Pork and Shrimp Dumplings with Bok Choy and Noodles

My children are getting older. That is a "Well, duh, Melani" comment if there ever was one, but sometimes, these observations are more evident than others.

Take this meal for instance. For a change, cooking supper was made infinitely easier because of my daughter's help. Going on 6, M is becoming quite a commis (don't be impressed, I had to wikipedia it to find the right word). We have found some recipes that she can almost make by herself now that she can read recipes. For this meal, I did the chopping and M did the mixing and shaping of the dumplings.

Making dumplings are perfect for little hands that want to help in the kitchen. Being the non-artistic, non-perfectionist that I am, I wasn't concerned what the dumplings looked like. This could have to do with the fact that the recipe I was using had no instructions on how to shape dumplings except: "seal and shape." Hmm. Thus, I basically went for sealed.

We loved this meal. M particularly loved it because she had such an integral part of making the meal. The recipe makes twice as many dumplings as we used. I froze the leftovers dumplings and will pull them out next time I have some bok choy that I need to use. Easy dinner.

While making dumplings may seem daunting and time consuming, on a whole this recipe wasn't terribly difficult to make or that time consuming. I am sure it helped considerably that I had M doing all the dirty work. :)

Pork and Shrimp Dumplings with Bok Choy and Noodles

adapted from Cindy Lee Roberts on Food52

1 lb ground pork

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and chopped

1/4 c spring onions or scallions, chopped

1/2 inch piece of ginger, finely grated

3/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 t sesame oil

1 t Mirin or white cooking wine

1 packet dumpling or wonton wrappers (you'll need 50)

8 oz somen, soba, or udon noodles

a bunch (approx 8 oz) of bok choy, sliced into 1" ribbons and roughly chopped

Sauce

1 1/2 T fish sauce (Nuac Mam or something similar)

1 T soy sauce

2 t white vinegar

1 t chili garlic paste (optional)

1/2 t sesame oil

1/3 c spring onion or scallions, finely chopped

1/3 c cilantro, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Mix together the pork, shrimp, spring onions, ginger, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and wine in a medium bowl. Place about 1 T of the mixture into the bottom half of a dumpling or wonton wrapper. Using your index finger, make a border of water around the filling. Fold the top half over and seal (the water is necessary for the dumpling to seal shut).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. The following will depend on what kind of noodles you use. If you use a fast cooking, thin noodle like somen or rice threads (vermicelli), add the dumplings to the boil water first and add the noodles when there are two or three minutes left. If you are using a slower cooking, thicker noodle, like udon, add the noodles first, cook for a couple of minutes, and then add the dumplings. The dumplings need around 8 minutes in the boiling water to cook through. The easiest way to test to see if the dumplings are finished is to just break one open.

Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Add the bok choy to the noodles and the dumplings and cook a minute or so more, or until the bok choy has wilted. Drain the noodles, et al. Pour the sauce over top and gently combine, being careful not to break the noodles. Garnish with a little cilantro and serve. (If you left out the chili garlic sauce because of children's sensitive tastes, you can put a little bit on top of each serving, as desired).

Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli

Curtis is not a shellfish fan. I can't quite understand that, but regardless of my understanding, he's not a fan. The rest of us are. So when Curtis went out of town for work for a few days, I jumped on the opportunity to try a new shrimp recipe that I thought looked good.

And good it was! The kids and I loved this. For M, it was close to the ultimate meal--she loves shrimp and she loves, loves broccoli. I thought the broccoli outshone the shrimp in this recipe. I had no problem letting the kids eat the bulk of the shrimp and sticking to the broccoli. The boys enjoyed this too.

My only changes were with the spices. I didn't have whole coriander and cumin seeds (nor a good method of grinding them either), so I threw some ground spices in.

This will serve 4, maybe.

Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli

adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark

1 - 2 lbs broccoli, cut into bite-size florets

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 t ground coriander (or 1 t whole seeds)

1/2 t ground cumin (or 1 t whole seeds)

1 1/2 t slat

1 t black pepper (optional--I omitted)

1/8 t hot chili powder (optional--I omitted this as well)

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined if you desire

zest from one large lemon

lemon wedges for serving

In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with 2 T olive, all the coriander and cumin, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, and all the chili powder (if using). Spread the broccoli on a single layer on a jellyroll pan (a cookie sheet--but with sides) with a silpat sheet (for easiest cleanup. A silpat isn't necessary, just helpful). Roast for 10 minutes in a preheated 425 degrees oven. Meanwhile, combine the shrimp, remaining 2 T olive oil, lemon zest and remaining salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the broccoli and toss. Roast, tossing once, until shrimp are just opaque and the broccoli is tender, 5 to 10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges or squeeze lemon juice over shrimp and broccoli before serving.

Chicken Gumbo

I want to like okra, I really do. I love how sliced okra looks--so pretty if you can ignore the slime dripping from each slice. All summer we've left our okra in the trade box or snuck it into friends' refrigerators. I decided a week or two again that it was time to use okra at least once this summer. Instead of going for the classic tomato/okra/hamburger skillet meal, I went for the other okra classic, gumbo.

See it turns out, that gumbo actually means okra. Countless gumbo recipes abound---some New Orleans' style others more African in style. I went for the New Orleans Style and found a recipe that could be made in a crockpot as well. Despite my original intentions, I didn't end up making this in a crockpot, but am including those directions because I just might make this recipe again sometime.

We all ate it. I wouldn't say anyone of us loved the entire dish. Curtis and I tolerated the okra. We tried to deny its existence in the meal. (Curtis informed me it would be much better without the okra. I told him in which case, it wouldn't be gumbo). M ate the chicken and shrimp out of it. J ate some of it. Little I picked at his, eating some of it, but it was hard to discern exactly what. I had it three days afterwards as leftovers and the okra started to grow on me. I'll make this again and we'll probably tolerate the okra again. Maybe, eventually, we just might like this dish--all parts of it.

This serves 6 - 8 if served over rice.

Chicken Gumbo
adapted from WholeFoodsMarket.com

4 T canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into 1" pieces
salt
pepper
4 T unbleached flour
1 c onion, diced
1 c green pepper, diced
1/2 c celery, diced
2 c fresh okra, sliced
2 c chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 lb cooked chicken sausage, sliced into 1/2" rounds
1 lb large shrimp, peeled (you could use significantly less--I used more for M's sake)

Brown the chicken seasoned with salt and pepper in 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add remaining 3 T oil to skillet and heat until hot. Add floor and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown 3 - 4 minutes. It should be about the color of peanut butter. Add the onion, green pepper, celery, and okra.

For a slow cooker: Cook onion, etc for 2 minutes or until the vegetables start to wilt. Add the chicken broth and stir until smooth and incorporated. Transfer mixture very carefully (to not burn yourself) into slow cooker. Add the okra, bay leaves, tomatoes, and browned chicken along with any juices left in bowl. Cover and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours. Thirty minutes before serving, add the sausage and turn cooker to high. Add the shrimp 5 minutes before serving. Serve over cooked rice with plenty of Tabasco.

For stove top: Carefully stir in chicken broth to onion mixture. Return chicken and any juices to the pan. Add chicken sausage, bay leaves, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook another 5 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked. Serve over rice with plenty of Tabasco.

Cioppino

We had a wonderful March cold front blow in today, complete with RAIN! (Something that's been sparse lately). That, combined with a coupon I had for $10 off seafood, convinced me that it was a perfect day for cioppino--an Italian seafood stew over pasta (or even just a nice crusty toast. This meal doesn't take particularly long to make and presents as a fancy meal. Everyone loved it--J drank the tomato sauce/broth out of his bowl--he wasn't as fond of the seafood, which was fine with M (who preferred the shrimp and scallops to everything else). He did enjoy making the mussels into vicious creatures that went "Raar!" and chased M. Curtis and I thought it was fabulous and more or less ate it all up!

Cioppino
2 T olive oil
1 c onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c green bell peppers, chopped (optional)
1 1 /2 c (1-14.5 oz can) tomatoes, chopped
2 T tomato paste
1 c dry red wine
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t red pepper flakes (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 T dried basil
1 t salt
1 c water
1/2 b mussels, rinsed and cleaned (optional--we actually usually don't use often these because Curtis doesn't like them)
1/2 lb clams, rinsed and cleaned (optional--we don't ever use)
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and rinsed
1/2 lb scallops, rinsed and drained

1/2 - 1 lb linguine (or toast...1/2 lb was enough for us tonight)
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)

Heat 1 T olive oil in a medium soup pot. Add onions and saute on medium heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and bell peppers and continue to saute until peppers soften, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, herbs, salt and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer while preparing other ingredients. Tonight my sauce simmered for over 45 minutes while I worked on other things besides supper.

Bring water for pasta to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente.

Meanwhile, prepare the seafood. To clean the mussels (or you could also use clams as a substitution or in addition to the mussels--prepare them the same way), discard any that are open or broken (before cooking). Rinse the rest with cold water and scrub. Remove and discard the stringy beard of the mussels. In a separate saucepan, bring 1 c water to a boil (or enough to completely cover mussels). Add the mussels. Cook 2 - 5 minutes or until shells open. Remove with tongs and set aside. Discard any that do no open along with cooking liquid. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce and discard. Add shrimp and scallops and cook until shrimp turn pink and scallops are opaque, about 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.

Serve immediately. Put pasta (or toast) in a bowls. Arrange mussels (and clams) around the edge of bowl, ladle sauce over pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.

Mizutaki

My grandparents lived in Japan for a year (or two?) working in a school there. One of the things we gained from that experience was the festive dish of Skiyaki. I found this recipe a year ago. It is similar to skiyaki in that it is a communal meal--a hot pot in the center of the table to cook the food in. However, the cooking sauce is water and seaweed based instead of soy sauce based which reduces the salt considerably! I also like how this recipe uses more ingredients that may be found in Japanese cuisine instead of our very, very Americanized version.

All the work of this meal takes place in cutting the food for eating and making the dipping sauce. When it's time to eat, new ingredients as the old ingredients get eaten right out of the pot! It's a fun, festive, healthy meal. This time of the year, a lot of the ingredients can be found at the farmer's market. We used our leftover vegetables the next evening (mushrooms and leeks) on top of a pizza. We sat the kids at the end of the table, farthest away from the hot pot to prevent them from burning themselves. They both loved it. M especially liked the shrimp.

Mizutaki
Dipping Sauce
1/2 c fresh lime juice
2/3 c tamari soy sauce
1 T sake (or mirin)
1/2 c daikon, finely grated
2 t ginger root, peeled and finely grated
1/2 c chopped scallions

Liquid for hot pot
3 c water
8 -inch piece of dried konbu

Ingredients for cooking in hot pot
2 medium bok choy, cuting 2 inch pieces
4 bunches scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 leeks, well rinsed, tender white parts cut into rings 1/4" wide
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pound spinach, washed and stemmed (we omitted and just used more bok choy)
1 cake tofu, pressed and cut into 1/2" cubes (I may or may not use next time....)
1 pound scallops
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined

4 - 6 servings of cooked rice

Slice and prepare vegetables, putting each a separate bowl. Prepare tofu and seafood, putting each in separate bowl. Refrigerate until everything is ready to cook.

For the dipping sauce, combine the lime juice, soy sauce, and sake in a saucepan and heat on low heat. In each of four individual bowls (or however many people that are eating--this will comfortably feed 4 - 6 adults), put 1 T grated daikon, 1/4 t of grated ginger root, and 1 T chopped scallions. To each bowl add 3 T of soy sauce mixture. Some extra dipping suace and garnishes will be left to freshen each bowl during the meal.

In a large shallow pan on a hot plate (or I've found a large electric skillet works great!) in the center of the table, heat the water and konbu until it begins to boil. Let it boil slowly for 2 minutes. Remove the konbu. During the meal, heat more water in the microwave to boiling and add to the skillet as needed. (The electric skillet should be set to around 250 degrees).

Once everyone is seated, beging cooking, adding the scallops and shrimp first, then the leeks and tofu, then the bok choy and mushrooms, then the scallions, and finally, just when everything is ready to eat, add the spinach.

To eat, remove desired ingredients from hot pot, dip into dipping sauce and put on top of rice (in a small bowl for each guest). Keep adding and removing ingredients as long as everyone is still hungry.

Shrimp Scampi with Gazpacho Salsa

I decided to celebrate having my family back together this evening with Shrimp Scampi. I also found a great recipe on Epicurious for Gazpacho Salsa which I thought would go great on top of it (plus, it used cucumbers in chunks big enough for me to pick out). I made the salsa first to let the flavors "marry," and I knew the Shrimp Scampi I would need to pay attention the whole time I was cooking it. I am not including the recipe for the salsa, but have included a link to Epicurious's website. A quick note on the salsa recipe. Be sure to use smoked paprika. That makes the salsa spectacular. Again, that's a good ingredient to buy in the bulk spice section because you can get just a little of it (and not a whole jar for one recipe). I omitted the black olives and red onions because I didn't have either on hand. I think they both would have made the taste a little more complex, but I didn't think "this should black olives/onions" while I was eating (in other words, they weren't missed).

For the Shrimp scampi, I soaked 1 lb of frozen shrimp in a bowl of salted water until they were thawed enough to peel. (I normally don't devein my shrimp because that seems like too much work and I don't notice a taste difference---nor does the thought of it not being deveined bother me). I put a pot of water on to boil for pasta and prepared the seasoning for the shrimp. In a small bowl I combined 3 T olive oil, 3 T melted butter, and 4 cloves of minced garlic. I poured that into a 9 x 13" pan. In a separate bowl, I combined 2 T fresh parsley, 1 T finely grated lemon peel, and dash of salt and pepper. I mixed that in with the shrimp. Then I broiled the 9 x 13" pan with the butter, etc for 2 minutes. The butter became brown and everything was fragrant. I laid the shrimp into the hot pan, and broiled the shrimp for 2 minutes. I turned them over with a tongs and broiled them for another minute (and then another minute). To serve, I put the cooked pasta (I used capellini but any long pasta would work) in a large bowl and topped with the shrimp and butter sauce. I gently tossed the butter sauce in to coat the pasta.

I served the salsa on the side and whoever wanted to, but it on top of their shrimp and pasta. Curtis loved it with the salsa on top. M loved the shrimp and pasta but didn't eat the salsa because the tomatoes and cucumbers were mixed up (she loves both foods separately, just not together, silly girl!). J didn't eat much of anything because he had found a bag of raisins before supper that he ate way too many of. Overall, it was a great meal. I like the salsa on the pasta, but not on the shrimp. I will definitely repeat this meal!