Pot stickers

The summer I turned 20 I visited my brother in Beijing.  It was a big deal for me to get there, I had to get an invitation from him.  Then I had to fly to Hong Kong and make the rest of my travel arrangements from there since I couldn't fly directly to Beijing from the US.  

One of the things that I remember the most about that trip was the jiaodz (boiled dumplings) that we ate at a place called ErTan.  They were wonderful!  The jiaodz were hand made including the wraps.  The name "jiaodz" indicates that you are steaming them not frying them.  When I lived in Taiwan we ate them at least once or twice a week and they were almost as good as the ones we ate in Beijing.  In Taiwan we called them "SweiJiao" but they were exactly the same thing cooked in exactly the same way.  Once or twice I had "GwoTie" or pot stickers.  I never thought the pot stickers were as good as the sweijiao.  They were the same thing just cooked differently, boiling vs. frying.  You'd think that frying would taste better than boiling but it never does, at least for me. Maybe its just the memories that boiling the dumplings brings up in my mind.

Most Americans know and love pot stickers but I long for those wonderful jiaodz that I ate for the first time in Beijing.

You can use pot sticker wraps(skins) that you buy in the store or you can make them yourself.  They'll be easier if you buy them but they'll taste better if you make them.  They'll also taste better if you take the time to carefully pleat them when you are sealing them.  I don't know why...they just will.  You can boil, steam or fry these once they are made.  They freeze well before they are cooked, just don't freeze them stuck together.  Place them separately on a tray in the freezer then put them in a bag once they are frozen solid.

Pot stickers

1              lb.           Ground pork (ground chicken or turkey may be substituted for all or part)

1              lb.           Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), finely chopped

1              cup         minced green onions

1              tsp          minced ginger

3              Tbsp      soy sauce

1              tsp          salt        

1              Tbsp      sesame oil

Pot sticker wraps

Mix all of the ingredients together except the wraps. 

To create a dumpling hold the pot sticker wrap in the palm of your hand.  Place about 1 teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center and fold the wrap in half.  Press the edges together and seal with water. You may want to pleat the edges as you seal them to make these look nicer.  Place on a floured tray until ready to serve.  These may be frozen and served later.  Be sure if you are freezing them that they are individually frozen and do not stick together while you are freezing them.

To serve you may place them in salted boiling water until they float or steam them.

To serve them as pot stickers: heat a nonstick skillet with a little oil in the bottom.  Place the fresh or frozen dumplings in the hot oil and cover the bottom of the pan with pot stickers until they are barely touching one another.  Cook for a minute and then pour water in the pan until the water come up about ¾ of the way up the pot sticker.  Place a cover on the pan and cook until all of the liquid is evaporated. 

Serve with a dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce

2              parts      Soy sauce

1              part        Vinegar

Sugar (just a little)

Sesame oil (dash)

Grated ginger (optional)

Hot sauce (whatever kind you like) (optional)

Is there anything better?

This is my lunch today.  Avocado, bacon, lettuce and homegrown tomato sandwich.  I used my homemade mayonnaise on this sandwich.

Last year I started cooking my bacon in the oven.  There isn't any splatter in the oven, so it's less messy, and even though it takes longer it is a lot easier.  Just turn on the oven, place the bacon on a rack in a pan and cook until it's done.  Sorry I don't remember how hot but I don't think it matters much...the hotter the quicker the bacon is done.  Just make sure you watch it closely and turn the bacon over once or twice. For two or three slices of bacon I use the microwave oven.  For a whole package of bacon I use the conventional oven then put the cooked slices in the fridge and warm them in the microwave when I'm ready to eat.

MMMMMustard Pickles

My brother wanted me to post my recipe for mushroom dip but since I made mustard pickles last night I figured I post Aunt Lu's recipe for Mustard Pickles.

Aunt Lu was my Dad's aunt and I understand that she used to make these in the basement of her house on Maple Street.  They have always been a family favorite at Thanksgiving.  If you grew up eating these you love them if you didn't grow up with them, well, you might like them.  Personally, I like them, I just don't LOVE them the way some people do.  My brothers really love them, especially Gil.  My uncle Mark loves them too.  In fact I usually ship him a couple of bottles when I make them and he couldn't be happier.  One year I sent him a package and he sent me a check for $50 back!  I really didn't send them to him because I expected anything in return, but he actually won the lottery (a really big lottery too) several years ago, so I didn't make a fuss about the check.

I make these pickles because they make the people I love so happy.  If I have extra sauce left over after filling all the jars with pickles I fill a jar with the just the mustard sauce and give it to my Aunt Peg...she loves it.  I think it would be good on bbq pork ribs.

Here is the recipe the way that it was given to me.  I think my Aunt Bonnie or my Aunt DeeDee gave me the copy that I have.  Last night, I followed it pretty close but instead of 1 head of cauliflower I put in 2 heads of cauliflower and added a few cups more of vinegar.  I used Asian cucumbers that I bought at Costco, I hope that those work out well because they were really easy to clean and cut.  I also use pearl onions that I find in the frozen section at my grocery store.  Using these onions helps reduce the amount of labor.  It can take several hours just to peel enough onions!

Mustard Pickles
4    quarts      Cucumbers (cut the ends off and discard.  Cut with a waffle cutter)
1     large        Cauliflower
2                     Green or red peppers (I use red because I think the color helps)
1    quart       Small white pearl onions
1     cup         Salt
                       Boiling water
1    quart        Vinegar
6    Tblsp       Dry mustard
2    tsp.           Turmeric (gives it the yellow color)
3    cups         Brown sugar
3    Tblsp       Prepared Mustard (you know...hot dog mustard)
1    cup           Flour

Cut and prepare cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers and onions.  Sprinkle veggies with salt, cover with boiling water and let stand 2 hours or more.  Drain and rinse.

In a large kettle combine vinegar, dry mustard, brown sugar and prepared mustard.  Bring to a boil, add vegetables to the syrup.  Simmer 15 minutes.

Make a paste of flour, a little vinegar and add to the boiling mixture until thickened.

Pack in sterilized jars and process 5 minutes using standard processing methods.

Note:  My mother told me that they were best if you let them sit in the jar for at least a month before you eat them.  The flavors a supposed to get better that way.  I don't know about that.  I just tasted a couple of the pickles that were left over and they were pretty good!