Health & Family Home made dumplings

Finally get to eat some! I was told I need to cook the ( 不好看) 'ugly' ones first...

The sauce mix is: soya sauce, balsamic vinegar and some garlic flavoured chilli sauce. Dip the dumplings in and enjoy. Adds quite a punch to the flavour really.

 

@Leo2413 I think you used the skin for wonton (square) rather than dumplings (round). Anyway, they are equally delicious, it just the wonton skin is usually thinner.

I was teaching my partner to make dumplings but the result is less than ideal so I got him the dumpling makers from Daiso, 2.8 bucks, can't go wrong!

 

Ha lookin good! Yes you're right I am using the square ones because its hard for me to find the right ones that are also 'kosher', but that's another story. That dumpling maker you have in your hand, we have the exact one but I found it kinda tricky to use... I also like pinching the edges.. something cathartic about it. Great to see your partner getting involved. I also noticed you're making the dough...very cool. I wish I had the patience...

 

It seems you know more about dumplings than tiling.

We love dumplings too. Haven’t made any for awhile. The wife said the other day we must spend a day making heaps then freezing most of them.

We usually favour vegitarian dumplings but eat meat ones also.

Both of us love tofu especially silkin tofu whether soft, medium, Hard. But also love tofu in all its variations including bean curd skins, puffed tofu.

In fact we love Asian food in general but probably more so the Chinese influenced. Neither of us have ever been able to develop a taste for fish sauce and shrimp paste. We’re looking to get a vegetarian fish sauce that many rave about. Wife knows the name of it, I can’t remember. That said we do love all the Thai herbs and spices and grow a number of these at home such as Vietnamese mint, other mints, Thai / holy and various basil, kafiir lime and lime tree etc. Also grow ginger, turmeric, galangal, shallots, chilies, a variety of Asian greens along with heaps of other veges.

I’ve been experimenting with Chinese tofu, dried mushroom, vege and noodle soup recipes lately. Starting to look more like Buddha’s Delite with so much stuff in it. But the broth base would be fantastic with the right dumplings.

 

I enjoy watching these two young Chinese sisters from New Zealand. They’re so funny at times. Love the New Zealand accent. We used their method for shaping the dumplings. We just purchased the skins rather than make them from scratch. I’m pretty useless but even I could make nice shaped dumplings following their method. I’ve also got their recipe book.

 

hmm I might try some experimentation now.. You've given me some good ideas there. Any Asian background mate?

 

My wife loves to say "cheep es cherps" in the accent

 

He he, no. Tall and white with English heritage. But when I worked in IT in Canberra I had a heap of Asian friends. Our large section was called the United Nations as it had so many different nationalities working in it but most with Asian backgrounds. Anglo saxons like myself were in the minority.

I found many Asian women loved complements about their food. Some used to bring me in leftovers because I raved about their home cooked food so much. And it was a genuine compliment. Funny thing was a Cambodian women I was friends with made spaghetti bolagnese once but it still tasted like a chinese noodle dish.

Regardless I’ve always loved Chinese food in particular.

Important Tip for Super Tender Meat like in Chinese Restuarants:
You might be aware but for meat eaters the secret to getting the silky, tender beef / pork / lamb / chicken like in Chinese restaurants is the addition of a small amount of baking soda if cooking at home. It breaks down the connective tissue in the meat and is especially good for cheap cuts. Following that the usual marination in soy, rice wine etc and importantly cornstarch for that silky texture. I do this for stir fries, the meat near melts in your mouth it’s so tender.

Note in the dumpling video I posted earlier the Dumpling Sisters also add a little bicarb to tenderise the pork mince.

In many Chinese restaurants they buy cheap cuts of meat, soak them in trays of water and bicarb overnight then rinse it off ready to cook. Diners then think they’re eating a much more expensive super tender cut of meat.

A really bad Chinese restaurant often overdoes the bicarb with very cheap cuts of meat. The meat is just like mush, flavourless and you can’t tell the difference between beef, pork or lamb.

 

Was down the coast the other day and able to buy fresh rice noodles for adding to home cooked dishes. So much nicer than rehydrated rice noodles.

Also stocked up on dried bean curd skins. They’re amazing. Just rehydrate to add to soups, stir fries and Thai style curries. Plus usually grab a variety of dried mushrooms and fungi. Dried shiitakes so cheap from Asian grocery stores. Bloody expensive to buy fresh in Australia.

And of course a few more bottles of Sriracha Chile Garlic sauce.

I just asked my wife about the Vegan Fish Sauce that seems to get great reviews. Here’s the link:

RED LOTUS VEGAN FISH SAUCE

 

It is used in Australia but not as widely as in the US.

 

haha.. I see what you did there
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A lot of meat info for a vego here but you seem to know your meats and processes like a pro! the animals should run when they see you coming...

 

Hey thanks for that recommendation . we'll definitely try it! Fresh rice noodles is always king. I love the really flat one's. We make a dish called 'chee cheong fun' pic below

 

Completely off topic but just had the most unexpected conversation with Brisbane City Council. Long story short I had to finish some minor works for a site and then report back to council. So I rang them to see if they were happy with it. They said yes. I asked so is there anything else we need to do with it. He replied, "don't ask so I won't look" , and laughed. Made my bloody day. I think I need to eat more dumplings now.

 

Meaning....?

 

The noodles look fantastic. As for the video I would much prefer bean curd with the noodles rather than fish cake / balls.

Rice noodles can be made at home without too much effort. I haven’t tried it yet.

I love the Chinese-Malay influenced dishes.

Canberra had some wonderful Chinese restaurants. Timmy’s Kitchen and Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty did an amazing vegetarian San Choy Bow. Timmy’s did the best Sizzling Bean Curd I’ve ever tasted.

 

Yeah, sorry. That was meant for others who read the thread that eat meat.

 

All good. For me its not a cruelty thing. Just don't like the taste

 

I think it is interesting that in western culture, any Chinese dish that is a thin dough wrapped around filling is called dumplings. However, in Chinese it is specific to the point it is ridiculous. For example, the same type of dumpling that use a square skin, if boiled in water it is called "wonton", but if it is cooked with chili sauce it is called "Chaoshou", if the skin is made with pork meat it is called "rouyan" so it is all different.
In the same way, in English language, an "uncle" can mean mom/dad's older/younger brother or brother-in-law, so it is a very broad term. But in Chinese, there is a specific term for each type.
For example, "eryifu" means "my mother's second oldest sister's husband."