Making The Perfect Wonton

The Chinese New Year is coming up in another week or so .It's the perfect time to embrace Chinese cooking and the various dishes. One of them is wontons. Done right, these dumplings are heavenly, , especially if they're filled with a good mix of spices,meat and veggies.

David Tanis wrote about as well as gave a recipe for them in his A City Kitchen in yesterday's wednesday's New York Times Food section.Dumplings or wontons are relatively easy to make. The wrapping is the key ingredient and it's simple. Combine itwo cups of  flour and 3/4 cup of just boiled  water with a pinch of salt.. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Cut the dough into about thirty or forty smaller balls and then roll out. For larger wontons cut about ten to twenty pieces. Use a pasta maker if you have one. Also if you're stacking the wrappers, dust them with conrstarch first so they don't stick to each other.wrappers can be kept in the freezer for a few days. They can be dyed, using beet, carrot or spinach juice.These last can be made with taking the veggies and simmering a half cup of each in four cups of water for two hours. The entire filling and cooking process takes about seven minutes to execute. The wontons only take four minutes to thoroughly cook up if they are boiled.


The stuffing is the best part as Mr Tanis declares.He combines sea scallops and shrimp with scallions.Ginger and chili peppers give them kick and bite.If you want more of a veggie taste then omit one of the seafoods and sub in shredded cabbage or carrots.Home chefs can also try a pork and shrimp filling too. This is six ounces of cooked shrimp mixed with half a cup  of chopped cooked pork (never use raw pork for dumplings, because there is always the threat of trichonosis ) To soften the two strong flavors, add mushrooms, onions and scallions. Wontons can be wonderfully vegetarian too. You can add mashed cooked tofu, onions, bean curd, along with cabbage and bok choy, Flavoring is up to you  and if you can stand heat. Mr, Tanis adds a tablespoon of chili along with a tablespoon of grated ginger. Decrease these amounts if you want a milder taste. He also incudes a dipping sauce that is made from rice vinegar, spicy sesame oil and scallions.You can also just make a great sauce from scallions and soy  together or even duck sauce, a mix of peach or apricot jam, white vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil along with ginger and water.

Celebrate the Year of the Goat with yummy homemade dumplings and sauces. They will be better than nay take out and customized to your tastes. Enjoy them boiled with a great just mixed dip.

Add Spice To A Cold Night

There's a nip in the air nowadays. It leaves us shivering and wanting something hot.Why not bring heat to the dinner table in the form of different spicy dishes?They could be classics revved up or exotic fare peppered with different blends of spices. It makes for an interesting and delicious chill chaser.

One of the most classic spicy dishes is chili. This can be tailored to everyone's tastes. You can create a mild one with just some cumin and cayenne pepper. For more fire , add spicy sausages and jalapeno chilis.Ancho chilis can also spike it to another level.  Another way of creating a tongue toasting dish is  creating the chili the night before and letting the fire from all the spices kick in.Make a huge batch  and then freeze some for easy future meals during the busy Christmas season. Another spicy dish that can be made in huge amounts and frozen is arrabiata or translated "angry" sauce. This is a classic Southern Italian one that goes great with any kind of pasta from penne to angel hair. Its'  heat comes from the addition of crushed red pepper flakes to any tomato sauce. You can also add the pepper to meatballs too for more bite.

Indian food is know for its' variety of spices and dinners.Curry is always a crowd pleaser and can be made with traditional blends  of cayenne, curry spice itself along with cinnamon and paprika.For true flavor try dahl. This is a mixture of fresh ginger, jalapeno and lentils mixed with tomatoes and served with naan bread.Another cuisine known for its' heat is the Chinese Sichuan. Located in the center of the country, the region is famous for its' varieties of fiery peppercorns. Try making spicy dumplings spiked with them or better yet a peppery chicken or beef dish.The cuisine is big in chilis too and these figure prominently in a boiled beef with hot sauce.This last is so hot that the recipe does come with a warning.

As the temps drop ,it's time to create dishes that warm the heart and body. Try a fiery chili or a spicy Sichuan dumpling to shake off that cold. It's and fun and tasty way to get toasty.

The Most Perfect Dumplings

New York City is known for it's big Chinese community. The community has given the city some of the best recipes and dishes from Beijing duck to dumplings. It's the last that making waves again. Dumplings are becoming hot again  -although they never went out of style.There are some new variations as well as traditional dumplings too.

New York Times Dining regular, Jeff Gordonier has  the lucky assignment of tasting and rating some of New York''s best dumplings.He has found traditional ones in Queens' Flushing where there is the second largest Chinese population in the world. Here dumplings are made the old fashioned way but with a spin - lamb is used. The ingredient, more suited to Mongolian tables, are a big draw at Mission Chinese Food on Manhattan's Lower East side. These were so popular that the restaurant;s chef and recipe's creator, Danny Bowien has made close to 1,000 on some days.

The dumpling takes on a funky New York neighborhood twist too. Mr . Gordonier was also fortunate to try the pretzel dumpling which has a funky inside and a chewy pretzel like outside. The inside can be made of a tasty pork a d scallion or a variation on chicken parm. There are also fillings such as pad Thai, cheesesteak and barbecued pork. Another restaurant, the trendy Brooklyn Red Farm creates dumplings that look like small golden crabs,complete with black sesame seed eyes. Dumplings are easy to make at home as well and you can try these with any number of ingredients.

Dumplings are definitely hot right now however there was never a time when they weren't popular. Go to Manhattan to sample these tasty treats. If not make them yourself, whether with the traditional or new trendy ones. Either way ,it makes for some good eating.

Slicker Dumplings - A Midwest Treat

The American Midwest is known for some good food. There's pulled pork sandwiches, burgoo, cobbler and slicker dumplings. This last was a specialty of my great grandmother's . They rounded out many a meal and also absorbed the wonderful gravies that she was known for . They;'re easy to make and good with anything.

Slicker dumplings i, it turns out are also found in the South and Appalachia as well. They are big with chicken and turkey stews as well as with beef ones. The consistency is similar to pasta (hence the name slicker , because of their shiny appearance) . To make them, requires a good cup of chicken or turkey stock (more flavorful in my opinion) along with one beaten egg. Also add in a teaspoon and a half of baking soda to give them some airiness when cooking.The recipe sometimes calls for leavening which leaves them puffy. True slicker dumplings are flat and are more like lasagna noodles, They do puff up slightly when cooked. Slicker dumplings have a mild, breadlike taste . If you want you can add some ground pepper to them. my family recipe call for dropping them into the stew and then letting them cook up and flat to the top. until they form a "crust over the stew).

What are slicker dumplings good with? Usually a rich chicken stew, redolent with carrots, herbs and onions. You can vary it by cooking them with a beef stew and cut up pot roast (if that's the case then sub in beef stock for chicken in their initial making). They'll act as the bread, sopping up the stews juices or cushioning the meat bits. You can also store the leftovers in the fridge and reheat them for another meal (although I doubt that. Usually slicker dumplings disappear in one meal).

Slicker dumplings are a wonderul side of true American cooking. They add texture and flavor to any beef, chicken or turkey stew. Try them tonight for some down home cooking and flavor.!