Nurturing my inner... wallet friendly take out

Time for a beer around the world update.  This stop: China.

There are TONS of Chinese places in every town.  I try them all.  (To be fair to all.  I love the research.)  But I keep going back to my local fav.  It is the least fancy place of anywhere I've been, but I like the food the best.  (And the prices are fantastic!)  So what it may lack in upscale atmosphere, it makes up for in other key areas.  (What's the good of gorgeous interior design if the food is subpar.  If I can't have both, I'll take the superior food over decor any day.)

That place is China King.  There is one in the Herndon clock tower plaza and probably a lesser known China King II location off of Spring Street, tucked in an industrial park.  (I'm no snob.  That one is closer to me, so I frequent it.)  Pretty much I get the same thing every time: chicken & broccoli.  (Like an old, soft sweatshirt on a cold day, it never disappoints.)  The take out container is jam packed and I think it's about $6.00.  So, who wouldn't be thrilled.  The hot stir fry goes on the bottom and they put a generous scoop of rice on top.

Hot peppers in the back. You have to ask for
them, but IMHO, they are a MUST have.
Adds a little heat and flavor.

The serving size is so generous that for me, it takes me two (sometimes three) days to polish it off.  I has lots of crisp broccoli and sliced, white, lean chicken.  The brown sauce is wonderfully flavorful and just the right amount.  Does not drown the other ingredients.

Once you unpack a serving from the box, you
will see how much is really jammed in there!

The complementary beer is Tsing Tao.  (Which I just learned is pronounced "Ching-Dow.")  It's a lightly malty lager that lends itself perfectly to stir fry.  It does not leave a heavy coating on the palate, so the mild sauce flavor can really shine through.  Very agreeable.

Popular for a reason. You can trust the name.

I must admit, it's exciting to try all these different beers, not knowing what they'll taste like, and make comparisons.  My findings so far lead me to conclude already that every culture must create their beers with specific flavor profiles to go perfectly with their foods.  Which makes absolute sense, I just never thought of it that way.  Food and drink belong together, working as a harmonious team.  The Yin with the Yang.  My advice to you, don't just order your same old familiar American beer when you are out having cuisine from around the world.  Go ahead, be adventurous and order their featured beer.  Like you would do when ordering the regional table wine with dinner if you were in Italy.  You'll be nicely surprised.  Plus your friends will think you are well-cultured and cool. (If you're kinda nerdy, you may need this more than others.)

Nurturing my inner... oh my shumai

One day a convenient store, the next a dry cleaners.  In my area of the country, who can keep up with the frequent change in ownership of the many revolving establishments.  When a neighbor recently invited me to lunch, she said she was in the mood for sushi, then suggested a name I hadn't heard before.  I said, "What place are you talking about?"  I mean, I know nearly every place in my entire town and I did not recognize it at all.  She was describing how to get there to me and yet, nothing was clicking.  Until she said the magic words, "It used to be a McDonald's."  Oooooh.  Now I know where it is.  McDonalds are overly abundant, familiar landmarks that are everywhere.  But at least there is one less now.

Ariake sushi near Hunter's Woods Plaza.  Opened up a few years ago.  A little shadow of Mickey D's architecture was left on the outside, but they did have a nice patio and an outdoor seating area for use in warmer weather.

I think they did a good job converting it.
Nothing golden or arch-like anywhere.

We went for a late lunch, so I was able to get a nice clear shot of the interior after all the people left.  It was simple and elegant.

Intimate. When we first got there, it was full.

I went in with a plan.  That plan was an appetizer (which I don't always do) and a couple sushi rolls.  I saw a friend bring shumai to her house the other day from another place and it had been on my mind ever since.  So that was the inspiration for my appetizer choice.  When it came to the table, I never saw shumai like this.  It was chopped shrimp the size and shape of a large marble, wrapped in a thin wonton and quickly deep fried.  Incredible!  The hot mustard swirly in the corner was such a complement to the shrimp as well.  Yum, perfection!

Lightly crispy and fresh.

I want to go back this week if only for the fried shrimp shumai alone.  But then there was the sushi.  I went for a Philadelphia Roll (smoked salmon, cucumber, cream cheese, and caviar) and a California Roll (imitation crab, avocado, cucumber, salmon roe).  Both were just delicious.

Super fresh and high quality.

I've already scoped out the menu and I'm totally getting this roll when I go back the next time: Super Dynamite Roll (BBQ eel, avocado, crab, and cream cheese).  So much more to try there.

Granted, this new place was still "fast food," but of a higher quality and certainly healthier than its predecessor.  Anytime they want to overhaul a McAnything, I'm for it.  Especially when they make shumai like this place!  Oh my!!

Nurturing my inner... bento

Every December, I buy a new calendar for the up and coming year.  I've taken a particular liking to the Moleskine products.  It doesn't hurt that Matisse, van Gogh, Hemingway, Brenton and Picasso were some of their more famous patrons.  I find inspiration in that.  As if I'm somehow connected to their brilliant creativity through our shared use of these little calendars and notebooks.

A fresh start.

The weekly notebook diary/planner is a close companion for me.  I use it every day for work and I also track my social outings as well as my running/walking/workout activities.  It's slim, easily fits in my purse and the paper is the perfect weight and texture.

It's always exciting to open it for the first time and dream of all the possibilities the year could hold.  This year, it also seemed to beckon me to continue trying new things and expand my creative interests and efforts.  (Oh, and I'm certain it wants me to make LOTS of lists as well.)

For work and play. Which is what life really is.
A bit of both.

I'm not sure where it started, but my guess is that I was searching around on Amazon for who knows what food related item, in my quest for new things, and stumbled upon this book: The Just Bento Cookbook.  "Bento?"  I said to myself.  (It would be interesting to see how many of you know what that is.)  I quickly learned that meant a small meal in a box or a set of compartments with a variety of different food items in them.  Let me not get too far ahead with that information though.  First things first.  The bento in a restaurant setting.

Hama Sushi in Herndon, VA.  I didn't want to take a picture of the interior because the owners were looking at me strangely when I busted out the camera.  I nonchalantly placed it on the table and took a quick snap of the drink I had while I waited for my friends to arrive.  (Locals know what NoVa traffic can be like.  Waiting is just what we do.)

It was a choice between beer and sake and
I just wanted something light.

I'm a complete weirdo I do realize, but I studied the Hama Sushi menu at home so I knew what I was getting as soon as I walked in the door.  (These kinds of complicated decisions take time.)  The Captain Perry Bento: Chicken Teriyaki and Shrimp Tempura. Teriyaki: Char-grilled skinless chicken breast. Tempura: Crispy shrimp and assorted vegetable tempura. Chef special, bean sprout salad, California roll and fruit.

I took this picture quickly before the waiters
 gave me the stare down. (Again, that is to say.)

It was a lot of food.  I had to take some home.  Everything was tasty though.  What a great variety of textures and flavors.  I wish we had more bento places nearby, now that I'm obsessed with them.  (I will say that Teasim, we have locations in DC, has bento boxes, so that's on my list of additional places to try them.)

Back to the book.  I orded The Just Bento Cookbook from Amazon.

After all, one should learn
from the experts.

A day or two after my book arrived, I had a car service appointment that Saturday that was going to take at least three hours.  Without family nearby, I just go to the dealership and hunker down with a bag of activities (and snacks!) to keep me busy.  (I've always been the model self-entertainer since childhood.  You can ask my mom.)  I decided to use the time that day to study my new book in detail.  Page by delicious page.  (It has lots of photos which make it even more interesting.)

Lunch can be way more fun than you realize. You just have to know how to make it fanciful.  (That doesn't have to translate to time consuming.)  An easy way to do that is to take a little lesson from the ever adept at putting a lot of stuff into a small space Japanese.

After reading the bento book, I could see that I needed to order a few things to really do it up right.  The author, Makiko Itoh, uses silicone cupcake forms for salads and softer or juicy items.  So I ordered some square, round and heart shaped ones to act as dividers.

Never know what you might need. Best to
be prepared. Plus, I could use them to make
cupcakes too. Very versatile.

Another set of tools Makiko uses are small, metal cookie cutters.  The ones in the back are from Japan and are different kinds of flowers.  The front container has a variety of other common shapes.  She showed us that we can make fun shapes from ordinary food items like carrots and cheese.  (I didn't do that this time, but you can bet I will in the future.)

They just make food more playful. Doesn't
have to take a lot of time either.

However, the main part that pulls the meal together is the bento box itself.  I ordered mine from a little shop online, straight from Japan, called Bento & Co.  (You can also find a ton of bento boxes and related items on ebay.)  The one I decided on was called the Iro Iro Argyle Set and came in a rainbow of colors.  It was hard to choose just one color, but I decided on the lime green.  (Though I was *this close* to getting the orange.)  It seemed like a good size for a woman.  Men can get bigger containers for their bigger appetites and there are also child-sized ones.

The pieces are the bottom compartment, the top compartment, the lid and the top of the container.

Stackable. Good use of small space.

They also come with matching chopsticks.

Keeps getting better.

One of the most appealing things about the bento is simply this: portion control.  You can only fit so much in the box, so it helps you to exercise some self-control.  (Goodness knows, I could use a helping hand in this endeavor.)

I made some lovely salmon.  I took a 1/3 ounce strip of thick salmon, skin side down, and put it in a baking pan.  I rubbed fresh grated ginger on all sides and then drizzled with soy sauce.  A sprig of fresh rosemary on top and into a 400 degree oven for about 18 minutes or until done.  I don't have a rice maker, yet, so I use Trader Joe's frozen Jasmine rice, which is excellent and takes only three minutes in the microwave.  Comes out perfectly.  When the salmon was done, I took it off the skin and flaked it into large chunks.  Then I put it into one of the square cups.  (Because I haven't bought any fake grass dividers yet and didn't have lettuce handy.)  I surrounded the cup with rice.

Already like art. Only it smells better.

Makiko also used a few other fun items.  Some little containers for sauces and plastic picks.  I ordered them from the same place I got the bento box.  (Seeing as I was already shipping this package from the other side of the world, what the heck.  Do it right.)

All the fun stuff. Too adorable to stand.

I used one of the containers to hold some teriyaki sauce for dipping.

Who doesn't love to dip.

Into the bottom compartment it went and that layer was finished.  This already looked incredibly appetizing.  But I was only halfway done.  On top of this, I put the top compartment.

It was hard to not dive right in.

It's always good to have a fruit or sweet element.  I chose some lychee.  I would have used fresh, but there aren't any this time of year, so canned would have to suffice.

Light, sweet flavor. Try them!

I couldn't resist a close up of the adorable leaf picks.  They are good for many purposes.  Spearing meatballs, olives, fruits, vegetables.

You may think they are a silly extra, but I
would argue they are vitally necessary for
convenience and smiles.

Into the top container I put some steamed asparagus and in a heart shaped cup went a few lychee and some fresh blueberries.

The fruit and veggie layer.

These top items were more liquidy than the bottom ones, so the lid came in handy to seal it up tight.

And that layer was now done as well.

On went the top to the entire bento box as well as the elastic band that holds it all together firmly.

Compact and ready to go.

Since I did the cooking the night before and not that morning, I put the entire box into the fridge.

The following morning, I put the box into the bag.  Bentos are meant to be able to take on the go and not necessarily have to be refrigerated (or heated).  I live in a modern world, so mine was going in the fridge at work.  (Why rough it when you don't have to.)  But if you were going to be out in the field or on a picnic, you could always put an ice pack in there.

In you go, my precious two-tiered,
complete meal package.

I cinched the top, tied it up and it was ready to come with me for a hard day's labor in the fields.  (Aka, sitting in my cube staring at a pc for eight hours.)

Ready? Let's go!

It's hard to be humble on this one.  I thought it was a super fun lunch and I was kinda proud of myself!  It was visually appealing, flavorfully diverse and perfectly proportioned.  I will be featuring more bento creations in the future, this I know.  I did have three hours at the car dealership to make quite the list of combinations.  Once you start thinking of meals through the filter of the bento, your mind will go crazy with ideas.

Oh, and go to Makiko's website and get some Japanese, and not so Japanese, recipes.  I like when she deconstructs something like a French salad niçoise or makes an Asian take on meatballs.  That's the fun of creating a bento.  There really is no end to the possibilities and you can make them as exotic or as American as you want.

Nurturing my inner... chinese new year

A couple years ago, my coworker invited me to her house for Chinese New Year, complete with traditional Chinese fare.  (Because she's Chinese, so that made sense.)  Poached whole fish (with an eye to look at you and all), hundred year old egg (the yolk was dark green and the albumen was black from the fermenting process, but it wasn't really 100 years old - at least I hope it wasn't!) and homemade pork dumplings.  I ate it all with chopsticks, because I think we should embrace cuisine as it was meant to be eaten in that particular culture.

I got to her house just as she started to make the dumplings with her other friends and she invited me to join right in.  I like that kind of cook!  They had bought premade wrappers and were using their own homemade filling.  I decided to observe them for a bit at first.  I carefully watched how they put a wrapper in their hand, added a teaspoon of the filling and crimped it with artistic flare.  I'm an artist, so I knew I could pick up the technique.  After a couple of dumplings, I really got it down.  They said I was a natural!  I'm not sure about that, but I do think we have an amazing capacity to learn many things if we're willing to be taught and corrected when we're not doing it right.

Chinese New Year is coming up once again, this year it's in early February, and I decided I was going to make my own dumplings.

Pork and Maitake Mushroom Dumplings

1/2 lb ground pork
2 heaping tbsp fresh maitake mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, rough chopped
1 tsp fresh onion, rough chopped
2 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp corn starch
1 egg white, beaten
Dash of salt
2 tsps fresh cilantro

I have a small food process, but it would fit the batch I needed to make.  First I put in the onion, garlic and ginger.

The ginger is key to the familiar flavor you
know and love!

I quickly hit the chop button a few times to mince it up.

Much faster than hand chopping.

I was at Wegmans yesterday, so that's where I did my shopping for the day.  The smallest package I could find was a whole pound, so I took out half for the dumplings and then froze the other half flat to make meatballs another day.

It's good to buy a little extra and plan for a
future meal.

I added that into the processor.

It's a lean meat. I like lean meat. Hope it
makes for a lean me.

It needed a veggie element and I decided mushrooms sounded about right.  They had some maitake mushrooms, also known as Hen of the Woods, and though they were $12.99 a pound fresh, I only needed a small bunch.  So it ended up to be only $1.50 for the bundle.

How fancy is that? Ah nature, you're amazing.

I cut off the base that held all the "petals" together and then gave these a chop.

Really gorgeous design.

Now what would a dumpling be without a few key flavors?  (Well, unflavorful is the answer.  Was that a trick question?)

A little of you and you and you.

While reading up on dumplings, there was an ingredient I didn't know I needed, so I'm glad I noticed before I went to the store.  Corn starch.  I think it acts as a binding agent.

Note to self: Find other recipes to use up
this container of corn starch this year.

Into the processor went the soy sauce, sesame sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, starch and salt.  Along with the egg white, which I suppose also acts as yet another binding agent.

Rough chop is fine because the processor
will mince it all up more.

Don't over pulse, just enough to blend it.

If I made a bigger batch, I would have needed
a larger processor.

Lastly, in went some fresh cilantro and mushrooms, another few pulses and done.  You could mix this all with a spoon in a bowl instead, but I wanted a finer texture to my filling, so I chose the processor method.

The green adds dimension to the fleshy color.

Just so you know, I never planned on making the dough for the wrappers from scratch.  Not when premade wrappers can be found so easily.  (Also, seeing as my Chinese friends thought premade ones were acceptable, who was I to not employ this bit of ancient Chinese wisdom.)  They sell them at all kinds of stores, probably not far from the fresh ginger.  (That's where I found them!)  They only had one pack of pot sticker wrappers that day, must be all the other people prepping for Chinese New Year, but they would suit my purposes.  I grabbed them quickly.

A real time saver.

There were about 50 in the package. 

I took out a stack.

An assembly line is the way to go.

I laid out about six wrappers.

I happened to have these small spoons that were my great aunt's.  I just got them from my cousin, who didn't want them anymore, after my last trip to Connecticut.  They were about a half teaspoon size and worked perfectly for the amount of filling I wanted to add to each wrapper.  I used a generous, well-rounded spoonful.

Don't overfill or you won't be able to seal it up.

After the dollop was on the wrapper, I had a small finger bowl with water handy.

This little wooden bowl was perfect for my
dumpling sealing task.

I dabbed a finger into the bowl and then traced it around the edge of half of the wrapper.  Note: The pot sticker wrappers were slightly oval, so I made sure to fold on the long side.

Tip: Lightly wet the edge, not too much,
or it won't seal tightly.

I pinched up the short sides and then worked my way around the silouette of the filling, making sure to get rid of any air.  Trapped air can cause dumplings to burst open.

It's craft time!

I pressed the dough all around to make a tight seal.

Looks like a pierogi at this point.

Now to add the dumpling magic design that had been taught to me.  I pinched the top of the dough and made a little pleat.

There is an art to it all.

I continued my pleating down one side and then the other.  If you prefer, you can use a plastic dumpling press, but I'm more of an arts and crafts kind of girl, so I will often choose the manual method over perceived convenience.

There is something to be said for
authenticity. And imperfection.

One after another, dollop, fold, seal, pleat and I quickly had a nice little pile of them.  I put them on a plate and into the fridgerator to keep them cool while I finshed the rest.

Not too shabby bit of work.

I learned the Chinese tradition that they randomly put a peanut in some of the dumplings and it's supposed to be good luck to the person who gets one of them.  (I don't believe in luck, but I also know they added them in enough dumplings that really, every one gets one eventually!)  I didn't have any peanuts, so as a nod to my Italian side, I put a pignoli nut in some.  I didn't want to skip out on their tradition, after all.

That seemed like a clever enough subsitute.

When I was done, I ended up with about 40 dumplings total.

I'm going into business soon.

The next quandry I was in, was how should I cook these?  Since I didn't have a bamboo steamer.  (Which I think I will get one day.)  I tried three ways.

1.) Steamed them in a veggie steamer.  Took 20 minutes.  I brushed the inside of the container with canola oil to prevent sticking and flipped them halfway through.

Steam starts quickly.

Result: Good, but maybe a tiny bit chewy.  Probably not the route I'd go again, but it was convenient.



I tried not to crowd them, so they wouldn't
stick to each other.


The grooves from the container were nice though.  Very uniform.

Looked really nice.

2.) Steamed in a pot with a metal basket.  I brushed the basket with canola oil to prevent sticking.  Placed on the lid and 20 minutes to cook.

Lined up in a row.

Result: Great. The water from the bottom boiled up some into the basket and on to the dumplings, so it kept them moist.

Perfectly steamed.

On the plate, they looked very natural.

Restaurant worthy, I'd say.

3.) Pan fried.  This officially makes this batch pot stickers.  That's what a dumpling is called when it's fried.  I guess because it sticks to the pot.  I added some butter (you can do half oil too) to the pan and only had it on medium so it wouldn't cook too quickly.



Again, no over crowding.


I cooked these for a couple minutes on the first side until brown, then flipped and cooked on the other side until brown.

Okay, so one was a little more than brown,
but I rescued it just in time!

Then I added three or four tablespoons of water (smoke will rise up at first - you've been warned) and they steam uncovered until they finish cooking and the water has evaporated.  Total cook time for pan frying was 10-12 minutes.

Result: The crispy exterior was nice and the rest of it was delightfully chewy like the steamed version.  I liked these a lot too.

I didn't know that pan frying also involved
water being added to keep them moist, but
I learned that online.

The pan fried dumplings presented extremely well on the plate because everyone loves something golden brown.

It's good to have options.

I know you realize I couldn't eat 40 dumplings in a day.  So I packaged the rest by type, labeled and froze them.  Dumplings you buy frozen are cooked and I felt that would be best for storage.  So when I want some, I can just take out a few and then heat them up again in a few minutes.

All dumplings need a good sauce, of course.

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Terriyaki sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

All the ingredients went in one bowl and I mixed them up.  I then transfered it equally into two small, delicate, asian, condiment dishes.  So, it makes about two servings good for about four to six dumplings.

A good balance of salty and smokey.

I added a couple of each type of dumpling to my plate to sample some more and make sure I had enough detailed notes.  One has to do good scientific research, after all, no matter what the sacrifice.  (Mmm, chew, chew, chew.)  And I am whole-heartedly dedicated to my work.

Which one to eat first?!?

Ever since that day at my Chinese friend's house, I have thought many times about making my own dumplings.  Too bad it took me two years to get around to it!  But better late... than even later.  And still, just in time for Chinese New Year 2011!  I think next time I will make a vegetarian dumpling.  (And I won't wait another two years to do it!)