Today, we’d like to share a special recipe we’ve made for years, more than 20, in fact. It’s for shrimp dumplings, the kind that you might find in a Chinese restaurant as an appetizer or part of a Dim Sum buffet.

1 pkg won-ton wrappers
1 pound raw shrimp
2 tbs pork fat (rendered from bacon)
1 tablespoon scallion (white only)
2 tablespoons water chestnuts
1 egg white
1 teaspoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

Shell and clean shrimp, chop finely. Add finely chopped water chestnuts, chopped scallion and bacon fat. Mix in remaining ingredients and chill for about an 1 hour. (Note: most cities have an Asian grocer where you can find these items. The tapioca starch is the tough to find one. You can substitute corn starch if you can’t find the tapioca.)

Put a bit more than 1/2 teaspoon of the filling in each wrapper, dip your finger in water, and moisten the edges of the wrappers.

Bring both corners together and press a bit.

Next, bring in the other two corners, so now all four edges meet. It’s a bit tedious, but after a few, you’ll get the knack. So long as all the edges are sealed, they’ll taste great.

Steam for 15 minutes (note: the shrimp are not cooked first, the steaming will cook it thoroughly). Makes about 25. This is a bamboo Chinese steamer, but you can use a metal one that goes into a pot or make your own by putting a plate on a ring of twisted foil in a large pot. It’s easy to steam.

A real crowd pleaser, these dumplings aren’t tough to make at all, just a bit of preparation you can do earlier in the day or the day before. The mix can sit in the fridge until you are ready to fill the wrappers.

If you are a dumpling fan, and have a recipe you’ve been making, We’d love to hear from you and maybe share your recipe with our readers. Thanks for visiting.

written by admin \\ tags: appetizer, chinese food, dim sum, har gau, shrimp dumpling

And when we say slow, we mean s-l-o-w.

First, let’s talk about barbecue sauces.

There are dozens to choose from, and that’s just counting what’s in our pantry. The great thing is there’s a sauce for everyone’s taste preference, hot, sweet, tangy, whatever you prefer. The ribs we use are babyback, and we usually get a package weighing about 10lbs at Costco. For a gettogether, cook them all, but for a family meal just make what you’ll eat in a few days. If the racks of ribs are long cut in half so you can wrap them and fit in the oven. Cut between the bones, jut enough for the sauce to cover each rib, but not all the way through. Now, get a large piece of heavy duty tin foil, put the ribs down and cover in barbecue sauce. wrap it up tight and put in a pan so if they leak, you won’t set off the smoke detector. Start the oven at 250F, and cook for 1/2 hr. Then drop the temperature to 180F (yes, one hundred eighty degrees F) and cook for a total of 24 hour, more or less. Not a typo, I said twenty four hours. We’ve done this many times and never been disappointed.

The ribs come out with the meat so tender, the bone can jut slip out. When we make these, we wrap up a couple racks in each of two or three different sauces and see which one we like best. That Kraft honey barbecue sauce seems to be taking the lead in this comparison. One fiendly warning; some ovens won’t stay on for 24 hours, ours shuts after 12, so we turn it off and on just before going to bed, and then again when we wake up. Above is have they serve it when I (dad) have eaten BBQ in Austin, TX. Try this and let us know what you think.

written by admin \\ tags: barbecue sauces, BBQ, costco, slow cooked ribs, spare ribs, Texas BBQ

Another recipe in our “cooking for the week” series, for these meatballs we use ground turkey to keep the fat low. It’s often on sale in our local supermarket as a buy one get one free on a 20oz package, thus this recipe has 2-1/2 lbs of meat.

2-1/2 lbs ground turkey
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

First, mix the ingrediants in a large mixing bowl, then form into balls. We use an ice cream scooper to get these consistant.Use a bit of cooking spray then cook on a low flame with the lid on. About 10 minutes on low, then flip over.

Another 10 minutes or so and they are ready.

These meatballs freeze well, and go great in our homemade pasta sauce. Enjoy.

written by admin \\ tags: meatballs, pasta, recipe, sauce

When visiting New York City, there’s one thing you can’t miss, the hot dog vendors. And there’s one thing these vendors have that we’ve not seen anywhere else, the onions they put on top, along with mustard and sauerkraut. Not just any brand, this is specific to the Sabrett vendors. We recently made this recipe and would like to share it here.

SABRETT’S HOT DOG ONIONS
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin & chopped
4 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vinegar

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Saute sliced onion in the oil for 5 minutes, until onions are
soft, but not brown.
Add water, tomato paste, corn syrup, cornstarch, salt and red
pepper flakes, and stir.
Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
Add vinegar. Continue to simmer for an additiona1 30 to 45 minutes (last 15 or so minutes with no lid)
or until most of the liquid has reduced and the sauce is thick.
Makes about 1 cup.

For anyone who has eaten the original, and tries this, let us know what changes you’d suggest, it’s 99% of the way there but we suspect it can still use some minor tinkering. Enjoy.

Note: The recipe used to include 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, but we found it too spicy and don’t add it any longer.

written by admin \\ tags: hot dog onions, New York, Sabrett