beloved kimchee

I love kimchee. I love to eat
it with rice. But I also like to
think of ways to eat it almost
on its own, just so no one
thinks I'm too crazy. Gyoza, or
dumplings, are a perfect
kimchee delivery device.

As I'm all about convenience and
simplicity (and what parent isn't), I head to the Korean market and pick up some jumbo gyoza skins. They're about 3 inches in diameter, with simple ingredients: wheat flour, tapioca starch, salt. If you're vegan too, you may have to check a few packages to find some without eggs, because probably three-quarters of the gyoza skins I've seen contain egg white...Or you could make your own pretty easily. As for the kimchee, I buy mine at Whole Foods or a regular supermarket...saves me from combing through non-vegan bonito-laden kimchee at the asian markets that look delicious but alas contain one or more vegetarian un-friendly ingredients.

I usually thaw a package of frozen gyoza wrappers for an hour on the counter, then refrigerate overnight until I'm ready to use them. I often use half the package, then pop the rest back in the freezer. The re-freezing hasn't affected their quality in my opinion provided I use them with the month.

When making vegetable gyoza/dumplings, I prefer the health benefits of steaming or microwaving. But when dealing with my kimchee obsession, I recommend frying in peanut oil all the way!

Kimchee Dumplings

1/2 package jumbo gyoza skins
water for sealing
1/4 cup kimchee
peanut oil
soy sauce (optional)

First, lay out your thawed
gyoza circles on your work
surface. Next, place a small amount of drained kimchee in the lower half of each circle. Dip a finger in a small bowl of water and dab around half the edge (sort of like painting a smiley face wth watercolors). Fold down the top half of the gyoza skin. Then pick it up a crimp a few times--I usually start with one crimp in the middle, then do two more on each side.

Next, pour enough peanut
oil in to cover the bottom of
a non-stick skillet or wok.
Heat the oil over med-high.
Gently add your dumplings,
arranging them so they do
not touch (it usually takes me
two batches). Cook about 45
seconds, then turn over with
a pair of tongs (I use tempura tongs). Cook for another minute or so. Drain on a paper towel or tempura paper.

Serve with soy sauce for dipping (optional). The crunchy, spicy, vinegary taste of the kimchee combined with the crispy, savory fried gyoza skins is soooo tasty...and a quick dip in salty soy sauce is delish.
I love these with some cold soba noodles and sliced green onion...for breakfast. LOL.
And my pickiest son AJ will gladly eat them with me! Imagine!!

Of course he'd prefer to
follow that with his favourite
lunch of tofu-spinach stuffed
pasta shells!

stamping on food

Monday:
Armed with some new soy paper wrappers and edible ink markers, I got out a rubber stamp set and prepared to decorate some onigiri rolls. I'd never worked with soy wrappers before. They soften easily on damp rice, but the image I'd stamped on them didn't bleed at all. So I will definitely use this technique again. But I still want to think of more edible surfaces to stamp on in the future.
Ryan's snack: sports-themed onigiri; spinach; grapes; a strawberry.
I've discovered that AJ doesn't always care for food that LOOKS like other things! When he saw his snack he declared "oooh! My favourite!" with regards to the stamped onigiri, but then he chewed off the ends at school but left the balloon image alone. I'll have to not make such an effort on his snacks. Oh well! Ryan loves them.
AJ: onigiri roll; broccoli; grapes; spinach.
My husband's lunch: various onigiri w/furikake seasonings; leftover general Gao's "chicken"; spinach; strawberries; an apricot.

Ryan has been picking
lots of dandelion greens
from our yard. Our poor
neighbor with the
monoculture golf course
lawn doesn't know what
he's missing! Ryan
insists I include his
harvest in our meals. So far I've blanched it with spinach, and added it with some green beans to our ramen noodles. Next he wants them added to his favourite tofu dish.

Tuesday:
Ryan loves all sports, so I made his bento look like a pool table...a bed of brown rice; barely blanched spinach leaves (patted dry); edamame pockets; a pretzel cue stick; a white chocolate chip cue ball; a triangle I made out of melted chocolate and froze the night before; various fruits, veggies, & beans cut into circles with a metal frosting piper nozzle.

Lunch was orzo pasta
with chopped fresh &
sun-dried tomatoes,
garlic, walnuts, salt,
pepper, & olive oil.



The boys helped to
plant the azalea bush
they got me for
Mother's Day. Ryan
dug most of the hole
and added compost
from our compost pile.



Wednesday:
Ryan: oriental rice crackers; an apricot; bean salad; cucumber salad.

A "picnic" lunch for the boys: whole wheat bagel pizzas made w/Veganrella cheeze; grapes; strawberries; peanuts; carrots; celery.

Dinner: pickled beets; steamed baby purple potatoes; spicy baked tofu; steamed broccoli; corn.

Friday:
AJ and Dada's lunch: rice; mini pumpkin muffin; steamed baby purple potatoes; honeydew melon; spicy baked tofu; mini zucchini muffin; steamed broccoli; cantaloupe; 2 white & dark chocolate ducks.

AJ needed something to share with Dada on his preschool field trip to Boston to visit the ducks and ride the Swan Boats in the public garden. A few days earlier I melted some vegan chocolate and made various shapes, including these ducks.
A great award-winning book to read for kids is Make Way For Ducklings about a duck family's search for a place to live in Boston.