blue artichoke

Happy 4705, Year of the Pig! Yesterday was Chinese New Year, so GC and I celebrated by running Chinese fire drills and eating Chinese appetizers for dinner. We had two kinds of dumplings, pork and vegetable, fried tofu, and a year's worth of soy sauce in three dipping sauces. I started assembling the dumplings early in the day. I intended to halve each of the recipes, but got distracted rockin' out to Sam & Dave and only halved the amount of pork in the pork dumplings and left the rest of the ingredients at their original proportion. And they were awesome! I'd do the same thing again next time, with our without Sam & Dave to distract me. I forgot to halve anything in the vegetarian dumplings. I also made up the sauces earlier in the day, hoping I wouldn't be too rushed trying to get dinner ready before The Simpsons started.

When it came time to cook everything, I started by frying the tofu and putting on a pot of water to boil for the dumplings. With half the stove top in use and trays of dumplings on the counter, I ran out of space in my tiny kitchen with inadequate counter space. I had another tray with a cooling rack in it to drain the cooked dumplings (which I had to cook in batches) balancing on top of a dirty skillet on the unused half of the stove. While transferring the last batch of pork dumplings to the precariously balanced draining rack (see where this is going?), the rack slid off of the stove, dumping most of the dumplings onto the floor. Aargh! So much work, sitting there on the floor. I threw away the dumplings that broke or landed directly on the rug or the floor. I picked off the ones that landed on top of other dumplings and threw them back into the pot of boiling water, to rinse them off. I'm not squeamish about eating things off the floor. I don't make a habit of it, but if something drops and the floor seems clean, I'll eat it. I ain't scared; I have an awesome immune system.

So, anyway, I finished cooking the vegetable dumplings and we ate them with the salvaged pork dumplings and fried tofu. And that's how the Year of the Pig started for us.

Pork Dumplings

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007

1 pound ground pork
1 scallion, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped chives
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
Salt and pepper
50 wonton wrappers

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork, scallion, chives, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Brush 1 wonton wrapper with water and place 1 heaping teaspoon filling in the center. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, squeeze out the air and press the edges together to seal, wetting the dough if necessary to make it stick. Pinch together the 2 corners of the folded edge. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add the dumplings and boil until cooked through, about 3 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve with dipping sauces.

MAKES ABOUT FOUR DOZEN.

Vegetable Dumplings

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007.
I forgot to halve this recipe, but it made only two dozen dumplings, not 40.

8 ounces firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and finely chopped
8 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
One-quarter of a head napa cabbage, shredded and finely chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
50 wonton wrappers

1. In a large bowl, combine the tofu, mushrooms, scallions, cabbage, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the vegetable mixture and cook until tender, about 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl and let cool.

3. Brush one wonton wrapper with water and place 1 heaping teaspoon filling in the center. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, squeeze out the air and press the edges together to seal, wetting the dough if necessary to make it stick. Pinch together the two corners of the folded edge. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

4. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add the dumplings and boil until cooked through, about 3 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve with dipping sauces.

MAKES ABOUT FOUR DOZEN.

Salt and Pepper Tofu

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007

1 pound firm tofu, drained
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying

1. Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and season with salt and pepper.

2. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add half the tofu (don't overcrowd the pan) and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 4 minutes. Drain on a paper-towel-lined-plate. Repeat with more oil and the remaining tofu. Serve with dipping sauces.

MAKES THIRTY-TWO PIECES.

Chile-Soy Sauce

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007
This sauce was OK, but the other two are better.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red chili sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Stir together.

Honey-Orange Sauce

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007
This was GC's favorite dipping sauce.

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons chopped orange peel

Stir together and serve.

Scallion-Ginger Sauce

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007
This was my favorite dipping sauce.

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 finely chopped scallion
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

Stir together and serve.

Getting to Know All About You: Would you eat food that had fallen on the floor?