After a few months of staring at each other, going to bed at 8:30, spending too much money at bars, actually going to the gym, whittling our own furniture, and (gasp!) reading, John and I broke down and ordered basic cable from Comcast. Trust me, if Rabbit Ears still worked for the TV, we'd use them. You know how they said that the over-75 set was throwing a fit at the digital switch? Well... let's just say we weren't too happy about it either.
So, when you only have 13 channels in English (I won't count Telemundo unless I go out and get some Berlitz Tapes, but I do love me some Rai every one and a while since I can actually understand it) PBS becomes more of a choice thing to watch. Ming Tsai the friggin' genius owner of Blue Ginger (The. Best. Restaurant. Ever. GO THERE!) has a show on PBS called Simply Ming, where he cooks with a guest and serves up some delish East Meets West cuisine. A few episodes ago he had the most important guest of all -- his mom -- and they made some amazing looking shaomai and other Asian dumplings.
In an East Meets West moment, John and I cooked up some Italian sausage-stuffed dumplings for some guests that came over this weekend. Here's how:
4 Hot Italian sausages (take casing off)
Red Pepper (1/2)
Taiwan cabbage (1 head)
Carrots (1 medium)
Scallions (1 bunch - white part only)
Celery (1-2 stalks)
Ginger (fresh, 2 tbsp. diced)
3 Cloves garlic (diced)
Chicken stock (1/4 cup)
Soy sauce (1/4 cup)
Sesame oil (drizzle)
Dipping Sauce
Soy sauce (1/2 cup)
Rice wine vinegar (1/2 cup)
Sesame oil (drizzle)
Sriracha sauce (a few drops depending on how much you like spice)
Cook the sausage first and drain it (break it up into little pieces). Then add the vegetables (sliced and diced into very small pieces) and sauces and cook it down until everything's soft.
The hard part is stuffing these things - it takes forever. Of course, I did this part. If you have a round Won Ton wrapper, dip your finger in a bowl of water and trace the edge of the dumpling with your finger so it creates an adhesive. Put the stuffing in the middle (not too much) and fold in half. Then stick the two ends together if you're feeling saucy. We steamed these dumplings in a bamboo steamer, but you can pan-fry them as well in a little oil.
Speaking of sauce, in a small bowl mix the ingredients for the dipping sauce. It's the best part!
These things disappeared faster than a Masshole when he hits your parked car (No, that's never happened to me.)
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
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