Ambitious for a Monday

Chinese dinner was wonderful, if very ambitious for a weeknight.  The grocery store had no ground pork, so Josh ended up having to grind the pork for the dumplings himself.  I know, I know. He used the meat grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This meal involved so many steps that I feel tired thinking about it. But once all the prep was done it came together pretty fast.

Making these would have been a much slower process for me.

While Josh prepared the dumplings, I got everything ready for a stir fry. I think I mentioned that stir frying is not my thing.  But I found this  NY Times recipe which I used as my guide and it really was quite simple.

We didn't have chili paste, so I threw some crushed chili flakes in the hot oil before adding the veggies, and a bit more little later on when I added the soy sauce. Also, I used chives from the garden in place of green onions, and added some CSA radish and spicy greens.

While browsing through the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, I found some advice which made me smile:

Rice tastes better when it sits quietly both before and after cooking. 

and this:

 The starting point is the ingredient, not the cooking method.

and finally:

Since much of Chinese cooking is improvisational, having a bit of this and a bit of that on hand is not a burden but a delight.  

The boys devoured the dumplings.

Oh, and some went in the freezer. So the meal will be that much simpler next time.

If ever you feel ambitious on a Monday, here's Josh's recipe:


Pork Dumplings 


1 lb. ground pork (fatty is better here)
Greens from one bunch of bok choy
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp water
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 package won ton wrappers


Wilt the bok choy greens in a hot wok. Remove, allow to cool, squeeze out excess water and chop finely. 
Steep the ginger in 2 tbsp water for about 5 minutes. Remove ginger from water and then add the water to the pork. Add remaining ingredients to pork and mix well. 
Place about 1 tbsp of pork mixture on each won ton wrapper and follow folding instructions.
In small batches, simmer the dumplings in hot water for about 5 minutes. 
Serve with dipping sauce of choice.