Korean Mandu aka Gyoza

Over the last week, I learnt how to make mandu. It's Korean dumplings.

Ingredients required:
Glass noodles
Bean curd
Taugeh (bean sprouts)
Onions
Garlic chives
Green onions
Mushrooms




Mix the above with pork or beef or both. Add an egg if necessary.



Wrap in ready made wrappers or home made ones.


Boil in a pot of soup stock comprised of Anchovies powder, garlic and onions.


Yum Yum!

No Charaben today, just lunch!

I feel stifled by limited ingredients and confined taste buds!
Charaben isn't working for me because it takes a whole lot of time for the same purpose.
The kid needs to have more variety if she wants to have Charaben!


I made Zaru Soba today. Boiled Japanese buckwheat noodles, made a dip and fried some Korean dumplings and crab cakes. Notice the ice-cubes? Didn't plan ahead so had to make do.


#2 and I enjoyed a simple lunch.

#3 playing with 'dough'

I made gyoza today. #3 loves to help me because she claims that it's like "playing with playdoh". Today being Saturday, her two elder sisters are busy with their own programs be it studying or out with friends.

I'm blessed to have this 10 year old who is ever eager to help and be ready to offer hugs and kisses in between.

I really don't have a recipe for this and everything is just put together by memory. Actually it's very simple but if you need details, go visit Terri's site. Her recipe is near perfect. I love making these dumpling and I find it very therapeutic.

We made three plates of these in two hours. Wish I could do more but with one assistant cutting the dough and doing the first 'roll' to flatten it, and myself alone continuing the process of further rolling and adding the filling and 'sealing' the gyoza. I'd declare that it was quite a feat on my end! LOL!

My Olympus gave up on me and I took this picture using my handphone. *Gawks*

The quality of the handphone picture was so poor, I couldn't but ask #2 to help me take the bottom few pictures. The reason I don't like to use the Canon 40D is because I find it bulky and the pictures take forever to load. After all, I do the same thing with all cameras, just press 'click'.



This is my 2nd batch of "Sourdough starter a.k.a. sponge".


I used the 'sponge' together with all these ingredients...


...to make another batch of Sourdough bread. This time, I was home most of the time and managed to 'handle and shape' the bread properly. I tried plaiting one and it looks like I have to practice it a little more.

I haven't been able to use the no-yeast method yet. Soon...




Tonight's supper is freshly baked sourdough bread with home made lemon curd. Care to join me?

BENTO #86 & # 87

Posting early this morning because #1 is driving the two sisters to school. She's got an early class so that saves me a trip.

#2 stays back till 3.00p.m. for Choir practice and so has two Bentos today. Hers is packed with Futomaki because she insisted for more. The blue break-time Bento contains her favorite Futomaki and two pieces of Gyoza from yesterday's dinner. There is some Gyoza dip in the 'car shoyu bottle'.

In the mustard colored two tier Bento, there is more Futomaki, another cheese tart from The Loaf, some Longan and three chocolate sticks. This time, I didn't forget the Oshibori. I wish I had more co-ordinated Bento sets and accessories but unfortunately they are too scarce to source locally and far too expensive to purchase over e-bay. Personally, I don't believe in splurging on expensive postage.



I think I'm doing pretty well with #3's daily Bento. She looks forward to it and is excited to help pack her food and even attempted to take this photo which I think is pretty good.

I'm really happy that she's bringing decent food to school to eat. It is just that mummy has to work a lot harder and put on many 'thinking caps' for menu ideas!!

#3's Bento is Futomaki laden with Japanese Kewpie Mayo and Sakura Denbu. She doesn't like it any other way. Whenever we lunch at any Japanese Restaurants, she would order 5 hand rolls with her specifications. Yeah! She knows what she wants, and it'll cost something like RM8 each! Same price as a California roll and far more expensive than my set lunch!! I try to avoid Japanese lunches when I'm out with her. Not worth it at all!


I added some chocolate sticks for just in case. #3 accessorized her Bento with the Bento strap, chopsticks and Oshibori.

I quipped - "Hey, you know how to use the chopsticks?" #3 replied - "Hehehe, just to make the picture look nice mah!" That's a 9 year old for you!

GYOZA

I surfed Terri's blog a couple of days ago and was trilled with her post on Shuijiao a.k.a. Gyoza, Peking Ravioli, Chinese Pierogi, Potstickers. The list is endless.

I have tried making Gyoza several times. While the filling is always delicious, the skin has been less than successful. I succumbed to buying the Gyoza skin from Jaya Jusco which cost quite a bit if Gyoza is the main course for dinner.

I realized that other recipes did not state anything about allowing the dough to rest. That was the 'trick' that was missing from my previous attempts. I've tried it three times since that fateful day I read Terri's post. The whole family has been stuffed on Gyoza for three consecutive days and still loving it.

If you want a fool's proof recipe, go to Terri's blog and you won't regret it!!

I'm giving you the recipe for the dip here:

1/3 cup of Kikoman shoyu
1/3 cup of vinegar
1 tsp of Japanese sesame oil
Lots of julienne cut young ginger.

Bento #19

More proteins this morning. PMR trials lasts' till the end of the week! Daughter #1 is asking for noodles and rice, Daughter #2 insists on proteins. Well sweethearts, mum is only going to pack the same contents into your bento. You'll have to learn to survive for a while.

On the left is more fried chicken and some spring rolls. The filling is made out of left over roast duck, carrots, fishcake, enoki mushrooms and simmered shitake mushrooms from leftover sushi, all tossed together and fried in oyster sauce.

On the right is home made gyoza and two containers of sauce. Chili sauce for the spring rolls and vinegar dip for the gyoza.


[Gyoza]

Gyoza

Home made Gyoza. Need to improve on the 'stapling' method and the skin.
Otherwise the taste of the filling is delicious!! Forgot to take photo of the vinegar dip.

[gyoza]