New experiment: Eel dumplings!

Greetings, foodies! Ok, so I've been wanting to make dumplings again but was yearning for something other than shrimp or tofu. As much as I love veggies and napa cabbage, I wanted something more substantial for a base filler. I've tried eggplant before and wasn't really a fan of it for dumplings. Zucchini has a lot of water content so that wouldn't be quite right. So, I went to the Asian grocery store and picked up some frozen eel! I love eel at Japanese restaurants and was curious to try working with it. Most eel recipes I came across involve frying, grilling, or broiling, but I figured if I just diced it small enough it couldn't be much different from other fish/meat in terms of cooking time.

Whew, let me say... Working with eel was an interesting experience! The package I got consisted of 2 eels in individually vacuum-sealed bags. I took one out to thaw and as soon as it started softening I must admit I was a bit creeped out. It's been years since I've worked with anything other than shrimp as far as animals go so it was quite a stretch!

The eel, luckily already gutted and ribbed, still had its skin and backbone. After uncurling, it was like handling a slimy snake. I kept it in the sink to rinse the goop off and then transferred the eerie sea serpent to my cutting board. I stood there for a minute and wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into! I took a deep breath and began to chop the head off, but had to switch knives because the backbone was stronger than I had anticipated...

Next, I attempted to skin the sucker. I first tried using a paring knife to pull it away, but it was so slippery and wouldn't catch. I was able to make a slice from underneath and used my fingers to separate the skin from the meat. Took a bit of struggling, but the skin did come off in one clean piece!

Ok, now what?! I cut the meat off around the backbone and ran my fingers around each piece to make sure there were no stowaway bones. I was pleased that there was no odor during this entire process, and felt more and more comfortable preparing this meal! After getting all the meat I could off, I discarded the backbone, and minced the meat into teeny tiny pieces.

I've learned that the best part of eating eel is the sauce. Basic eel sauce calls for equal parts soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine). I forgot to pick some up and I didn't have any sherry, so I used Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise (a sweet French fortified wine). Probably a HUGE faux pas, but c'est la vie, it's called experimenting for a reason!! I also added a bit of sesame oil. I marinated the meat in this sauce for about an hour and then prepared the other ingredients for the dumpling filling:

A couple slices of fresh ginger root (minced)

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1 chili pepper (minced)

1 scallion (chopped)

Green tops of baby bok choy (chopped) [I sliced and saved the white stems for stir frying!]

After marinating the eel for an hour, I added the eel and sauce to the veggie filling and put back in the fridge for another hour for the flavors to marry together.

Finally, the dumpling process!! I think dumplings are great and they're pretty easy to make; however, they are a bit time consuming and can take some finessing to assemble correctly and effectively. My Chinese g-ma taught me how to assemble/fold them when I was younger and I absolutely love making them. It's especially fun to have some friends over to sit around the kitchen table and help make them :) So, I FINALLY made another video demonstrating the process!:




I encourage you to make these with shrimp, chicken, pork, tofu, veggies, beans, sprouts, nuts, whatever ya got! Fruit fillings would be good for yummy dessert wontons :) Try with different veggies and sauces and just have fun!

Once assembled, arrange these on parchment paper on a plate or cookie tray that will fit in your freezer. Make sure the dumplings are not touching each other. Once you have filled a plate/tray, put them in the freezer until they have hardened. Then transfer them into a ziplock bag and BAM you have your own homemade frozen dumplings!! Sorry, Trader Joe's, I love you and you have wonderful frozen dumplings, but homemade is always better ;)
NOTE: If you put them all in a bag without freezing them first, they will all stick together and your beautiful folding will have been for a complete waste! So plan ahead and be patient, good things come to those who wait :)

Dumplings can either be steamed, fried, or added to a soup, and no need to thaw first. I prefer steaming dumplings because it's quick, easy, and much healthier than frying. I use a bamboo steamer over my wok with about an inch of boiling water. A metal basket steamer would also suffice. Or even a microwave, although the texture will be different. 

I really hope someone out there in internets-land comes across this blog/video and makes some dumplings!! Please comment and keep me posted on your experience if you do! Happy eating, my lovelies :-D

Hello, 2012!

Hi foodies! Apologies for the negligence. I keep making all these things but I wanna perfect them before making videos!! But then again, maybe learning along with me would be just as valuable? We'll see, I'll try to be better and make more videos :)

For lunch today I made Chinese style green beans.

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic (minced)

Large bunch of fresh green beans, rinsed and tips broken off (I like to leave the cute end, but I break off the nub)

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

2 Tbsp tamari / soy sauce / Bragg's
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp chili oil
1/4 cup water

Heat sesame oil and garlic in wok until garlic gets golden, make sure it doesn't burn! Add green beans and stir so that they are coated with the oil and garlic. While the beans are softening, mix the oyster sauce, tamari, honey, and chili oil together in a small bowl. Add some water to the beans to trigger steaming. After a few minutes, add the sauce and continue cooking until the beans are softened but still have a bit of a crunch. If it's too watery, just turn the heat up and constantly stir so that the water can evaporate but you won't burn anything. These are delicious and very easy to make! I thought I would have leftovers but they were just too good!!


I received a handy-dandy ice cream / sorbet maker for Christmas to make my own sorbets and dairy-free ice creams!! I couldn't wait to try this out, and the first batch was Alton Brown's Good Eats orange sherbet!

I used soymilk instead of whole milk and it tastes like orange creamsicle!!! Mmmmmmmmm.
However, the very first thing I noticed is that this is extremely sweet, and my tongue swelled a bit and feels a little funny. However, my body has grown accustomed to honey and fruit as sweeteners so it could just be my tastebuds. It could also be from all the citrus. Shrug! The next batch I attempt will be with honey, hope it works out! I'll let you know how it goes :)

Happy 2012!! :-D