Get Youth in the Kitchen

Usually, when I write a post, it's a basic, quick and easy recipe. It is not my intention to give you overcomplicated recipes that take all afternoon and all your pots and pans to cook. And, yes, I do believe there is a time and place for those recipes.

I also develop recipes for our local foods program. Those recipes also follow the same basic, quick, and easy method.

This year something extra exciting has happened. The interest in youth and cooking has grown exponentially. My Facebook posting on youth and food, received over 150 hits, more than any other posting. I thought 'I am on to something here'. More and more people are realizing the value of teaching children to cook. Learning to cook is a life skill. It builds confidence. Just watch a child smile when you tell them how good their dish tastes. Learning to cook builds reading and math skills.

Even very young children can perform tasks in the kitchen. Check out this reference from Clemson University on age appropriate food preparation tasks for children.

This is a recipe from our latest local foods brochure.  It is for orange and honey roasted carrots. You can use baby or regular carrots. If using regular carrots, your child may need help with peeling and cutting.

Orange and Honey Roasted Carrots

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1½ pounds carrots
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 orange, zest and juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 to 2 Tablespoons honey

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash and peel carrots. Slice diagonally into about 1-inch pieces.
3. Arrange carrots in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Coat with olive oil.
4. Remove about 1 teaspoon of zest from the orange. Cut orange in half and remove the juice. Combine zest, juice, salt and pepper. Pour over carrots. Stir to combine. Cover tightly with foil.
5. Roast until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.
6. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 450°F.
7. Roast, uncovered until carrots are tender and browned in spots, about 10 minutes longer.
8. Drizzle honey over carrots. Stir to coat the carrots.

Note: Citrus zest may be slightly bitter. If desired, the zest can be omitted.

I too Sing America

I thought about this post a little before the 4th of July and around the time of the murders in South Carolina. At that time writing about food seemed trivial. After all, what did I have to say? What could I contribute?

What I really wanted was to go to bed and cry. But if there was any chance that I could help, I needed to pull everything together and go back into the world.

I am a daughter of sharecroppers and descendant of slaves. That does not make me special, but it does mean that I may not see the world as others. We are apart of the fabric of this country. Our blood has spilled to protect it.

As a nation, we seem to have lost our ability to sit together and discuss our commonalities and our differences. We don't always need to agree, but we do need to listen and respect different viewpoints.

This week, I am offering a recipe and a seat at the table of brotherhood. For as Langston Hughes, wrote, I, too Sing America.

This is a recipe for Crunchy Roast Chickpeas with Za'atar.

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern flavoring blend consisting of dried thyme, marjoram or oregano, sumac and toasted sesame seeds. One of my students told me that typically, bread is dipped in olive oil and then in za'atar. Similarly to the way Italians dip bread. She also told me that everyone makes za'atar differently and the good stuff is made at home. Since I have no idea how za'atar is supposed to taste, I headed to my local Middle Eastern store and purchased some.

Crunchy Roast Chickpeas with Za'atar

Ingredients:

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon za'atar

Directions:

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Spread on paper towels to dry. This should take about an hour or so.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chickpeas on a rimmed baking sheet. (Note - I used my cast iron skillet and it worked just fine.)

3. Bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Coat with olive oil. Sprinkle za'atar over chickpeas. Place in a serving dish and eat as an appetizer.

4. Chickpeas should be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.


I liked za'atar, although I did find it to be a rather mild seasoning. I think next time, I will try it on peanuts. You can take the girl out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the girl.

This recipe is from the blog, "Rose Water & Orange Blossoms" by Maureen Abood. It is a wonderful site. Please check it out.

Traveling South

This summer I had the pleasure of 'traveling south'. As you know, all 'northerners' love to go to the south. Funny, southerners only travel north for a funeral, but that's a blog for a different time.



Mayfield Dairy Cow, the Welcome Sign for Ruby Falls, Chattanooga, TN

My first stop was Huntsville, AL. My friends and I went to dinner at Posey's Restaurant. The food was good and brought back great memories for a displaced southerner, fried chicken, fried fish, pinto beans, and cornbread sans sugar. You get the picture.

Blount Museum in Knoxville, TN

 

The main draw of Posey's seems to be the buffet. On one of my many visits to the buffet, I noticed an older gentlemen crumbling cornbread onto a plate. Onto which he then poured likker from the pinto beans. He ended up with a few beans, not too many, he was aiming for the likker. He told us that as a child, he would put extra water in the beans, just to make sure there was enough likker for his cornbread.

Nutritionist talk about legumes and grains forming complete proteins. That is, they contain all the essential amino acids in the right proportion to substitute for meat. I am sure this gentlemen knew none of that, but he knew beans and cornbread is a 'darn good' combination. And sometimes, that's all that matters.

Since I also stopped by the Lodge Factory Outlet Store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, I thought writing about beans and cornbread would be great. I know it's the middle of summer, but I still like beans and cornbread. And besides I break in my new Lodge skillet.


Blount Museum in Knoxville, TN

  

As I began to think more about this posting, I started to wonder how beans and cornbread came to be. So I googled it. Turns out, there are tons of hits for beans and cornbread. Guess I am not the only one eating them.

Here is my recipe for beans and cornbread. I kept them both simple and original. That is, I am using pork fat.

Pinto Beans

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry pinto beans
2 slices bacon or about 4 ounces smoked meat, pork or turkey
1 hot pepper pod or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Sort beans to remove any rocks and partial beans. Rinse beans in cold water. Place beans in container cover with water to about 2 inches above the beans. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Drain beans and rinse. Add beans to a large pot. Cover with water to about 2 to 3 inches above the beans. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours until beans are tender. Add more water if necessary.

Cornbread

Ingredients:

¼ cup bacon fat

1 cup yellow corn meal

½ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup milk

1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place bacon fat in skillet and heat, either on the stove top or in the oven.

2. Combine corn meal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and eggs.

3. Add wet ingredients the corn meal mixture. Stir to combine.

4.  Pour hot bacon fat into batter and stir gently. Pour batter into hot skillet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: The Pioneer Lady

Eggplants and Tomatoes

Summer is almost over and I have not posted anything on eggplants.  Well, you know I just can't let that happen.  After all, eggplants will soon be out of season and I don't feel that you should wait a whole year to eat eggplant.

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables.  Until recently, the globe eggplant was the primary one available in the United States.  Now we have a wider variety, such as, Japanese, Thai and Rosa Bianca.  For more unusual varieties, check out your local farmers market. 

While eggplant Parmesan is an excellent dish, there are numerous ways to use eggplants.  The nice thing about eggplants is that they don't have a lot of flavor, therefore, they are able to blend in with other ingredients, such as tomatoes and zucchini. They can be sautéed and used on pizza, in lasagna, and in sandwiches. Eggplant is a component of the Greek dish, briam and the French dish, ratatouille. 

For this recipe, I went to the blog, Olive and Tomato.  I don't generally recommend many blogs, but this is one I like.  The blogger is Elena Paravantes, a registered dietitian, born in the US, but now residing in Athens, Greece.  Ms. Paravantes blogs on the Greek-Mediterranean diet.   This recipe is adapted from one that I found on her blog.

Tomato Topped Eggplants

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 eggplants
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes, preferably heirloom
½ cup chopped roasted red pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
4 to 6 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:
1.  Slice eggplants crosswise, into ½-inch thick slices (do not peel).  Place eggplants in a colander, salt and allow to sit for about 1 hour.  This will help to reduce the bitterness and collapse plant cells, allowing the eggplant to absorb less oil.

2.  Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until  translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, red pepper, salt, pepper, and sugar.  Cook until most of the moisture has evaporated.  Set aside.

3.  Rinse the eggplant slices and squeeze out the water.  Brush eggplant with olive oil.  At the point, the eggplants can be sauteed or grilled.  Set aside.

 

4.  Place eggplants on a baking sheet.  Top with tomato mixture and feta cheese.  Drizzle with additional olive oil.

5.  Bake in a  350°F oven until heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Note:  The tomatoes and eggplants can be cooked in advance and assembled and baked later.

If you want more ways to use eggplants, check out this information from Cooking Light. 

Your Lucky Little Easter Bunny

In a few days Easter will be arriving.  If your little Easter bunny gets lucky during the hunt and you have way too many hard boiled eggs, this post is for you. 

Scandinavian Flower Eggs with Sweet-Tart Mustard Dill Sauce - I first heard about this recipe from the public radio show, The Splendid Table.  I thought it sounded interesting and maybe I could work it into an Easter blog.  I liked the recipe because I saw it as a slightly different take on deviled eggs.  Someone else stated that it's a potato salad with lettuce.  My foodie colleague stated that this would be good with salmon. (We are a nutrition department and lately we've been hooked on salmon.) Since I agreed with her, I also added salmon.

I also decided to put mine together differently than the original recipe.  First, I grilled the salmon and brushed it with the sauce during the final few minutes of cooking.  I also cut the potatoes in quarters and coated with the sauce.

Scandinavian Flower Eggs with Sweet-Tart Mustard Dill Sauce

Serves 4 to 5.

Ingredients:

Dill Mustard Sauce:
(Makes about 1½ cups)


1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tablespoons minced onion

¼ cup white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup coarse grain mustard
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
⅓ to ½ cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper, to taste

Salad:
1 pound salmon fillet
8 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into 4 wedges each
1 pound small red-skinned potatoes
4 to 6 cups red leaf lettuce
Directions:


Dill Mustard Sauce
In a medium bowl, blend together the garlic, onion and vinegar.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine, sugar, olive oil, mustard, mayonnaise, and dill.  Slowly add in vinegar mixture.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. 


Salad
1.  Coat salmon with olive oil. Grill or broil until fish flakes with a fork.  Brush with sauce during the final minutes of cooking.  Set aside.
2.  Cook eggs, peel and quarter.
3.  Cook potatoes.  When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into quarters.  Coat warm potatoes with about ¼ cup of mustard sauce.  Set aside.


Assembling the Salad
1.  Place lettuce down the center of a large platter.  Place salmon and potatoes on platter.  Depending on the size of your platter, eggs may need to be placed on other ingredients.
2.  Drizzle with mustard sauce and serve.

Carrots and Lemon-Lime Soda – Together?

My chef colleague gave me the idea of cooking carrots in lemon-lime soda several years ago.  My first thought was, ugh, what?  Needless to say, I was somewhat dazed by the idea.  But then I thought, if you can make a cake with coke or barbeque sauce with soda, why not cook carrots in soda.  A soda is basically flavored water and sugar. 

After getting over my initial shock, I decided to give it a try.  Making foods with soda dates back to the depression era when sugar was rationed.  The ever clever American cooks decided to use soda instead of sugar.  I decided the idea of carrots cooked in soda was an interesting idea.  I thought it was worth a try.  You’ve got sugar and flavor.  Off to the kitchen I went to test out this bright new idea.

If you are totally intrigued, here is my recipe.

Lemon-Lime Carrots

Serves 3 to 4.

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots

Lemon-lime soda, about ¾ cup

1 Tablespoon butter, optional

Directions:

1.      Wash and peel carrots.  Cut into ¼’ slices. 

2.     Place carrots in a small saucepan.  Add enough soda to cover carrots.  Cover with lid and bring to a simmer.  Cook until carrots are tender.  Drain.  If desired, add butter.  Stir until melted and serve.

I thought the carrots turned out nicely.  I would make them again if I wanted to try something with a little different twist.

A Food You Should Eat! (And Probably Don’t)

Ok, the title caught my attention.  I was excited.  A chance to eat!  This must be heaven!

So what should I eat and probably don’t.  Sardines.  That was enough to knock the wind out of my sails.  Somebody popped my balloon.  Needless to say, I only occasionally eat sardines.  I don’t really have great memories of sardines.  While I was growing up, only poor people ate them.  They were often packed for lunch.  One can was just enough for one person.  They were easily portable. 

They were the perfect food, except.  When you ate them, everyone within a one mile radius knew what you were eating.  There is no hiding when eating sardines.  As an adult, I was happy to make enough money not to have to eat the smelly little fish.  Now that I make enough money sardines are in vogue.  Not only is it acceptable to eat them, they are good for you and the environment.  Nutritionally, sardines are a powerhouse.  They are one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids.  One (3 ounce) can has about 1,950mg of omega-3 fatty acids, more than salmon.  They are an excellent source of vitamin D.  And sardines are available in a wide price range, from about 99 cents up to 3 or 4 dollars per can.  In addition to the oil packed types, they are available in mustard, hot sauce, Mediterranean with capers.

Sardines are small fish, making them low on the food chain.  For more on sardines and other environmentally friendly seafood, check out this article from the magazine, Eating Well magazine(http://bit.ly/n9HWUe).

If you want to try sardines, here are a couple of recipes for you.

Greek Salad with Sardines - http://bit.ly/qJU509

Tomato Toast with Sardines and Mint - http://bit.ly/qFgfgD

As for me, I am sticking with that old time favorite, sardines and saltine crackers.  Why mess with a classic?

For those of you truly interested in being green, check out what to do with your sardine can. (http://instagr.am/p/MnaNY/)  Now if someone can tell me what to do with old Christmas cards.

Heirloom Tomatoes - What's Old Is New Again

While taking a stroll through my local farmers market, I discovered a wide array of tomatoes.  Some are red and round, red and oblong.  There yellow, orange, green and purple tomatoes.  Through visiting the farmers markets, I have discovered a whole other world of tomatoes. 

These “new” tomatoes have been around for quite some time.  It’s just that many heirloom tomatoes are not necessarily good for shipping.  Therefore, they don’t show up at your local supermarket.  However, local farmers grow for flavor and taste.  Long distance shipping is not a major concern for them.  This frees up farmers to grow what they like and most importantly, what we like. 

Local farmers are more likely to grow what is referred to as heirloom varieties.  An heirloom variety is generally a variety that has been passed down, through several generations of a family.  Many heirloom varieties are pre-Columbian and some are pre-European.  Some heirloom varieties can be traced back to Africa and Asia.  Heirloom vegetables come in a myriad of shapes, flavors, textures that are so different from commercial varieties seen in large grocery stores. 

This tomato salad recipe is a perfect place to show off heirloom vegetables.  If you like, capers, olives and a cheese, such as goat, or blue can also be added.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

6 ½-inch thick slices crusty bread

1½ Tablespoons red-wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
3 pounds mixed tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces

Directions:

1.    Slice and toast the bread.

2.      Whisk together vinegar, salt, mustard, and pepper.  Add oil in a slow steady stream, whisking until dressing is emulsified. 

3.     Add onion and tomatoes.  Toss gently to coat.  Season with salt and pepper. Place bread on plate.  Top with tomatoes and serve.

Celebrating Ramadan

Members of the Muslim faith are currently observing Ramadan.  So this month, I decided to blog on Ramadan.  No, I am not Muslim and do not profess to be well versed in the culture.  I do, however, believe that we all have an obligation to at least attempt to understand the culture of others.  As I began to research for this posting, I found a lot of interesting information on Ramadan.   So, it is in that vein that I am writing this blog.

Ramadan is celebrated during the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar and lasts for 29 or 30 days.  The dates for Ramadan vary each year, moving backwards by about eleven days per year, thus in 34 years; Muslims will have fasted every day of the calendar year. Muslims believe that Ramadan is the month in which the first verse of the Qur’an was revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.

It is a time of spiritual reflection and worship.  Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds.   During fasting, intercourse is prohibited as well as eating and drinking, and resistance of all temptations is encouraged.  Purity of both thought and action is important.  The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm.  It also teaches Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity.

Ramadan is also a time when Muslims are to slow down from worldly affairs and focus on self-reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment; this is to establish a link between themselves and God through prayer, supplication, charity, good deeds, kindness and helping others.  Since it is a festival of giving and sharing, Muslims prepare special foods and buy gifts for their family and friends and for giving to the poor and needy.  There is also a social aspect involving the preparation of special foods and inviting people for iftar, the fast-breaking meal.  Iftar begins with the eating of three dates.  After eating dates, it is prayer time and finally the celebratory meal.

While you may not be celebrating Ramadan, if you are like me, you probably need to slow down – and breathe.  So please, prepare a meal, invite a few friends over and maybe bake this pie. 

New Fashioned Bean Pie

Ingredients:

2 cans (15 ounces, each) white beans, such as,

   Great Northern Beans, Navy or Cannellini
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Drain and rinse beans. 
3. In a blender or food processor, blend beans and the remaining ingredients.  Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a pie crust.
4. Bake at 375°F for 1 hour or until the center is slightly soft. 

Note:  If this pie is made in a purchased deep dish pie crust, you will have a little filling left over. 

How to Make Your Colleagues Happy!

In 1984, President Ronald Regan declared July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day.  So use this month to eat as much of the good stuff as possible. 

Before you scream about the amount of calories in ice cream, remember, you only have one month to eat as much of the stuff as you can.  Also one of my dietitian friends told me that if I ate 1½ cups of ice cream, I would have the same amount of calcium that is in one cup of milk.  Now, mind you, she did not suggest that eat 1½ cups of ice cream. 

Can you guess the five most popular flavors of ice cream?  They are, in order, vanilla, chocolate, Neapolitan, strawberry and cookies n’ cream.  About ¼ of all ice cream sold is vanilla. 

Old Fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream

Makes 2 quarts.

Ingredients:

1⅓ cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
2 eggs
4 ounces dark chocolate
1 can (5 ounce) evaporated milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla




Directions:

1.     In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Stir in whole milk.  Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to simmer. 

2.     In a small bowl, beat eggs.  Gradually stir about 1 cup hot milk mixture into beaten eggs.  Stir egg mixture into remaining hot milk mixture.  Cook and stir over low heat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

3.     Finely chop the chocolate.  Stir into hot mixture.  When chocolate has completely melted, strain mixture into large container.  Add evaporated milk, whipping cream and vanilla.

4.     Refrigerate mixture for several hours or overnight. 

5.     Pour mixture into ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

Ice Cream Fun Facts

Americans consume an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country.

In 2003, residents of Portland, Oregon purchased more ice cream per person than any other US city. 

Kids between the ages 2 – 12 and adults over 45 consume the most ice cream.

More ice cream is purchased on Sunday than any other day of the week.

It takes about 50 licks to finish a single scoop of ice cream. 

The ice cream cone’s invention is linked to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.  An ice cream vendor reportedly didn’t have enough dishes to keep up with the demand, so he teamed up with a waffle vendor who rolled his waffles into cones.

Around the World in Dumplings

I have long contended that human beings are more alike than they are different. And food is a perfect way to examine our connections. Since starting this blog, I have been trying to decide what I could do each month that would be fun and interesting. And since I teach, maybe a little educational.

I like the idea of exploring the culture of others. Culture should not only be preserved, but shared. We can all grow and learn from each other. The world is becoming more interconnected and all of us need to become global citizens and gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for how the rest of the world lives. Food is one way to explore culture.

I am going to begin this journey with dumplings. Why? Because I like dumplings; they’re cute, homey and comfortable. There are many kinds of dumplings. There are Asian dumplings. The Italians have gnocchi, a potato or ricotta cheese dumpling. The Germans have spaetzle. And finally don’t forget good ole fashioned chicken and dumplings. I will be using this blog to talk about dumplings. On the third Monday of each month, I will present a new dumpling.

All dumplings are some variation of cooked dough. They can be made from flour, potato, or matzoh meal. They can be dropped or rolled (gnocchi) or filled (Asian dumplings). They can be sweet (apple) or savory (chicken and dumplings). They can be a part of a stew or soup, a side dish. They can even be served for dessert.

I am going to start with Chinese dumplings. I have long wanted to learn to make Chinese dumplings. My graduate student, Liz, taught me to make them. Thanks Liz for sharing your culture.

Chinese Dumplings

1 pound lean ground meat (pork, beef, turkey or chicken)
¼ cup finely chopped green onions, with tops
¼ cup shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1Tablespoon white wine
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 Tablespoons sesame oil
Dash white pepper
Skin: 40 won ton wrappers

1. Soak shiitake mushrooms in very hot water for 5 minutes. Then squeeze out the excess moisture and minced mushrooms.
2. In a large bowl, mix mushrooms, meat, green onions, ginger, garlic, wine, cornstarch, pepper, sugar, salt, sesame oil, and the white pepper.

Folding the dumplings:
1. With your finger spread water to wash around the edge of the wrapper. Place a small spoonful of filling in the middle. (Be careful not to put too much; it'll leek out during the folding process.)
2. Pinch the edge of the wrapper and make a fold like you see in Step 2. (If you're a beginner at folding, place the wrapper on a flat surface while you work. Otherwise, keep it in your hand.)
3. Make 2 more identical folds in the same direction, until you end up with 3 folds, as shown in Step 3. 4. Bring the folded side together with the no-folds side, and press to seal. Repeat the process with the remaining won ton wrappers.

Note: Either won ton wrappers or gyoza wrappers can be used to make dumplings.  

Cooking procedures:
1. Heat a wok or nonstick skillet until very hot.
2. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, tilting the wok to coat the sides.
3. Place 12 dumplings in a single layer in the wok and fry 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. 4. Add ½ cup water. Cover and cook 6 to 7 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. 5. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

Chinese Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
3 Tablespoons red wine or rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar or brown sugar, or to taste
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger

Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 hour to give flavors a chance to blend.