Culinary Adventures

Cravings...they suck on so many levels. It's almost always something you don't have and require getting out of comfy clothes and "peopling". Ugh.

I was minding my own business, cruising through my Pinterest feed. (If you don't have Pinterest, just don't...it's a chronic time wasters, almost as bad as TikTok.) Anyhow, I digress. I'm scrolling through make-up tutorials, knitting patterns, cute animals and exotic travel locales, when I scroll to a post about gyoza. Yes, those delicious Japanese dumplings, with a tangy dipping sauce that is always so satisfying.  

Happy little dumplings just waiting for the fry pan

I'd already scoured the stores for pre-made gyoza, something we used to buy in Vancouver with some regularity and that I was excited to have available again. Alas, nothing. There's a few pot stickers and various dumplings, but no gyoza, specifically. Then comes that little post and it planted the craving in my little pea brain. A few days pass and I'm still thinking about them and I do a quick search to find a recipe. The ingredients are pretty basic and I decide to make some. Why not a restaurant? Peopling and budget. As I still don't have a rolling pin, I decided to try and buy pre-made dumpling wrappers. (Aka: skins, as I've discovered.) The two big grocery stores had nothing, nor did our beautiful little local grocer. Long story short, I found some skins at a Korean specialty store. (Phew...didn't want to make my own on my first go.)

Browning two sides with a steam in between

They really aren't that tricky, except the folding. There are tons of videos showing various techniques, but it is a learning process. (It also helps if you wrappers aren't too dry.)
 

The final result

Anyhow, I pulled it off and they were delicious - even if I do say so, myself. Not every dumpling was perfectly folded. In truth, many looked like Franken-dumplings, but they tasted good. (Yay!) It was worth it and now I'm excited to try more types of dumplings like Korean steamed veggie dumplings and maybe a quick foray into some dim sum. Perhaps it's the lunar new year, but last night I made Vietnamese salad rolls with peanut dipping sauce. Gung hai (hay) fat choi!