Archive for the ‘Appetizers’ Category

New Year, New Flavor: Tamarind

Wednesday, January 10th, 2024

Courtesy of McCormick

I’m always lurking on the internet to spot food trends. It was thus impossible for me to resist what McCormick, the purveyor of spices and much more, calls the 2024 flavor of the year.

I had been intrigued by the 2023 flavor of the year, a blend of Vietnamese and Cajun seasonings. Unfortunately, that spice was sold out by the time I found out about it. I decided to investigate the 2024 flavor early.

The 2024 flavor is tamarind. I consumed quite a few tamarind-related chutneys and other dishes when I lived in India as a teenager. I didn’t realize at the time what a global food tamarind is.

Tamarind fruit grows on a lush tropical tree (also called tamarind) that originated in Africa but spread to grow in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Tamarind is extremely health to eat, with lots of vitamins and antioxidants.

According to Buddhist lore, tamarind seeds are supposed to embody faithfulness and forbearance. Those certainly seem like good qualities with which to launch a new year.

Tamarind has a unique sweet-and-sour flavor. You may not think you have eaten it, but you probably have. It is a common ingredient both in Worcestershire sauce and in Pad Thai, the popular noodle dish.

Tamarind’s combination of sweetness and savory gives it versatility. In Mexico it is often incorporated into candies and beverages. In Asia it is generally used more for tart dishes and is frequently employed to make marinades for meat and fish, as well as in the chutneys I recall from my youth.

It can be obtained in a variety of forms. In India, my family purchased tamarind paste, in which the fruit flavor is highly concentrated. The paste is available in specialty-food shops and online. One can also purchase the fruit whole (mostly dried, I gather) or dried and powdered.

Courtesy of the New York Public Library

Since McCormick is primarily a dried-spice company, it prefers its tamarind dried. Its signature tamarind product is a tamarind and pasilla chile blend. Pasilla chiles are the dried form of the chilica pepper. They are popular in Mexican cuisine for adding just a little heat (they are only mildly spicy) but a lot of smoky flavor.

The company sent me some of the new spice blend to play with. The first thing I did was open the jar to smell and taste a few of the mixed granules inside. The first flavor that hid my taste buds was a slightly sweet heat. Its aftertaste came across as citrus-y.

I tried the blend that evening with a catfish filet. I sprinkled the fish with the seasoning and pan fried it in a little olive oil and butter. The heat, the sweet, and the citrus notes worked well with the fish.

My next venture with the tamarind and pasilla chile blend was to try a recipe provided by McCormick for a feta-based dip. It took a little doing. The recipe was more complicated than my usual dips because it included not just a semi-liquid mixture, but two toppings for that mixture.

One was a honey glaze that added just a hint more sweetness to the tamarind and chile flavor profile. The other was a mixture of fresh herbs and nuts.

I altered the recipe when I made it, and I enjoyed it with my changes.

I didn’t have any sesame seeds. Instead of mixing those in with the nuts and herbs, then, I blended a little sesame oil in with the dairy products. (I used 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil instead of the 1 tablespoon olive oil in the recipe.)

In addition, I was serving the dish to a neighbor with a nut allergy so I had to find a substitute for the nuts.

I didn’t want to bypass them entirely; their purpose is to add a little crunch to the dip. Instead, I used pepitas (squash seeds) to take care of that extra bit of texture. The pepitas had the added advantage of being popular in Mexican cuisine so I felt they worked with the flavor profile of the dip.

The dip was a big hit. The feta flavor was strong, adding a little extra salt and tang to the tamarind. I’d make it again in a heartbeat. Here is the recipe, along with my wishes for a happy and healthy new year.

McCormick Tangy Feta Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
1/3 cup full-fat ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons tamarind and pasilla chile seasoning, plus another teaspoon later
1 tablespoon assorted chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, walnuts, whatever)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons local honey

Instructions:

In a food processor or an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the feta, the ricotta, the sour cream, the olive oil, and the first 2 teaspoons of tamarind and pasilla chile seasoning.

Spoon the mixture into a bowl that is relatively wide, cover the bowl, and refrigerate the dip for an hour or so to let the flavors meld.

In a bowl, mix the nuts, the dill, the parsley, and the sesame seeds. Set them aside.

Heat the honey just until it is warm. Add the remaining teaspoon of seasoning. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, keeping it warm. (I left it over a very tiny flame on my stove.)

Take the feta dip out of the refrigerator. Drizzle it with the warm seasoned honey, and sprinkle the nuts and herbs on top.

Serve with chopped vegetables, pita chips, or breadsticks. Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer.

A Centennial Celebration

Thursday, September 21st, 2023

Arnold Black

Food does much more than nourish us. It connects us to other people, in the present in the past. This week I’m using it to remember Arnold Black (1923-2000) of Charlemont, Massachusetts, and New York City. Arnie was a composer, a violinist, and the founder of our local chamber-music series, Mohawk Trail Concerts. He was also an utter charmer.

Arnie would have turned 100 this year. MTC will honor this special anniversary this Saturday, September 23, at 3 p.m. at the Charlemont Federated Church with a celebration of Arnie Black.

This fundraiser will begin with a concert featuring works composed by, or about Arnie. Those gathered will then move into the church social rooms to share refreshments and anecdotes about him.

The Federated Church is an appropriate location for this tribute. It was there in 1969 that Arnie came up with the idea for the concert series. He and his family were spending the summer at Singing Brook Farm here in Hawley in a cabin called Pudding Hollow.

Our neighbor, composer Alice Parker, asked him to play his violin at the church one Sunday.

Arnie Black lifted his bow that morning to begin a Haydn concerto and quickly discovered what members of the Federated Church had known for more than a century: the sanctuary had magnificent acoustics. (The first time I sang a solo there, I was so impressed with my suddenly fabulous voice that I vowed never to sing in another venue. I’ve broken that vow since, but I never sound quite as good elsewhere as I do in the Federated Church.)

Arnie and his wife Ruth decided that those acoustics warranted a concert series, and in the summer of 1970 Mohawk Trail Concerts was born.

From its first concert, MTC threw musicians and community members together. Folks from the church and the surrounding hills raised money, built stage platforms, and occasionally even performed themselves. They showed that, for them as well as for the professionals, music was something you made and not just something you listened to.

Arnie and Ruth both had outgoing personalities and wonderful senses of humor. They encouraged musicians to linger after the concerts to get to know audience members. That interaction was perhaps MTC’s greatest strength, one that continues to this day.

Returning musicians seem to look forward to the fellowship almost as much as the audience does. In particular, Bolcom and Morris, the duo made up of composer/pianist William Bolcom and mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, have made many friends in our community.

Here I am with Joan and Bill a few years back.

Bill Bolcom always appears a little surprised that I am now grown up. He met me first when I came to the concerts as a child. My parents took me to the very first MTC performance. I have been a loyal audience member ever since, and I have volunteered frequently.

When Arnie died in 2000, Ruth Black took over the concerts. She retired nine years ago and handed the directorship to Mark Fraser. A cellist who lives in Montague, Mark continues the concerts’ traditions of excellent music, humor, and accessibility.

When I was writing my first cookbook, I asked Arnie for a recipe. He gave me his formula for Squash Latkes. I made the latkes last week in preparation for the MTC anniversary party. Being me, I also adapted them into my own version.

Interestingly, the squash disappears in both versions but leaves a little flavor as well as nutritional value. Two people who had known Arnie attended the party at which I served the latkes: composer Alice Parker and violinist Masako Yanagita.

Masako told me she remembered eating them with Arnie many times. For her and Alice, as for me, they represented a taste of a dear, talented man.

Anyone interested in attending the MTC event on the Sept. 23 is encouraged to email info@mohawktrailconcerts.org to reserve a place. The suggested donation is $75, but the public is welcome with a contribution of any amount.

And … just in case you were wondering, I will be singing a couple of songs on the program!

Arnie’s Squash Latkes by Way of “The Steppes of Central Asia”
(to be eaten to Alexander Borodin’s Music of the Same Name)

“My mother was from Russia,” Arnie told me. “She was a great cook, and many of her specialties were derived from the Russian cuisine. Borscht (Hot: tomatoes, cabbage, beef; Cold: beets, sour cream, potatoes), Blini, Blintzes, Stuffed Cabbage, Stroganoffs up and down the Don.

“A vegetable dish which as a child in Philadelphia I found particularly delectable was ‘Squash Latkes,’ or ‘Squash Pancakes.’ She would serve them with a dollop of sour cream. Years later, living alone in New York and cooking for myself, I fondly remembered those wonderful Latkes.

“Thinking they might be within my modest ability, I called my mother for the recipe.”

To make things simpler, I used Bisquick for both recipes because Arnie’s recipe called for it. If you don’t have that mix, use 1 cup flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt for each cup of Bisquick. Add a tablespoon of oil to the wet ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 good-sized summer squash
1 egg
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup milk
2 cups Bisquick, plus a bit more if needed
sour cream as garnish

Instructions:

Grate the squash; place it in a dish towel inside a colander to drain for 15 minutes or so. Place the grated squash in a in a mixing bowl and add the egg. Add the oil, the milk, and then the Bisquick, stirring but not beating. Add a bit more flour or Bisquick if the batter seems runny.

Spoon the batter into pancakes on a very hot, buttered griddle. Turn when bubbles start to appear. Serve with sour cream or maple syrup or both. This recipe serves 4 but can be doubled easily. I made tiny pancakes as an appetizer; I ended up with about 25 little cakes.

Tinky’s Squash Latkes by Way of the Steps of West Hawley
(to be eaten to “The Hawley Song”)

Ingredients:

2 good-sized summer squash
2 eggs, beaten
a handful of dill, broken up into small leaves
1/4 cup finely minced onion (I used red onion for color)
1 cup grated store cheese (aged Cheddar)
1 cup Bisquick
butter or extra-virgin olive oil as needed for frying

Instructions:

Grate the squash; place it in a dish towel inside a colander to drain it for 15 minutes or so.In a bowl, combine the eggs, the dill, the onion pieces, and the cheese. Stir in the squash, followed by the Bisquick.

Spoon the batter into small pancakes on a hot griddle greased with butter or olive oil. Cook until they brown on one side; then flip them over. Makes about 20 little cakes.

Alice samples the latkes.

A Salsa for Cinco

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023

I have been celebrating Cinco de Mayo since I was in graduate school in Texas. This holiday commemorates the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

The day is actually more significant culturally here in the United States than it is in most of Mexico. Over the years, it has come to represent a time for celebrating Mexican heritage (and of course Mexican food) in this country.

For some Americans, Cinco de Mayo is primarily a drinking holiday. I’m not much of a drinker, but I am an eater. I like to prepare something Mexican or Tex-Mex on May 5. Sometimes I’m moved to make enchiladas. Other times I’ll just throw together a little guacamole.

This year I’m putting together a salsa based on a recipe from my cousin Mardi. I like to serve it as a sort of salad or side dish; it is satisfying with or without tortilla chips.

The term salsa, as readers may know, means sauce in Spanish. The Aztecs and the Mayans began preparing a type of salsa millennia ago. Their version apparently contained tomatoes, chiles, beans, and squash. The Spanish conquistadores took note of this tasty condiment in the 1500s and gave it its name.

Salsa was not part of mainstream U.S. culture until the mid- to late 20th century. In the 1940s, former college football star David Pace and his wife Margaret opened the first salsa manufacturing plant in Paris, Texas, making what Pace called “picante sauce.” (The Pace company’s salsa is still called this and is still popular.)

I think I would have liked David Pace, who died in 1993 at the age of 79. According to his obituary in “The New York Times,” he was known for more than his picante sauce business, which was sold to Campbell’s after his death for more than $1 billion.

“Mr. Pace also patented an executive chair in 1967 that could be opened flat for taking a nap,” the obituary noted.

My father, who insisted on installing a couch in his office in Rockefeller Center so that he could sleep for a few minutes every afternoon, would have approved. So do I; I have been known to take a cat nap myself.

In the latter part of the 20th century, Mexican foods and salsa in particular found their way into mainstream American cuisine. By the 1980s, salsa was available pretty much everywhere in this country, and in 1991 it surpassed stalwart catsup as Americans’ favorite condiment.

In 1998, it was deemed a vegetable by the U.S. Department of Agriculture so that it could be classified thus in school-lunch programs.

There is much to love in salsa. It’s generally healthy and low in fat yet high in flavor. Unlike ketchup, it is made up of identifiable foods and contains little or no sugar. It’s vegan and tastes fresh even when (as in the salsa below) most of the ingredients come from a can or the freezer.

It is also easy to make at home and infinitely variable. When I think of salsa, tomato comes to mind first and foremost. Nevertheless, I have made salsa by adding cilantro, lime juice, onion, and salt to many different fruits: strawberries, blueberries, peaches, mangoes, and pineapples.

Mardi’s salsa adds a little protein to the mix by mixing in black beans. This type of salsa is often known as confetti salsa. It’s made up of small, discreet, colorful ingredients, just like confetti.

If you try it at home—and I encourage you to do so—think about adding flavors you like or have in the house. Some people throw in part or all of a can of green chiles. Some use a fresh jalapeño or some hot sauce for heat instead of the chipotle. Some eliminate the olives and add more beans. You can’t really go wrong.

One warning: This is the sort of recipe that absolutely depends on individual taste. I started with the amounts I mention in the formula below and then ended up adding quite a bit more cumin, chipotle, and lime juice.

The end product was spicy and citrussy and fabulous. I know not everyone likes spice, however. To employ a phrase I generally dislike but find appropriate when it refers to flavor, “you do you.”

If you don’t get around to making this dish until after May 5, never fear. All of May is National Salsa Month, so designated in 1997 to honor the 50th anniversary of Pace Picante Sauce.

Confetti Salsa

I find that the best way to chop herbs like the cilantro here is to wash and dry them, then place them in a sturdy, narrow container like a juice glass and cut them with clean kitchen shears.

Ingredients:

1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups corn kernels (In summer these would be fresh; at this time of year I put frozen kernels in a colander and let them defrost and drain.)
1 4-ounce can pitted ripe olives, drained and cut into little rounds (If all you can find is a 6-ounce can, either save some olives for another occasion or go ahead and use the whole can.)
at least 25 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 very small red onion, or part of a larger one, diced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
dried chipotle chile powder (Start with 1/4 teaspoon.)
cumin seeds, or ground cumin if that is all you have (Start with 2 teaspoons.)
the juice of 1 to 2 limes (Start with 1 and then add more as needed; I used 1-1/2 most recently.)
1 splash olive oil, plus more as needed
1 avocado, cut into chunks

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine the beans, corn, olives, tomatoes, onion pieces, and cilantro. Mix well. Sprinkle the salt, chipotle, and cumin seed on top; then blend in the lime juice and the olive oil. Try the salsa and add more chipotle, cumin, oil, and lime juice to taste.

If you’re eating the salsa soon after you make it, add the avocado chunks along with the other vegetables and fruits. Otherwise, refrigerate the salsa until you’re ready to serve it, and then stir in the avocado. That method avoids discoloration of this delicate fruit.

Serves 4 to 6 as a salad or a small party as a dip.

A Birthday (or any occasion) Feast

Monday, December 12th, 2022

Dennis’s Dip

My birthday falls next week, just two days before Christmas. In recent years, my family has instituted a birthday tradition for me that I adore. We eat only appetizers and desserts—or rather dessert, since the dessert du jour is always birthday cake for me.

If I didn’t feel that I should worry about my health, I would eschew main courses and eat nothing but appetizers and desserts all the time; I’m not a big fan of main courses. (Or perhaps I wouldn’t. After all, the appeal of this meal is that it isn’t ordinary.)

I got the idea from my neighbors at Singing Brook Farm here in Hawley, Massachusetts, who celebrate “Appy Night” every year the night after Thanksgiving. They know that the Thanksgiving table revolves around the turkey and its accoutrements, and they relish that special meal.

The evening AFTER Thanksgiving, however, they pay tribute to foods that don’t get to star on Thanksgiving and devote themselves to sumptuous appetizers and desserts.

I asked my friends and honorary cousins Molly and Liza Pyle how this tradition began. “It was during the Gam era,” Molly informed me. Gam was Mary Parker, the family’s much beloved (and occasionally much feared) matriarch. She died in 1989 so we calculated that Appy Night was born at least 35 years ago.

Thanksgiving was always the biggest annual holiday in the Singing Brook Farm family. As Gam’s grandchildren grew up and got married, they and their spouses prepared more and more elaborate dishes for the big meal.

One year in the 1980s, they went crazy with appetizers. When it came time to carve the turkey, no one had any appetite for it.

“And Gam was NOT happy,” Liza recalled. I shuddered mentally, remembering all too well that an unhappy Gam made for an unhappy family and an unhappy neighborhood.

The following year Appetizer Night entered the world, giving the family a chance to cook and consume foods that complemented the Thanksgiving board without overwhelming it, i.e. appetizers and desserts.

The practice also extends the holiday to more family members. Liza noted, “Often people arrive who can’t come the day before. It’s an opportunity to have that family connection.”

“And to contribute,” said her husband Dennis Bowen. The family is composed of a lot of active, competitive cooks who live to share their culinary talents.

The evening is relaxed. Not everything has to be served at once since the feast can last for hours. Food can arrive whenever it arrives.

This Year’s Appy Night First Course

I asked the family to identify some memorable dishes they had consumed during Appy Nights in the past. Liza and Molly’s brother David recalled a long-ago dish of baked bacon coated with brown sugar. Everyone was crazy about one sibling’s ex-wife’s rich crab dip. (I’m pursuing that recipe for the future.)

The gang seemed to agree that Dennis’s jalapeño dip was a perennial favorite, however. So that’s the recipe I’m sharing today.

The dip is considerably spicier the day after Dennis makes it, I am told. For some people, this will represent a warning; for others, a promise.

Appy Night usually includes some kind of salad as well as all the goodies, “for sanity’s sake,” Liza informed me. This year she threw together a Caesar salad. And of course there are myriad pies and sometimes other sweets.

The “dish” Singing Brook Farm’s current matriarch, Alice, enjoyed the most at this year’s gathering wasn’t actually edible. It was her newest great grandson, baby Jackson.

Thanksgiving is over for this year—but I encourage readers to try the appetizer-and-dessert model for other holiday parties.

It would work beautifully on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Day … or on one of those evenings during Hanukkah or Kwanzaa when the family doesn’t want a big meal but still wants to celebrate a little. It would also work as a fun pot-luck format for entertaining at any time of the year.

Here is Dennis’s dip. I have a feeling it will appear on my birthday menu. Thanks to Molly Pyle Stejskal for the photos in this post!

And by the way, if you’re searching for a holiday gift, remember a cookbook makes a lasting one. There’s still time to ship them before Christmas! Mine can be purchased here:

https://tinkycooks.com/tinkys-books/

Alice with Little Jackson Santini

Dennis’s Jalapeño Dip

I should note that Liza and Dennis disagree on the proportions in this dip. Liza finds the topping a bit much and would prefer to reduce it by a quarter (to 3/4 cup crumbs, 6 tablespoons cheese, 3 tablespoons melted butter). Dennis likes it just the way it is, however.

Ingredients:

for the dip:
2 8-ounce bricks cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheese (a Mexican blend or even a nice sharp cheddar)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 can (4.5 ounces) green chiles, undrained
4 ounces pickled jalapeño peppers, rinsed and finely chopped
1 fresh jalapeño, finely chopped

for the topping:
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a pie pan or a medium-size baking dish. Combine the dip ingredients thoroughly; then spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, combine the topping ingredients until they are well blended. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the dip. Bake until the dip is bubbly and the top browns, about 20 minutes.

The Singing Brook Farmers served the dip with large wheat crackers and carrot sticks this year. “But whatever!” said Liza. Serves a crowd.

Dennis with His Dip

Year of the Ox (or anytime) Dumplings

Thursday, February 11th, 2021

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s long on holidays. When I was in second grade our class performed a short play in which each of us got to talk about one of this month’s special days.

In the next week alone several holidays are coming up: the Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, and Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday. I don’t have room to celebrate them all in this column so I am focusing on the first. I encourage you to do something for every single one, however.

Tomorrow, February 12 (also Lincoln’s birthday!), marks the start of this year’s Chinese New Year. I love lunar holidays. To those of us who measure out our lives according to the Gregorian calendar, holidays that don’t fall on the same date every year offer a welcome unpredictability.

This lunar new year comes on the second new moon after the winter solstice so it can fall anywhere from late January to late February. This year it’s right in between.

As many readers know, there are 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Each is assigned an animal, and the animals repeat in a cycle of 12 years, roughly corresponding to the time it takes Jupiter to orbit the sun. This year will be the year of the ox.

People born in this year (or born 12, 24, 48, or 60 and so on years ago!) will exhibit ox-like characteristics. They will tend to be hard working, dependable, and generally solid.

The Chinese New Year is a time when Chinese families get together. During these reunions family members begin the new year’s celebration, which lasts for more than two weeks, by preparing food together. A special favorite, especially in the north of China, is dumplings.

My dumpling recipe isn’t necessarily authentically Chinese, but it has plenty of Chinese flavor and flavors. I have to admit that I cheated a little; I purchased my dumpling wrappers.

To me dumpling wrappers are like tortillas, something one makes best if one makes them all the time. I have never made them. I hadn’t even made dumplings themselves before starting to work on this article.

I actually strayed further by using store-bought wonton wrappers rather than dumpling wrappers. The wonton wrappers, which like most of the ingredients in the dumplings are available in most supermarkets, are slightly thicker than dumpling wrappers and therefore a little easier to work with.

I hope making and eating the dumplings will give you warm feelings of family and hope for the months to come. Happy Chinese New Year! Here’s to finding something to celebrate every day of the month and every day of the year.

They’re almost ready!

Year of the Ox Dumplings

Ingredients:

for the filling:
1/2 pound ground pork (or ground chicken if you don’t eat pork)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage (preferably Chinese cabbage, but any cabbage will do in a pinch)
2 scallions (white part only), chopped
1 tablespoon grated carrot
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small finger ginger, minced
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 pinch sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

for the dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons soy or tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil or toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon minced ginger
1 scallion, chopped (white plus some green)

for assembly:
24 wonton or dumpling wrappers (possibly even more, depending on how big they are)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
canola or peanut oil as needed for frying

Instructions:

Combine the ingredients for the filling. Refrigerate them while you assemble the other ingredients.

Combine the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a bowl. Set them aside.

For each dumpling, spoon about 1 teaspoon of the filling into the center of a wrapper. Do not overfill your dumplings! Combine the egg and the water.

Use your finger to coat the edges of the wrapper with a bit of the egg mixture. Fold the wrapper in half to cover the filling, and seal carefully with more egg mixture. Put the filled dumplings on a plate or board, and cover them with a damp paper towel.

Pour enough oil into a nonstick skillet to cover the bottom, but barely. Heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add enough dumplings to make 1 layer. (The dumplings should not touch each other in the pan.)

Cook the dumplings until their bottoms begin to brown and then flip them over and brown them lightly on the other side. Reduce the heat to low, add a splash of water (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup). Watch out for sizzling and splattering when the water hits the oil.

Cover the dumplings. Cook for 2-1/2 minutes. Uncover the dumplings and cook them until the liquid has almost disappeared and the bottoms are crispy. Remove them to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Makes a lot of dumplings.

I made a video of these to send to Mass Appeal so you can see my technique. (I use the word loosely! I used too much oil in the pan.) I also made my beloved key-lime pie as a Valentine treat on Mass Appeal. Here are those videos:

Tinky Makes Dumplings on Mass Appeal

Tinky Makes Key-Lime Pie for Valentine’s Day