Day of the Dumpling

Green Beans with Wild Mushrooms

Didn't have wild mushrooms, so we used "tame" mushrooms.

Fresh green beans

Green Beans with Wild Mushrooms Recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/green-beans-with-wild-mushrooms-recipe/index.html

Stir Fry Spinach with Garlic

Baby Spinach

Stir-fry Spinach with Garlic

Stir-fry Spinach with Garlic Recipe

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetablesrecipes/r/spinach-garlic.htm

Napa Cabbage and Pork Steamed Dumplings

Napa Cabbage

Dumpling production

Voila...a dumpling

Steaming Dumplings

Dumpling Recipes

http://chinesedumplingrecipes.com/napa-cabbage-and-pork-steamed-dumplings.html

http://chinesedumplingrecipes.com/beef-potstickers-a-chinese-fried-dumpling-recipe.html

http://chinesedumplingrecipes.com/how-to-make-chinese-dumpling-wrappers.html

http://www.asiandumplingtips.com/ tips on how to make dumplings

http://www.kingofchinesedumpling.com/english/index.htm traditions of the dumpling

The dumplings were delicious, Peggy gets 5 stars ***** for the recipe selection and dumpling production. After steaming a batch of dumplings, we used the pot-sticker technique and fried, then steamed the second batch - even better! 

Peggy made the wrappers, which was quite a process, so she will try the store-bought wrappers tomorrow with the left-over filling - stay tuned for the report on these. Rolling the home-made wrappers thin enough to avoid chewiness was a challenge, nevertheless, they were good enough for me to consume at least a dozen.

The green beans with wild mushrooms were good, but we agreed not as good as the green bean recipe we made previously. I chose it because I wanted to try a dish with the oyster sauce I purchased for our last Chinese Cooking Lab. I found it not to be as flavorful as expected - maybe because the mushrooms we used weren't "wild."

The simple stir-fry spinach with garlic was a keeper. I will certainly make that again. My secret ingredient was chile oil (instead of paste) because that is what we had and LOTS of fresh garlic - how could we go wrong?

We did revisit our practitioner manuscripts on the art of calligraphy and Terra Cotta Warriors. We organized, delegated and set deadlines. 

Time to write... Chinese proverb: "Talk Doesn't Cook Rice."