the world. We decided that we would love to have her over to our “Portuguese” home for a traditional meal and that it would be even more fun to broadcast it live (we aren’t *dorks* we do this for a living – okay kind of *geeky*) so our family could jump in as well. Disclaimer – this is the first time I have really made a Portuguese meal.
We would love for you to join us live as well. Here is the link and feel free to jump in and out anytime after 700pm (pst) on Sunday – I guess you could say, it is kind of like Chez Us TV. Here is the link!
We had a great time webcasting the cooking of this dinner. It was fun to twitter with everyone that jumped on to watch us. Just to name a few of the people who joined us for dinner, there was Savory TV, Susan from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy and Chewy . and our Portuguese food authority from the Boston area, Maria Moniz …… we tried not to Twitter with sticky fingers!
