Pork Potstickers

Chinese take-out is delicious, but it can also be made simply at home. Pan-fried dumplings are of my favorite things to order. I am happy to eat them as a main course or appetizer. It’s even simple and impressive to make for a dinner party.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Pork Potstickers

Yields about 24 dumplings

Ingredients for the dumpling:

• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
• 2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (can substitute another teaspoon of soy sauce if wanted)
• 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 (12 ounces) package wonton wrappers (You will only use about half of the package.)
• vegetable oil

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

Place the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, green onions, garlic, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, and ginger into a medium sized bowl. Whisk ingredients to combine well. Next, add the meat, and mix gently until all is combined.

Fill a small bowl with water, and set up your assembly station. Place a spoonful of the filling into a wonton wrapper one at a time. To seal the edges, dip your finger into water and wet all the edges of the wonton wrapper. Press the edges tightly to close. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Place 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Place dumplings into pan. (Be sure not to crowd it because you don’t want them to get stuck together.) Then add enough water to the pan to reach about one-fourth of the dumplings height.

Place a lid on the pan, and let it sim­mer for about 5–7 minutes.

While the potstickers are simmering, place all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together until everything is combined. Set aside for serving.

Remove lid (most of the water should be gone). As the water evap­o­rates, the crust will start to brown on the bot­tom. Allow to fry until the bot­tom of the dumplings are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Repeat if all of the dumplings did not fit in the pan.

Serve warm with the prepared sauce and a side dish of rice or veggies.

Enjoy!!

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”
– Harriet Van Horne

Spaghetti Bolognese

Mmm mmm mmm. The other day I was reminiscing about our Mediterranean cruise from last May. It left from the closest port to Rome, Italy. Of course I consumed more pasta, pizza, and gelato than a normal human should have in the couple of days we saw the sites. So with all this reminiscing, I naturally got hungry…hungry for the simple joy of spaghetti!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Spaghetti Bolognese

4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked*
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 (14.5 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

*I had an Oxo container with regular and whole wheat spaghetti all mixed together…that is why mine is different colors. 🙂

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package. Strain and set aside.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Next, add the ground beef and pork. Cook for 10 minutes or until well browned, making sure to break up any big pieces. Add tomato paste, stir, and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the broth and red wine. Stir, and cook until it is reduced by about half, about 10-12 minutes.

Finally, add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence, and stir well. Reduce heat to low, and cover with a lid. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid, stir the sauce, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Taste test, and if needed add additional salt and pepper.

Divide the spaghetti among four bowls and ladle the sauce on top. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

“My sisters like cooking at my place. It has a bit more room, and the food tastes a little bit better. A big pot of spaghetti and sauce, some warm French bread – works all the time. I think I’ve been eating pasta for 26 years.” – Tom Brady

Chipotle Sloppy Joe Baked Potatoes

I have not been cooking recently, but it’s about time I get back to it. I feel more like myself when I spend time in the kitchen. After a recharging weekend, I have been reinvigorated to cook and bake once again. Yesterday, I was craving a sloppy joe and baked potatoes. So naturally I decided that they would be fabulous together. 😀

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Chipotle Sloppy Joe Baked Potatoes

4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 russet potatoes (even sized)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil + some to coat the potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt + some to sprinkle on top of the baking potatoes
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 cup white onions, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, minced (I removed the seeds and the ribs from mine.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (12 ounces) can tomatoes
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 chipotle in adobo, roughly chopped
• 1 cup chipotle cheddar cheese, shredded, for serving (optional)
• 1/2 sour cream, for serving (optional)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F, and cover a small baking sheet with foil.

Scrub the potatoes under cold running water, and dry them well. Stab the potatoes on all sides with a fork to allow the steam to escape while baking. Rub the potatoes with olive oil, and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each potato with some salt. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 45 minutes.

While the potatoes cook in the oven work on the filling. Place a small pan over medium heat, and add the coriander seeds. Cook until they are toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

In another large saucepan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the ground pork, bacon pieces, toasted coriander seeds, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook until meat is halfway browned while stirring occasionally. Next, add the onions, jalapeños, and garlic. Continue to cook until the meat is browned, the vegetables have softened, and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, ketchup, flour, sugar, vinegar, and the chopped chipotle in adobo. Stir and lower the heat to a simmer. Allow to cook for an additional 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes have finished baking, remove them from the oven and set aside.

Cut each potato open, and fluff the inside with a fork. Spoon the sloppy joe mixture into the opening, and top with chipotle cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!!

“To catch the ball, face up, look at all of my options and then pass. I was playing hot potato. I didn’t want to be the guy to stall the triangle.” – Karl Malone

Lumpiang Shanghai

Fantastical Filipino Foods…that phrase sums up how my family and I feel about food and our culture. In my childhood home, my dad cooked more than my mom did (still true to this day). This was a result of my father being the baby of 8 siblings and spending lots of time with my Lola (grandmother in Tagalog, one of the many the dialects of the Philippines) in the kitchen. My father is an amazing cook and seldom writes any recipes down. He, like both of my grandmothers, can cook from memory. This is of course is a great thing, but it can be quite annoying to a daughter (me) who doesn’t want to forget anything, including her family’s delicious recipes.

This was my first attempt at making lumpiang shanghai. It is still my favorite Filipino dish at crazy Filipino family gatherings and holidays. Lumpiang are spring rolls which originally came from China. These were brought over to the Philippines by Chinese immigrants, and the Filipinos adopted them in their own way. There are three main ways they are served and also thus named: lumpiang sariwà, lumpiang hubàd, and lumpiang shanghai. The first are fresh spring rolls which are usually filled with hearts of palm, chicken, and crushed peanuts, wrapped in lettuce leaves and an egg crepe. They are served with a broth type sauce with minced garlic. The second name literally means naked spring rolls. It is the same as the lumpiang sariwà without the egg crepe. The last and final type is the type we are talking about here. It usually has ground pork or beef mixed with carrots, onions, and spices. It is served in the Philippines by street vendors and usually comes with a sweet and sour type sauce.

This is my family’s lumpia (as we call it for short) recipe as best as I could translate it from my dad’s memory. I love sharing a little bit of my childhood with y’all!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Lumpiang Shanghai

Yields 30 Mini Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/2 a carrot, minced finely or chopped in a food processor
• 1 small onion, minced finely or chopped in a food processor
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 package of spring roll wrappers (approximately 5″x5″)
• 1 egg white
• Vegetable Oil
• Thai Chili Sauce

Directions:

The night before place the frozen spring roll wrappers in the fridge to slowly thaw out. (These spring rolls are found in the freezer section of Asian markets. It is very hard to find them in regular grocery stores.)

Fill the bottom of a large frying pan with about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. While heating, put the pork, carrot, onion, salt, and pepper  in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

Once seasoned, grab a ball of meat and test cook it in the hot oil. Drain it on place with a paper towel. Turn off burner on the stove.

Once it has cooled down, taste it to make sure your seasoning is satisfactory. Add more salt or pepper if necessary. Carefully separate the spring roll wrappers. Make sure you have enough room for a little assembly line.

Dip a brush (I just use my pointer finger) in the egg white and cover the edge of the 3 sides with it. Grab a  heaping tablespoon of filling, and roll it into the same thickness of about a Crayola marker. Place it on the only edge of the square that does not have egg white on it. Roll and pinch the sides as you go from the meat side to the egg white side. Seal the lumpia roll on all edges.

Continue until there is no more filling left.*

To cook the lumpia, reheat the oil in the pan to medium-high heat again.  Gently place the lumpia into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes total (if frying from a frozen state, it will take about 2 minutes longer).

Once each lumpia has cooked, place on a plate with a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

Serve immediately with jasmine rice and Thai chili sauce.

*Chef’s Note: This is the point where you would freeze the lumpia if needed for a later time.

Enjoy!! I find these lumpia to be Imeldific!

“I was born ostentatious. They will list my name in the dictionary someday. They will use ‘Imeldific’ to mean ostentatious extravagance.” -Imelda Marcos, Former First Lady of the Philippines in 1965-1986