An easy go-to to keep in the freezer are dumplings! They are actually quite quick to prepare and so tasty if done right. Typical methods for dumplings are either to boil it in water or to fry them. The method my mom taught me works wonderfully and it's so easy!
- Add some vegetable oil to a heated pan at medium-high to high.
- Layer in the dumplings so that their flat bottoms touch the surface of the pan.
- Add in water to cover the dumplings a little under halfway.
- Let the water boil until it dries out. This takes about 10 minutes for smaller amounts and possibly 20 minutes for a large pan filled all the way.
- Once the water dries completely, watch for signs of crisping on the bottoms and take them off the pan when it's fried to your desired crispiness.
Five steps, frozen food, hot pan and oil and water. So easy!
Now, for the mini pork buns (xiao long bao), I tried steaming them as restaurant ones are always steamed. That turned out much harder and to be a lengthy process. I used the same technique as I did for my dumplings (since these were also frozen) and it works just as well for the xiao long bao! The only thing you have to be careful about is keeping the buns placed spaciously in the pan so that they don't touch each other. Once they stick together, it will tear a hole in the skin more easily and then all the delicious juices will escape. So, after steam-frying the xiao long bao with the same technique, I carefully transferred them to a plate. When I bit into them...ooooh so juicy and meaty! I even tried packing some for lunch after cooking them and it turned out just as tasty after coming out of the microwave. Success.
I made gyoza entirely from scratch for my japanese class party. yayyyy <3
ReplyDeletethe skin came out really yummy. and since french people don't seem to sell ground pork i used beef mixed with sausage. yummy!