Oh, just some dumplings I whipped up from scratch.
Sure, I had just worked a full 9-5 day, but I had a whole evening ahead of me. The ingredients were just sitting in my fridge. “Why not make the kimchi tofu dumplings I’d seen on thekitchn.com?” I thought.
Um, because it’s a ton of work. Sautee the carrots in sesame oil. Boil the bean sprouts and then squeeze the water out. Do a squeeze job on the kimchi. Flake the tofu until your mind becomes fixated on the symptoms of carpal tunnel. But I didn’t realize that until I was in the thick of it.
Just a dozen ingredients
It was laborious, but none of it was particularly hard. Chop chop. Shred shred. Squeeze squeeze. Until you get…
Beautiful Korean flavors
Next up: filling the dumpling wrappers in front of the tv.
“Many hands make light work,” goes the saying. Next time, I should find some more hands.
Hours later – with the second half of the dumplings made the following evening – I had 100 dumplings. It was only supposed to make 48. Thank goodness I had an extra package of dumpling wrappers in the freezer!
The verdict: they’re delicious. They don’t taste much different from the frozen ones you can get at the Korean grocery, but I feel good knowing they don’t have any preservatives or chemicals. Very fresh, bright flavors and enough dumplings for uh… a long time.
Inspirational! Love the idea of using what you got in your fridge.
Thanks! I love all the recipes on your blog! I have a giant bale of Korean red pepper flakes and a tub of gochujang just sitting here. (Oh, and an aversion to seafood.) Suggestions welcome!!
One of my favorite things to eat is just tofu simmered with miso, red pepper flakes, garlic and scallions in a little water & a drizzle of sesame oil. I think of it as a quick faux stew. No seafood necessary!