My friend Raffaella comes from a huge family and fondly recalls making dumplings with her sisters growing up. (Her brothers just ate them.) Dumplings are a great way to use up veggies that don’t look fresh anymore. Minced inside a dumpling, they come back to life! I’ve provided a couple of ideas here, but as with so many recipes, the filling is up to you. If you mess up and it comes out bland, just dip the dumpling in soy sauce or chile sauce and you’ll still be happy. Or if you’ve made peanut sauce or spice oil lately dip in those.
If budget allows and you want to save time, see whether your grocery store has pre-made dumpling wrappers, usually in the freezer section or Asian aisle. They come round or square and might be called gyoza or wonton wrappers, but any will work.
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This wonderful Ginger and Mushroom Tofu Hot Pot is inspired by my brilliant friend Iva. I was so excited when she asked me to create something that featured the Chinese flavors she grew up with. After all, Chinese cooking depends on the same general principles as Good and Cheap: build bright flavors from a few key ingredients; use lots of veggies and just a little meat or fish. The ginger-garlic broth in this hot pot is spectacular! You can use whatever vegetables you have around, but mushrooms help create an earthy broth. The effect of such a small amount of toasted sesame oil is remarkable, too—an investment, but a transformative flavor.
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Yes, ginger can settle your stomach when you have mild nausea. In my experience it’s no match for serious pregnancy induced nausea, but homemade ginger ale is fizzy and sweet and spicy and just delicious. And you deserve deliciousness.
This recipe simply involves making a ginger infused simple syrup and mixing it with seltzer. Easy! And you can add as much or as little syrup as you like so you can have a super sweet and zippy ginger ale or a more mellow grown up ginger ale. Someday maybe I’ll share with you how to make fermented ginger beer, at some other time when I’m more patient with longer kitchen projects. 🙂 See the full post with recipe links here. Keep reading
This honey and vanilla pudding topped with strawberry and ginger compote is part of a birthday meal I made for my Mum. To read more about it and get all the links, check out the writeup here.
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