Thursday, April 30, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Spicy Wontons
I have written about how difficult it is to put a western meal together so I find myself looking for recipes and ideas that use the ingredients that are readily available. We both like Asian inspired dishes so that really isn't a big deal. I stumbled upon a recipe a few weeks ago for a Spicy red oil wonton, YUM! We love spicy and we love wontons, so it was a must try.
I can go to almost any grocery store in the U.S. and buy wonton wrappers. I live in Taiwan, I assumed they would be a simple thing to find. That was my first mistake....when in Taiwan, never assume. I tried all of my normal shopping choices and showed a picture I had googled on my phone, no one had them.
When I explained to John that evidently you can't buy wonton wrappers in Taiwan he gave me a strange look and explained where he thought I should look in the grocery store. Needless to say my response and the look I gave him are not appropriate for the blog. Several days later and the idea of the spicy wonton still swirling around in his head he thought we should try the stores again, together. We did and showed the picture again. Finally we spoke to someone who told us they did not carry them, BUT told us where to go.
Evidently we would need to visit a traditional market. Luck would have it that we had seen and walked through a traditional market not far from where we were a few days earlier. The traditional market is open air and you can get all kinds of fresh produce, fresh seafood and the freshest of fresh meats. There are no live animals there, but I promise you, they have not been dead long.
Zane and I had had our fill of shopping for the day and when we were headed toward the market we saw a park and decided that we would let daddy search for the elusive wonton wrappers and we would wait on the slide.
He was successful! He bought a package of wrappers that I imagine were made in someone's kitchen that morning. I will learn to make my own soon, Zane's babysitter has promised to teach me how. But for now we will enjoy these, all tied up with a pink ribbon.
When we got home I went to work making the filling and sauce and putting it all together. It turned out to be really good. The recipe called for boiling the wontons but I chose to steam them. Next time I will probably try boiling, they were a little tough, but still all disappeared! Here is the recipe if you want to try them at home. And FYI wonton wrappers are usually in the produce section, but if you have trouble, try your local traditional market!
Spicy Red Oil Wontons
Ingredients:
20 wonton wrappers
1 small bowl of water, used to seal wontons
boiling water to cook wontons
Filling:
8oz ground pork
2 stalks scallion, finely chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 dashes ground white pepper
Sauce:
1/3-1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar
2-3 Tbsp Chilli oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients. Set aside
Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
To wrap wontons, place about 1 tsp. of filling in the center of each wrapper. Dab your finger into the small bowl of water and trace it around the edge of the wrapper. This will help seal it up. Fold the wontons to make a triangle . Pinch the edges to seal. Pinch and fold both corners of the wonton downwards.
Bring the water to a boil and gently drop the wontons into the water. stir with a ladle to prevent sticking. Boil until they float to the top, about 2 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon. Add desired amount of sauce to the wontons and toss. Serve immediately.
I can go to almost any grocery store in the U.S. and buy wonton wrappers. I live in Taiwan, I assumed they would be a simple thing to find. That was my first mistake....when in Taiwan, never assume. I tried all of my normal shopping choices and showed a picture I had googled on my phone, no one had them.
When I explained to John that evidently you can't buy wonton wrappers in Taiwan he gave me a strange look and explained where he thought I should look in the grocery store. Needless to say my response and the look I gave him are not appropriate for the blog. Several days later and the idea of the spicy wonton still swirling around in his head he thought we should try the stores again, together. We did and showed the picture again. Finally we spoke to someone who told us they did not carry them, BUT told us where to go.
Evidently we would need to visit a traditional market. Luck would have it that we had seen and walked through a traditional market not far from where we were a few days earlier. The traditional market is open air and you can get all kinds of fresh produce, fresh seafood and the freshest of fresh meats. There are no live animals there, but I promise you, they have not been dead long.
Zane and I had had our fill of shopping for the day and when we were headed toward the market we saw a park and decided that we would let daddy search for the elusive wonton wrappers and we would wait on the slide.
He was successful! He bought a package of wrappers that I imagine were made in someone's kitchen that morning. I will learn to make my own soon, Zane's babysitter has promised to teach me how. But for now we will enjoy these, all tied up with a pink ribbon.
When we got home I went to work making the filling and sauce and putting it all together. It turned out to be really good. The recipe called for boiling the wontons but I chose to steam them. Next time I will probably try boiling, they were a little tough, but still all disappeared! Here is the recipe if you want to try them at home. And FYI wonton wrappers are usually in the produce section, but if you have trouble, try your local traditional market!
Spicy Red Oil Wontons
Ingredients:
20 wonton wrappers
1 small bowl of water, used to seal wontons
boiling water to cook wontons
Filling:
8oz ground pork
2 stalks scallion, finely chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 dashes ground white pepper
Sauce:
1/3-1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar
2-3 Tbsp Chilli oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients. Set aside
Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
To wrap wontons, place about 1 tsp. of filling in the center of each wrapper. Dab your finger into the small bowl of water and trace it around the edge of the wrapper. This will help seal it up. Fold the wontons to make a triangle . Pinch the edges to seal. Pinch and fold both corners of the wonton downwards.
Bring the water to a boil and gently drop the wontons into the water. stir with a ladle to prevent sticking. Boil until they float to the top, about 2 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon. Add desired amount of sauce to the wontons and toss. Serve immediately.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
What's the story?
It was a beautiful day at a beautiful old temple in Lukang, Taiwan. We had been strolling the streets and poking through the shops when we found the sweetest little suit for the Tiny American. My mom was with us and she thought we should wait to put it on him until later because he was a little tired and ready for a nap, but Venus and I decided that we wanted his pictures at the temple.
We dressed him in his new little suit and he was SO happy. We got some really cute shots of him. There was a little fish pond in the courtyard and I lifted him up to look at the fish. When he is looking through the slats of something he always presses his little face right up to the gap, he was doing that now while he looked at the fish.
And then....his head went through the gap. I thought, no big deal, it went in it will come back out. It wouldn't ! I freaked out. I tried to pull his head back through, no luck. I tried to pull the bars apart, no luck. I yelled for my mom to help me. A crowd was gathering....the Tiny American was screaming, I was sweating. My mom was calm. She twisted his little body sideways and slid him through the gap and i lifted him back over the top. Whew!! It was a beautiful day at an old temple in Lukang, Taiwan when I realized you are never too old to need your mommy!
Thursday, April 23, 2015
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