Pork Chive, Water Chestnut and Ginger Dumplings

I am calling these my i-pass-the-bar-dumplings. Yes, I can be that cheesy. It is still feeling quite surreal since this is the moment I have been waiting for the past 3 years. I can't believe it's over now... what's next? I guess I really meant it when I said if I had to take another bar exam it has to be for a different jurisdiction. We'll see. In the mean time, I find making and pleating dumplings to be super fun! I find the recipe and fairly simple. Trust me, after taking one bite out of these lil' suckers you will be able to taste the difference between what you've just eaten and the stuff you've been having at the restaurants. It will taste so fresh and flavorful minus that previously frozen mystery filling stuff you order at dumplings are us.

This recipe will yield about 30+ dumplings so feel free to adjust.

Filling
1lb of lean ground pork, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of chopped chives, 1 small can of cooked and sliced water chestnuts,1 knob of minced ginger (about 2 Ts), and some sugar & fish sauce for seasoning. I usually don't add salt when I'm using fish sauce in a recipe.

Wrappers
1 package of dumpling wrappers (Shanghai Style) - you should be able to easily find this in your asian grocery market.

Extra
To seal the dumplings, you will need a small bowl w/ 1 T of all purpose flour and 1/4 cup of water. Combine well. In the alternative, you can use a raw egg yolk.

Soy Sauce Dip
You will need soy sauce, Siracha hot sauce, and rice wine vinegar- mix all 3 according to your preference of each. I usually add about 2 T of soy sauce, 1 tsp of Siracha, and a dash of rice wine vinegar.

First, grab a large plate and lightly flour it. You will place your dumplings on here so that they don't start sticking to the plate and eventually to one another.



This is what your flour mixture should look like. Set aside.



In a large mixing bowl, add your ground pork and 2 T of sugar (here, I used palm sugar but feel free to use whatever kind of sugar you prefer). You will slowly add the rest of the ingredients to this bowl.



Finely mince your knob of ginger.



Finely chop up your chives.



This is the brand of water chestnuts that I used. The ingredients are straight forward: water chestnuts and water.



Chop them up - medium mince.



Now mix it all together - don't forget the 2 eggs! Add a few dashes of fish sauce at this point.



Once it is nice and combined, pack the meat together. Like this,



Take out your dumpling wrappers. This is the brand that I usually buy.

At this point, I also set a pot of water aside and allow it to boil.



This is my usual set up for efficient wrapping.



Resting the wrapper on your hand then using a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon, scoop meat into the center of the dumpling wrapper.



Should look something like this... and dip your fingers into the flour mix and generously moist halfway around the wrapper.



Now, carefully fold it over. You can choose to leave it like this but make sure to press it together tightly with your fingers and push out the air from inside the dumpling.



Or if you would like to pleat it then you can make little pleats - just make sure your fingers are slightly moist if not the pleats won't stick or hold.



When the water is rolling boiling - then throw them in to cook. Don't overcrowd them in the pot! Once they're floating they should be done and ready to eat. You don't want to overcook these because then the wrappers would be soggy and not delicious. You don't want that to happen.



How pretty!



Dip them into your soy sauce dip mix.



ENJOY!



These guys also freeze well so if you decide not to cook them all at once then take out a large ziplock bag, throw in some flour then throw in the dumplings. Shake the bag around to make sure the dumplings are well-coated (this helps protect them from sticking to one another when you freeze them) - throw in the freezer!


Of course, Happy Halloween!

'Tis The Season For Turkey Chili!

So, it's getting pretty darn cold in Boston. We're almost into November thus it's the perfect time to make turkey chili. Plus, the last time I made this was for my friend's super bowl party last year. Chili is just so fun to make and you just can't go wrong with the spices either. In this pot, I added bay leaves, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, and 1/2 tsp marjoram. You can feel free to play with other spices as well - trust me, it will be pretty hard to screw up chili.


I had to pick some stuff at Trader Joe's... did you know that you can return anything at Trader Joe's as long as it was not what you expected or simply, you just don't like it. The other ingredients I had at home. I used black beans in this recipe instead of kidney beans but feel free to use either or both. Make sure you rinse your beans.



Some carrots, onions, and [insert name] peppers



In a large pot, add about 1 T of canola oil and 1 tsp of sugar then turn to low-medium heat. Once it is nice and hot, add your diced onions to the pot. I hope this photo is self explanatory as to the easiest method of dicing onions.



Stir well and allow to brown.



Then add about 3/4 lb of ground turkey, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and peppercorns. Stir well and allow meat to brown.



Then add 6 ounces of tomato paste (the entire can). Combine.



Add your turkey broth. Feel free to use chicken, beef or vegetable broth depending on your preference.



Add the green chile...



Throw in the rinsed black beans.



Now throw in the bay leaves, caraway seeds, and marjoram.



Chop up some carrots. I halved mine first then sliced them.



Chop up some celery.



Quarter your cherry tomatoes. Stir well and cook cover on low heat for the next few hours. Your apartment should start to smell quite heavenly. Enjoy!



Turkey Chili! It's so hearty and healthy. :)

Post 390

After spending 5 nights in DC for the EJW conference, I wanted nothing more than to come home, sleep in my own bed, and eat a home cooked meal. I did also had an amazing time at the conference and met many awesome folks who are all working for the cause. :)

I was very disappointed when I could not find any late night taco places after downing a few black & tans at Elephant and Castle... even though I did find one very delicious place the next day, El Charrito Caminante, in Arlington. I went w/ the goat and beef tongue tacos - uber yummie. In any case, food in DC is pretty legit.

But life resumes and I find myself at Post 390 with some of the most awesome women I know. It's also only 2 blocks away from the apartment thus making it the perfect place for drinks and comfort food w/ the ladies. We learned that it's called Post 390 b/c it used to be a post office and the # of the building was 390. I just love the ambiance - so vibrant!





I also love women who can eat. We had to share the four cheese mac & cheese... which was oozing w/ cheese - the large shells were perfect to trap in all that cheesy deliciousness + the light buttery crumbs on top was just right. (this photo was taken after one of us was too impatient to wait for the photo op before serving herself...)



We also shared a healthy order of fried calamari (not pictured) and ipswich clams. The breading was just right.



And it's moments like this that I am glad that I'm a substantial Asian girl... the prime rib special w/ scalloped potatoes. What more does a girl need aside from her meat and potatoes?!



Then when all was said and done, we stopped by Bar Lola, which is right next to where I live. The crowd was loud and rowdy so we decided to take our pitcher of Red Sangria upstairs to my apartment instead. I have to now find a way to return everything and explain...