Dim Sum and then some…

… Asia or Bust part 2

On the menu today: Pork Dumplings and Ginger – Curry Sweet Potato Fries.

My new  bamboo steamer cooked the dumplings perfectly. I researched how to get the best results when making dumplings, and the one consistent piece of advice I found, was that I should line the steamer with something. This “something” could be any number of things from damp tea towels to banana leaves. I decided to use parchment.

I found a website that sells steamer liners, and basically all they are is parchment circles with a lot of little holes to allow steam through.  Using a wooden skewer, I was able to achieve proper “air flow”. The liners worked really well, and made cleaning the steamer so simple. I highly recommend using them.

What a great way to end our “tour” of Asia!

 Pork Dumplings

Ingredients

14 ounces ground pork
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry or orange juice – a great sherry substitute
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg white, lightly beaten
4  teaspoons cornstarch
24 wonton skins

Directions

     Place the ground pork, scallions, soy sauce, sherry or juice, sesame oil, sugar and beaten egg white in a large mixing bowl and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Stir in the cornstarch, mixing until thoroughly incorporated with the other ingredients.

Spread out the wonton skins on work surface. Place a spoonful of pork mixture in the center of each wonton skin and lightly brush edges with water.

Bring sides of skins together in the center of the filling, pinching firmly together (it’ll look like a little purse).

Line  steamer with parchment and arrange wontons inside.

Cover and steam for 5-7 minutes, until dim sum are cooked through.
Serve immediately.

Dipping Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

2 tablespoons Spicy Sambal 

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

In a small bowl combine the sambal, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix until well combined.

Ginger – Curry Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 teaspoons ginger powder

2 scallions, green and white parts, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Trim 1/4 inch from the ends of each potato, then shave the sides to make rough rectangular shapes. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/2 – inch-wide slices. Stack the slices and cut into 1/2 -inch – wide fries.

In a large bowl, combine the oils, masala, ginger and scallions. Add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and toss well.

Place heavy sheet pan in the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Remove pan, dump fries onto it, and using a spatula, seperate the potatoes. (The potatoes should sizzle when they touch the pan, if they don’t, remove them from the pan, return it to the oven, and continue to heat it for a few minutes. Then return potatoes to pan)

Bake the potatoes until golden brown, 10 -15 mins. Checking periodically to make sure the potatoes are not browning to quickly.

Turn the potatoes and cook an additional 10-15 mins. until crisp outside, soft inside.

And here you have the 4 – year – olds version of an Asian dinner :

 

Asia or bust…

(a culinary trek around the globe with a 4 year old foodie)

This week’s culinary travel pick was….Asia. Yes, I know there are many places within Asia that we could have explored, but when a 4 year old is doing the selecting, we get what we get.

We started our “travels” with a trip to the Asian District. There is a market there that is out of this world. Every time we go there I feel like an Andrew Zimmern roadie. The place is packed floor to ceiling with foreign delights and freakiness. Which only ads to the charm. You can select your own live fish which will then be beheaded right before your eyes, (we usually steer clear of this section). On our latest visit we found an item labeled “Ground Cucumber” – a giant, brown earth grub. Cucumber? Hmmm. The fresh produce is amazing, with so many choices at reasonable costs, it is hard to leave without some exotic perishable.

I bought a new bamboo steamer (for only $8.99) and ingredients to make fresh dim sum, peanut noodles, and array of other “staples” to have on hand. I am most excited to use the steamer. Dim Sum is one of my all time favorites.

We then went to the library and took out some books about Asia, and Kiki’s Delivery Service, a movie by Hayao Miyazaki  

One of the books we took out was The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale by Ying Chang Compestine which after reading, Isaac said “Wow mommy, that was a good book, I thought it was going to be lame”. Lame? Where did he pick up THAT word? At least he used it in the right context.

An astonishing fact about Asia: the majority of Muslims reside in South Asia instead of Middle East, which is essentially known for its Muslim population.

I did not know this. Did you?

The first thing we made was Sesame Peanut Noodles.

Ingredients

16 oz noodles (you can use spaghetti, linguine, or fresh wheat flour noodles – really any noodle of choice) I used fresh wheat flour noodles:

1 bunch of green onions

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves minced

2/3 cup all natural no sugar added peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup hot water

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 teaspoon white sugar

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

Meanwhile, combine oil and onions in a skillet. Saute over medium heat until tender. Add ginger and garlic, cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.

Mix in peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar and  sugar. Remove from heat.

Toss noodles with sauce, and serve either hot or cold.

お食事をお楽しみ下さい

O shokuji o o tanoshimi kudasai