Posts tagged Appetizers
Ramp and Swiss Chard Dumplings

It's ramp season in New York! Earlier yesterday, my neighborhood co-op tweeted that they just got a shipment of ramps in stock, which my friend Barb relayed to me via text. I was working on taxes at the time and wading through a mountain of receipts, so I was more than happy for an excuse to escape spreadsheets for a while and stroll (okay, powerwalk) to the store.

Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are pretty much in season for about 3 weeks here, making them highly sought after by chefs and anyone crazy enough about food to follow farmers markets and co-ops on Twitter. They're grown only in the eastern part of the US and Canada, so the year I spent in San Francisco, land of copious farmers markets, was sadly ramp-free. The flavor of ramps is a like a combination of garlic and onion, with a mellow earthy flavor. You can use it in anything you would normally use onions, scallions, leeks, and garlic in, such as omelets, savory tarts, pasta dishes, and pizza.

Today I decided to make dumplings with ramps and an especially pretty bunch of Swiss chard that was also in the store.

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Chinese, Dumplings, Recipes, Vegetarian Comments
Lemongrass Chicken Wings

I finally joined the Park Slope Co-op after two years of living in the neighborhood. And it's been kind of life-changing. Not because I'm suddenly exposed to organic and seasonal food, since I've been buying both for years, but because I no longer have to trek out to Chinatown for ingredients like lemongrass, curry leaves, etc. And having so much lemongrass close by has made me use regularly in the kitchen again, such as for making Vietnamese chicken curry and Thai lemongrass and ginger iced tea.

Earlier this week I decided to make lemongrass chicken wings. As some of you might have guessed by now, I love wings and will try to find any excuse to make them, whether it's for a summer cookout, mid-winter tiki party, Chinese-Caribbean party, or just reviving a homestyle Chinese dish that involves Coca-Cola.

The best way to extract full flavor from lemongrass, as I once learned from the ex-boyfriend of an old roommate who was a pastry chef, is to bruise the white ends of the lemongrass stalk with the blunt edge of your knife's knife before slicing. This releases the lemongrass flavor much better than simply chopping. The marinade for these wings is plenty flavorful, with fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and shallots. To get some nice browning in the oven, I baste the wings with a honey and soy sauce mixture during the roasting.

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BlogDiana KuanAppetizers, Chicken Comments
Chinese-Style Portobello Mushroom Buns

You know those steamed pork belly buns that seem to be everywhere in New York now, from the Momofuku restaurants to Baohaus to your neighborhood ramen place? The ones that more or less descended from Taiwanese gua bao and Japanese kakuni buns? I can practically live off these perfectly portable and juicy specimens. But in the interest of having normal cholesterol levels, I don't.

I had some leftover buns from making pork belly buns last week for my cookbook, so I decided to try a vegetarian alternative that won't leave me in a food coma after a weekday lunch. Portobello mushrooms make excellent burger fillings, so why wouldn't the meaty mushrooms be equally fine as with Chinese buns? Another bonus over pork belly is that they take about 1/5 the cooking time, just 6 or 7 minutes in the pan. I used a simpler braising liquid than I would normally use for pork belly — rice wine, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce — and topped it off with shredded scallions and peanuts, like I do for Taiwanese-style pork belly buns.

I steamed the buns in the microwave, so the total time, including prep, was about 20 minutes. They make a quick lunch or dinner, but I imagine they would also be impressive little appetizers for a dinner party.

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian Comments
Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

Happy Chinese New Year! Over the weekend, I celebrated by guest chef-ing at Ted and Amy Supper Club in Brooklyn. We served a four-course meal for 14 people: shrimp and chive dumplings, watercress and mushroom noodle soup, red-cooked chicken with chestnuts, and for dessert, homemade black sesame ice cream with almond cookie crumble. Even I left in a food coma, and I had spent most of the day running around.

It has been a while since I've featured a dumpling recipe on this site, so on Saturday afternoon, in the midst of preparing for the dinner, I pan-fried some extra dumplings for lunch and snapped a few photos.

The beauty of shrimp dumplings, other than being delicious, is that they take about half the cooking time of the standard pork dumplings, only about 3 minutes in the pan instead of 5 or 6. Chives add a refreshing crispness without overwhelming the delicate flavor of the shrimp, as scallions or leeks might. So if you're a huge dumpling fan, try out this recipe below, for Chinese New Year or just a fun weekend project. The most challenging part is the folding. But once you get comfortable and crank out all 50, you can freeze extras for later. (And if you're in New York, I also offer entire classes on dumpling making.)

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Chinese, Dumplings, Recipes, Seafood, Shrimp Comments
Spicy Pickled Cucumbers

Home pickling can be incredibly fun and rewarding, but these days I've been way too busy to set aside time for the canning process. So when a craving hits, I've been making what I call instant pickles. They're great for a quick dinner appetizer, pot luck barbecue treat, or mid-afternoon computer break snack.

I first made these 2 years ago with fresh bird's eye chilis, but found that mincing up the chilis can be time consuming (and painful, if you wear contacts...the oil from the chilis doesn't seem to leave my hands, even after copious hand-washings and soaking in yogurt.)

Over time I discovered these pickles are just as good with Asian chili sauce, such as sambal oelek, and much, much faster. The hands-on process takes no more than 10 minutes, and you can either serve them right away or wait to allow the cucumbers to soak up more flavor.

If you're a fan of pickles straight from the jar, you'll love this recipe. If you're a fan of kimchi or other banchan, you'll also love this.

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BlogDiana KuanAppetizers, Chinese, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian Comments
Soy Sauce Eggs

I have a somewhat unhealthy addiction to eggs. In the past year, I was sometimes eating two or three eggs a day, just because they're so darn versatile and easy to prepare. (My doctor hasn't said anything about this habit...yet.) Breakfast? Scrambled eggs with salt and pepper. Lunch? Omelet with mushrooms and onions. As for dinner...well, you know how everyone has that secret, fool-proof, but embarrassingly unattractive dish they make when eating alone? Mine is a fried egg, still runny in the middle, slathered with oyster sauce, and plopped into a bowl of reheated rice.

Photogenic? No. Delicious? Quite.

A few days ago I decided to make a few days' worth of eggs in one go, that can be reheated and eaten with rice or other sides at a later, lazier time. I then remembered what my mom used to do on weekends to prepare for a week of after-school snacks. On Sunday nights, she would just simmer hard-boiled eggs in a soy sauce broth with some sugar and ginger slices added in. I would eat one immediately out of the pot, and on subsequent days the rest would be scarfed down straight from the fridge or warmed in the microwave.

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BlogDiana KuanAppetizers, Chinese, Eggs, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free Adaptable, Recipes, Vegetarian Comments
Foodbuzz 24x24: Mid-Winter Tiki Party

 So the holiday season is over, it's snowing for the 20th time this month, and the road to spring looks long and arduous. You want to be some place warm. Like Tahiti, or Oahu. But there's that cost thing. If only there were a place in New York where you could go and pretend to be in a tropical paradise. Some place with Mai Tai's and an occasionally overactive radiator, for example.

So read the beginning of the invitation for my Brooklyn tiki party. The end of January seemed like the perfect time to throw one, in conjunction with Foodbuzz's 24x24 event, wherein 24 bloggers around the world host food-themed events of their choosing on the same night. Tiki seemed like a natural choice; Chinese food plays a pretty big role in tiki culture as we know it in the US, and donning a lei and drinking tropical punches seemed like the perfect way to spend a winter's evening.

We no longer have a Trader Vic's in New York, but the city has seen some high-profile Polynesian-themed establishments open in the past year, including Lani Kai, The Hurricane Club, and Painkiller. Years ago, before the tiki revival trend, for a fun night out I used to go to Otto's Shrunken Head on East 14th, where you can get highly potent concoctions and listen to The Ventures cover bands.  My current apartment, with its open kitchen layout, seemed like the perfect spot to recreate a tiki bar.

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Chicken and Apple Dumplings

Ever gone apple-picking on a 90-degree day? Last weekend probably had the last of such summery temperatures until next June. But instead of lounging on the beach, I was at the apple orchard helping to pick about 30 pounds of crisp, earlyish-in-the-season apples. Signs of fall weren't completely missing: on the drive up the Hudson from New York, I spotted abut one in 30 trees with a vibrant red or orange hue.

The cool weather on the radar for this week (and my insatiable craving for appley desserts) is probably a good sign that it had been the perfect time to go apple-picking.

What does one end up doing with 30 pounds of apples? Apple bread, apple fritters, and apple cookies were all cranked out this weekend. In lieu of apple pie, we attempted apple pandowdy (which, I was reminded, is in the lyrics of an oldies hit.) For something savory, I decided to try apple dumplings.

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Chicken, Chinese, Dumplings, Recipes Comments
Pork and Shrimp Shumai

I love owning a bamboo steamer, if for no other reason that to display around the kitchen. It's not only a conversation starter whenever new guests visit but also a handy tool for food photography. (Gotta play up the Asian theme sometimes.) Plus, a set of basket and lid usually costs less than $10 in Chinatown.

Of course, there are times when bamboo steamers are useful for actual cooking. Aside from har gow, shumai is possibly the most requested dim sum standard in my family, with the reliable crinkly yellow wonton wrappers snugly encasing the pork-dominant filling. I haven't tackled har gow at home yet, possibly because even 95% of all restaurants I visit fail at the texture of the translucent wrapper. But siu mai I can do.

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Cantonese, Chinese, Dumplings, Pork, Recipes Comments
Guide to Wrapping and Pan-frying Dumplings

I have to admit that I have a strong bias towards jiaozi (饺子). Besides Shanghainese soup dumplings (xiaolongbao), my favorite Chinese dumplings are thin-skinned and pan-fried, the kind found mainly in Southern China or New York's $1-for-5 fried dumpling joints. Northern Chinese-style dumplings, which offer more thick doughy skin than filling, just can't compare.

What's better than anything a restaurant or dumpling stall can offer are homemade jiaozi, hot off the skillet. On my last day in Zhongshan my mother and I bought dumpling skins from a lady specializing in doughy things like wrappers and noodles, and spent an hour or two wrapping dumplings for dinner.

Since I have so many photos from that afternoon, I thought I would do a pictoral guide on jiaozi-making. (Often dumpling recipes fail to show the step-by-step process in folding.) Also included is my mother's fool-proof method for getting perfectly crisp pan-fried dumplings without burning them.

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RecipesDiana KuanAppetizers, Cantonese, Dumplings, Pork, Recipes Comments