I have been dying to try to make Chinese dumpling (in any form) for quite some time now. And, when I stumbled across Jaden’s really easy-looking recipe I decided it was time to stop procrastinating and time to start cooking!
She has a really great step-by-step tutorial on how to fold them – and it is really fool-proof! I did have some issues in making the dumplings, but this problem started at my local grocer. Where the heck do I find dumpling wrappers in my small town?? No Where. But, I never let that stop me – I was determined to make these babies. So, I grabbed a pack of wonton wrappers and made my way home. And, yes, wonton wrappers do hold up well, but you will end up with rectangular dumplings. And, I’m not sure if the flavor is any different than that of dumpling wrappers. Oh, and although I have 3 huge bouquets (or bushes) of chives growing in my garden, I somehow came home without any and ended up having to use the green onions.
We really enjoyed the dumpling, despite their rectangular coutures. The pork and cabbage filling is full of flavor and I promptly started dreaming up other dishes that I could use it in. Jaden recommend enjoying the dumpling with some hot chili sauce, but we found that the slippery consistency of the dough wasn’t able to hold much of the flavor of the sauce. Maybe this wouldn’t have been the case had I pan fried them?? On the other hand, the next day my Chinese friend stopped by the a bowl of Congee (she stops by practically twice a week with some sort of new and exciting Asian food for me to try) and we warmed it up with these dumpling inside (did I just commit a mortal sin by doing that??) and they worked wonderfully together.
I have been absent – on and off – for quite a while now. I think it may be a year since I’ve been “neglecting” my blog.
We have had a rough ride with life over the past year, but I have not let it stop me from cooking or from photographing my dishes.
I think it’s time to start rolling them out. Now, I can’t make any promises – I have a 3.5 and an almost 1 year old at home – things can get hectic and some evenings I just collapse from exhaustion. But, my goal and wish is to share it all with you.
While living in my in-between-homes apartment (see the yellow plastic plates I had to eat off of for over 3 months), I came across a fantastic blog: Budget Bites. Now, I love meals that keep me from spending lots of money. And, I love them even more when they are recipes of traditionally expensive dishes in restaurants.
To make this recipe even better, it saves me the hassle of rolling – to the disappointment of my 3.5 year old son who loves sushi rolled.
I did change up her recipe slightly to fit our family’s needs. I wanted a dressing that even our little one could enjoy and came up with an avocado dressing that went great with this dish.
Prior to making Adobong fish I somehow had stuck in my mind that fish was only meant to be served after a deep broil or frying – to kill the flavor, of course – and then be doused in lemon or lime juice to further suppress and flavor. I am always surprised when I retry a food that was never ever ever a favorite of mine growing up and it actually ends up turning out so delicious that it becomes a weekly staple. Now, every Tuesday is fish day. You should just see the look of excitement in my 3-year-old’s face when I tell him we’re eating fish. Before this recipe I always would wish I could have such pure enthusiasm for eating fish, but now, we’re on the same boat. There’s no turning back – it seems there is a whole world of fish recipes out there left to be explored.
This is a really great recipe that I adapted from The Cook Mobile. It is really tangy and goes well with my aunt’s mango salsa. If you don’t have something sweet (such as the salsa) to offset the tanginess of the fish it will be very over powering. I didn’t have any access to swordfish, so I used a white fish from France that I could pick-up at my local Turkish market.
I hope this recipe changes your view, like it did mine. And, I would also love links to your favorite fish recipes! I need something new to try out for next week’s menu! Continue Reading »
I am always on the look-out for a good stir fry. I’m also always making new attempts to find the perfect recipe that will satisfy my Asian-food cravings – often with little success, but this time I really hit the spot!
It’s very fresh and delicious and pretty simple. I surprise myself sometimes. Continue Reading »
A few months ago I asked my husband to cook it for dinner and he ended up throwing in other ingredients that I hadn’t even thought of adding. The verdict: it tastes even better! So, when I had a chance to make it again, I added his expansions to the recipe. I also used half the shrimp that the recipe calls for since I only had half available, but to make it feel like we still had enough, I cut each piece of shrimp in half and butterflied it. It ended up working really well, and since shrimp is very expensive in the part of the world I live in, I think I will stick to half the amount.
For those of you who would love a quick homemade meal in less than 30 minutes, this is a great recipe for you. Just think, by the time to you drive to a restaurant, wait to be seated, order your food, and finally get to eat, it’s been over an hour. This way you will be done from start to finish (including prep time) in less than 30 minutes. And, the more practice you have with the recipe, the quicker it gets. I can make it in 20 minutes flat!
Oh, and yes, it does taste just as good as take out…in my opinion, even better! Continue Reading »
The other day I blogged about a great new sushi rice recipe that I found on VideoJug. I decided to go ahead and give it a second try and make some exciting sushi with some new ingredients.
Yesterday I went walking through a store that I had never been to before and I found lots of new ingredients to play with…so I brought home 4 new ingredients to try out in sushi:
-raw salmon
-chive sprouts
-red beet sprouts
-wanton-wrapped shrimp
I am not going to reproduce the sushi rice recipe here because it’s perfectly written up in text form and has a great video here on VideoJug. Instead, I will tell you all the combinations I came up with and what I thought of them.
Last week I had to have my camera’s sensor professional cleaned because of a piece of dirt that kept showing up in every picture. €50 and a week later, I have my camera back from Nikon.
This weekend I ended up getting sick with a stomach virus and a bladder infection…which sucks even more when your pregnant because not only is the baby pressing down on your bladder but up on your intestines and stomach as well. I am 80% better now. Of course, I was out of commission for 4 days and I have quite a lot of cleaning to do this week to make this place look normal again!
Many of you have asked if I know if I’m having a boy or a girl yet….no I don’t. Last ultrasound the baby gave us his/her back the whole time. I have one last ultrasound in June and if we don’t find anything out then, then there will be a big surprise in September.
Ok…on to food…
A few weeks ago I started doing to research on how to better make sushi rice. Mine just kept falling apart. Of course, I also kept cutting corners with my recipe and that didn’t help, but I found another fantastic recipe (with video) on VideoJug and I wanted to share it with you. I have never made such perfect sushi rice before. There is also a text version bellow the video which I found quite helpful.
(my son loves sushi…that’s his hand trying to steel some)
Last weekend, the day I cut my finger, my husband and I went out on our first date in over a year. It gets to be difficult to go out when you have a little one, but this was a special event that we wanted to go to.
Each year in Fürth there is a Sommer Nachts Ball (Summer Night’s Ball) in the city park (photo gallery here). The park is roped off so you can only enter with a ticket, and attendees must be in suite and tie or tux (for guys) and a ball dress or cocktail dress (for ladies) – those who are not appropriately dressed are sent home to change. (I will update with pictures soon!)
There were 4 or 5 stages with live music of all different kinds, dance floors, a cocktail bar in the rose garden, catering, bbq (yeah…that was kind a weird..ball dresses and bbq…), beer, wine, fireworks…it was fabulous. Time went by so quickly that we could hardly believe it!
Not knowing how expensive the food at the ball would be, we decided to go and eat at a local sushi restaurant that we had never tried because it was a bit more pricey than the others we are familiar with. But, being a special occasion and being all dressed-up, we decided to go give it a try.
We were both thrilled by the sushi at Wasabi!! It was fabulous and they have many of their own creations that were fabulous! I am planning on going back for my birthday.
One of the rolls we tried was the New York Roll. It was sweet and savory and nutty all at the same time. We both loved it, so I decided to make it at home – it seemed easy enough…and it was! Continue Reading »
I’ve never had Indonesian food before, so when I was paired with Arfi from HomeMadeS for this month’s Taste&Create, I was really excited. Besides the fact that every one of her photos is a masterpiece, she has lots of good-looking recipes.
I was very very tempted to make macaroons, but I wanted to make something more traditional and less time consuming (I will get to the macaroons eventually). When I came across her Kueh Klepon (Coconut Balls), I was intrigued. Continue Reading »
