Eating in Bangkok

Thailand has always seemed fascinating and yet a bit intimidating to me, because it feels at once familiar (with many similarities in climate and culinary offerings as Vietnam) and yet still so foreign. It’s one of those countries I’ve long been intrigued by, and it was one of the first places we visited after we moved to Asia. (We flew there after spending a few days with family in Hong Kong last year.)

Thailand is so much more diverse than I realized. Most of the Thai food common in the US is mainly characteristic of central Thailand, particularly Bangkok. But the regional foods in other parts of the country bear the flavors of Burma, Yunnan (the southern Chinese province), Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In addition, the Muslim community in Thailand also brings its own dishes. And I was surprised to find that there are a lot of Chinese people, and therefore a lot of recognizable Chinese food here. Thailand stood at a crossroad between Indian, Arab, and European traders from the west, and the rest of Asia to the east. And, impressively, it is the only country in SE Asia to have never been under European colonization.

During our five days in Bangkok, it was fun to experience both things completely new to me as well as things that, for one reason or another, seemed kind of familiar. Rather than breaking this up into various smaller posts and risk never getting around to finishing, I’m just going to do it all in one fell swoop. So please bear with me! (I will get to Chiang Mai in my next post.) Here we go…

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Cocoa Tea from Grenada

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Most people know that chocolate comes from the cocoa bean, but have you ever seen where the cocoa bean comes from? Cocoa trees are abundant in Grenada, and you’ll see large, leafy trees covered with dangling yellow, orange, and red pods all over the island. When you slice a cocoa pod open (with your machete, of course), you’ll find a cluster of seeds inside covered with juicy, white flesh. If you ever get a chance to taste the flesh of a cocoa bean, it tastes similar to soursop or mangosteen — sweet, creamy, and delicious.

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But, of course, the main attraction is the cocoa bean itself. :) I had the chance to visit Belmont Estate, a fully functioning 17th-century plantation in Grenada, where they have a cocoa processing plant. I talk about the whole process in greater detail here if you’re interested in finding out more about how cocoa is made. It’s really quite fascinating, and it’s especially amazing how the Grenada Chocolate Company produces its organic cocoa with sustainable/carbon-neutral practices like sun-drying and sailboat exporting!

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Cocoa tea tastes to me like Grenada in a cup. The bitterness of the pure, dark chocolate combines with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves to create a drink that is one part hot chocolate, one part spiced tea.  To make cocoa balls, cocoa beans are dried, roasted, ground into a fine paste and then mixed with spices and rolled into balls. For this recipe, I used cocoa balls from Grenada to make cocoa tea (which you can buy here), but you can easily replicate this recipe by using 100% unsweetened dark chocolate.

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Cocoa Tea
Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients:
2 cocoa balls (or 1 oz. 100% unsweetened dark chocolate)
2 cups water
1/2 – 1 cup milk (to taste)
sugar to taste

Optional: (definitely add some of these in if you’re not using a cocoa ball)
cinnamon stick
bay leaf
ground nutmeg
cloves

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil.

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2. While waiting for water to boil, grate the cocoa balls directly into the water. By the time you finish grating, the water should be at a boil. You can actually just throw the ball in the water without grating, but I prefer to grate the chocolate to avoid lumps.

3. Add in additional spices if desired.  I like to throw in some extra cinnamon and some ground nutmeg.

4. Let the cocoa simmer for 10 minutes, until everything is fully dissolved.

IMG_2692 copy5. Strain directly into a mug and serve hot.

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6. Add in milk and sugar to taste. For a richer drink more similar to hot chocolate, add more milk and sugar. For more of a “tea,” use less milk and sugar. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, add in a dash of rum. :)
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Eating in Portland, Part 2: The Asian Food Edition

Find Part 1 of the Eating in Portland series here, and eating at the Portland Farmer’s Market here.

I had so much Asian food on this past trip to Portland that I have to give it a separate post (and even then, I must forewarn you this is a lengthy post). In fact, I had so much pho on this trip that my mother-in-law was astonished that every time she suggested we meet at another pho place, I already knew how to get there. :)

So here are some of the Asian foods we ate…

… Vietnamese fish sauce wings and Chiang Mai sausage at Pok Pok, 3226 SE Division St. [map]

This is the legendary Thai restaurant by Andy Ricker that I have been wanting to try for at least the past 5 years! For whatever reason, I just hadn’t been able to make it until this past fall, when I snuck out with my dad one morning for an early lunch here. This place is known for what on their menu is listed as “Ike’s fish sauce wings” but is widely known by food lovers as simply “Pok Pok wings.”

I’ve actually made Pok Pok wings from various recipes online a few times before I ever even had the real thing here (that’s how much I wanted to try it!). I have to confess that when I do make them for myself, I tend to leave the sauce off, which I realize is the whole point of this dish, but my lack of a sweet tooth just finds it a bit much, and I felt the same way here, though this is completely a personal preference. With or without sauce, I must point out how brilliantly simple and flavorful the recipe is, with only a few basic ingredients. If you’re not able to get to Pok Pok anytime soon, I highly recommend making these wings at home!

The second item we ordered was this green chile relish (naam phrik num) dish. While visiting Thailand for the first time last year, I developed an immediate obsession with Thai chile relishes, which are quite pungent, salty, and spicy, so when I saw it on the menu at Pok Pok, I just had to order it. Here the relish is served with the customary steamed vegetables and fried pork skin for dipping, and an herbacious Chiang Mai sausage on the side. Everything in this dish tasted just like it had in Thailand. When I first had the sausage from road stalls in Chiang Mai, I remember thinking it tasted like Thai curry in meat form, but I think I actually liked Pok Pok’s version even better — more meaty and a bit more toned down in herby-ness, which I preferred.

We didn’t have a big appetite that morning, so those were the only two dishes we ordered. Several people have since told me that they usually serve pandan-flavored water, which I’m sad to have missed! My sister said it was one of her favorite things. I also noticed they had drinking vinegars on menu, which I’d like to try sometime when it’s not quite as early in the day. :)

… breakfast at Sen Yai, 3384 SE Division St. [map]

After Pok Pok, I was eager to also check out Ricker’s new place that opened last year, Sen Yai. Both these restaurants are just really fun to be in. Pok Pok is converted from a house, and the exterior of Sen Yai looks something like a drive-through from another era. I love how these restaurants celebrate street food culture by highlighting the humble, everyday objects that elsewhere might just be considered tacky Asian decor. At Sen Yai, I was especially taken with the vintage Thai cooking posters hanging on the bright teal walls!

Even though we really wanted to try the laksa here, it wasn’t being served for breakfast. So we ended up getting the khai luak, or coddled eggs with bread soldiers; jok, or rice porridge, with a softly poached egg added; and the kuaytiaw naam kai, which was a bowl of very wide rice noodles in a simple broth. I loved the consistency of the porrdige and actually wondered whether it had been made with broken rice, because it tasted coarser and resembled grits.

I loved both these restaurants, but I must admit that somewhere deep down, my cheap Asian self had a little trouble getting over the price of some of the costlier dishes ($12-16) that I know are probably just a few dollars on the street in SE Asia (or even in a Chinatown somewhere). But ultimately I think it’s worth it for the way that an entire cultural experience is being presented here. The menus at both places offer a wide range of samplings, including many obscure dishes. Not only that, but the menus are just so well written, with informative descriptions coming across in a fun, lively voice. It really feels like you have a cultural guide here translating a cultural experience for you — he keeps it authentic, but presents it in an accessible, non-intimidating way, at a pace that you can handle. I actually got a copy of Ricker’s new book, Pok Pok, that released while I was in Portland, and I’m looking forward to reading it closely and trying some of the recipes.

… noodle soups at Ha & VL, 2738 SE 82nd Ave #102 [map]

At the complete other end of the spectrum is HA & VL, serving Vietnamese noodle soups the way your grandma makes them at home. This is a tiny, no-frills kind of place with a rotating menu, and it’s very popular among Asians — my parents actually have a friend who come here almost every day! Sandwiches are available daily, but there are two featured noodle soups rotating each day of the week. So of course we had to come back several times to try a few of the options, including bun cha oc (snail noodle soup — the snail is actually chopped up and incorporated into meatballs) and pho bac (northern-style pho).

… pho and bun cha Hanoi at Pho Kim, 2204 Southeast 82nd Ave. [map]

This is my family’s go-to place for pho in Portland. Apparently, a number of owners have tried to run pho restaurants at this very location, but the current Pho Kim is the only one that has actually taken off. The place is spacious, clean, and well run, and most importantly, the pho is solid. (You can request the rare slices of beef on the side, but they often forget.) The bun cha Hanoi here is quite good too, though both me and my parents find it to be on the sweet side for our tastes. My mom also likes their hu tieu thap cam, or Chinese-style rice noodle soup with shrimp, quail eggs, and pork (not pictured here).

… bun bo hue at… Bun Bo Hue :) 7002 SE 82nd Ave [map]

Our go-to place for bun bo hue is the accurately, if uninspiringly, named Bun Bo Hue. It’s not the most amazing bowl of bbh ever, but it’s pretty good. One of the things we like about it is how they cut up the pigs’ feet into small, manageable pieces for you to nibble on. :)

… rice noodle sheets at Hanoi Kitchen, 7925 Northeast Glisan St. [map]

My parents like to come here for the banh uot, or thin rice noodle sheets. Again, it’s not the most amazing (nothing will ever live up to Banh Cuon Tay Ho, which my sister introduced me to in Orange County), but it’s pretty good. We also got a decent bowl of bun rieu here too (that’s crab and tomato rice noodle soup).

… more pho and duck noodle soup at Pho Oregon, 2518 Northeast 82nd Ave. [map]

This is another pho place my parents go to, but my mom’s favorite thing to order here is actually the bun mang vit, or rice noodle soup with bamboo and duck. They serve the duck on the side here, like a salad, similar to ga xe phay except with duck instead of chicken. I’ve never had it this way before, and I really liked it!

The last Vietnamese place I really wanted to try but had no luck with was Luc Lac. It was closed both times we tried to go (which is how we ended up getting excellent Greek food next door instead, as I mentioned in my earlier post).

Grocery Stores

Before I close, I wanted to include a list of grocers, both because I spent a lot of time getting groceries with my parents and because I was quite impressed with the range and variety of options available in Portland, from warehouse-dirt-cheap Winco to the higher-end, local, Whole-Foods-like chain New Seasons that I mentioned in my last post.

Banh hoi family, 12105 SE Raymond, 503-761-8809 [map]- Starting with the most obscure, this is where my parents get freshly made banh hoi (rice noodle bundles for eating with lettuce wraps). It’s made by a family out of their home, so you have to place your order by phone first (in Vietnamese, though their children might be able to help you in English) and then pick up Friday–Sunday.

Bui Natural Tofu [map] – This little shop near Hanoi Kitchen sells tofu of all sorts, as well as a variety of Vietnamese desserts. My mom loves their xoi khuc, which is sweet sticky rice with mung bean and pork.

ABC Seafood Market [map] – Asian market that my parents go to for fresh seafood at good prices.

Fubonn [map] and Hong Phat [map] – These are the large general Asian supermarkets that my parents frequently shop at. They have more Vietnamese / SE Asian ingredients than some of the other chains like Korean HMart and Japanese Uwajimaya, which also have locations farther out in the Portland suburbs.

Cash n Carry [map] – A (non-Asian) regional chain with several locations in Portland. This is sort of like a restaurant supply store, selling food items in massive quantities at cheap prices. They also do carry some Asian foods here too, like rice noodles and chili sauces. My parents like to come here for wholesale meat.

Winco [map] – A regional chain and warehouse-like store that sells groceries so cheap they are being called “Walmart’s worst nightmare” (but they supposedly have more ethical practices). They have a really impressive bulk foods section. My mom likes to get fresh peanut butter here, which she grinds with a machine herself in the back of the store.

Flying Fish Company – We were introduced to this (also non-Asian) seafood shack by a Portland local sitting next to us at a restaurant one time. Since then, our family tradition has been to get sashimi-grade fish here, along with fresh wasabi root. I say “shack,” which it is, but it is actually much nicer, cleaner, and better run than “shack” would convey. They list each week’s fresh fish (all sustainable) on their website, and it looks like they also carry things like grassfed beef.

Fred Meyer – This is a Safeway-like, local, privately owned grocery chain that is more mid-range (as in, not as fancy as New Seasons). It is totally a Portland staple, and my parents and in-laws do practically everything here, from buying clothing items to filling prescriptions. I actually got my flu shot here too.

All in all, I was quite impressed with the amount of Asian food options in Portland, though you may have noticed the lack of Chinese restaurants mentioned. We actually did eat a lot of Chinese food, and while being Cantonese-food-deprived in Beijing meant I loved it all despite my parents’ lack of endorsement, in the end I have to agree that they probably aren’t worth mentioning by name here.

It’s a bit ironic that only after moving to China have I had a chance to take longer trips to Portland, but I am quite happy to adopt it as my second home these years. We will be back soon enough next month!

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings (鍋貼 Guotie, 餃子 Jiaozi) for Chinese New Year: Tutorial and Recipe

Unlike many Chinese families, our family never really participated in the traditional Lunar New Year activities growing up. My parents would give me and my sister the obligatory red envelope (利市 lai see or 红包 hong bao), but that was about it. It wasn’t until I spent more time with my husband’s family that I learned more about the traditions and foods that surround the Lunar New Year. We eat symbolic foods like apples (蘋果 ping guo) that represent peace (平安 ping an), noodles — never cut — for longevity, and fish (魚 yu) for abundance (有余 you yu). (A lot of the association comes from the words sounding alike.) And of course, there are dumplings (known as 餃子 jiaozi when boiled or 鍋貼 guotie when panfried), which represent wealth and prosperity because they have the shape of gold nuggets, the ancient Chinese currency for money.

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When I visited my sister in Beijing about a year and a half ago, she and I took a noodle and dumpling class from a former Beijing chef. He shared with us many tips for making perfect dumplings, which I’ll also share with you in the primer that follows below.

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Take a look at these professionally folded dumplings by our teacher, after 20 + years of practice. Someday, I hope to make dumplings this beautiful!

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Back in the US, I hardly ever made my own dumpling wrappers since store-bought ones were so much more convenient. But during my two years in Grenada, I really got the chance to practice my skills at making wrappers because, like most other Asian foods, they were impossible to find on the island! If I ever wanted to eat dumplings, I knew I’d have to make them from scratch. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one in Grenada who missed them, so my friends and I would often spend afternoons making absurd quantities of dumplings together and then share the loot. It’s really the perfect group activity. Funnily enough, store-bought dumpling wrappers are not that common in Beijing either because everyone makes them from scratch!

Toward the end of my visit to Beijing, I was on the hunt for a dumpling roller to take home with me. I kinda waited until the last minute, and I didn’t have any luck at the couple of grocery stores and shops I went to. Finally, on my last morning, as I was out picking up breakfast with my sister and her family, we happened upon a vendor rolling breakfast buns with exactly the kind of dumpling roller I was searching for. Unlike the light wood ones that stores typically sell (see photo above), his was a beautiful shade of dark brown (see photo below). I asked him if dumpling rollers were available to purchase anywhere nearby, and he responded with a very definitive no. I asked him if he’d be willing to sell me his, and after much hesitation, he went on a long spiel about how he carefully selects each piece of Chinese mahogany wood for his rollers, and then crafts each of them by hand. He pulled out a second back-up roller from the back of the stall and said these were the only two he had. I finally made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and he very nonchalantly agreed to sell me one. I ended up paying 50rmb, about $8 — which is probably much more than one would cost in a grocery store but seemed like a steal to me for something crafted by hand, made of better wood, and bearing such beautiful patina from age and use by a Beijing dumpling maker. Plus, it now came with a great story. It’s still my favorite souvenir from Beijing!

So now, let me share with you my favorite tips for making dumplings, just in time for Chinese New year. Round up your family, your children, or a group of friends for a day of dumpling-making! It’s become one of my favorite ways to spend time with new friends and people I love. I often tell my sister that I think in another life, I could be a dumpling maker. :)

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Ingredient List
Adapted from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen

DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 cup warm water

FILLING
2 cups finely chopped Napa cabbage or regular cabbage
2/3 lb ground pork or turkey (I used turkey here to make it healthier, but pork is more traditional)
1/3 cup minced Shiitake mushrooms (if using dried, soak in hot water for 20 minutes to rehydrate)
1⁄2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1⁄3 cup chopped Chinese chives or scallions (Chinese chives are the traditional ingredient, but if you don’t like the flavor, you can substitute scallions)
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄4 tsp black pepper
1 1⁄2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp oil
1 1⁄2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice wine

DIPPING SAUCE
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 1⁄2 Tbsp rice vinegar
(or 1 Tbsp white vinegar + 1 Tbsp water + 1⁄4 Tbsp sugar)
2 tsp minced garlic
chili oil (optional)

Process

MAKING THE DOUGH
People who make dumplings regularly, like the chef we took our class from or even my sister’s ayi (nanny) in Beijing, rarely use recipes for this dough. They gauge the proportions of water to flour by the feel of the dough and adjust accordingly. The dough can feel very different depending on the humidity of your environment, the amount and type of flour used, and even the amount and temperature of the water. So take all these factors into consideration when trying your hand at dumpling dough. In the end, it all just comes down to practice. 

MLS_Dumplings_5_MG_2223 copy1. Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the water in and stir (either with your hand or with a spoon), evenly moistening the flour. Gently mix until all the lumpy bits have been incorporated. Add more flour or water as necessary. The dough should start looking shaggy and hold its shape when pinched, but it shouldn’t be too moist.

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2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough with the heel of your hand for about 2 minutes. The dough should be nearly smooth and somewhat elastic. Press down on the dough; the impression should slowly bounce back.

_MG_2226 copy3. Smooth out the top of the dough and pinch the ends together on the bottom. Place the dough in a Ziplock bag and let it rest (alternatively, you can put it in a bowl and cover with a plate).

PREPARING THE FILLING
While the dough is resting, use this time to prepare your ingredients for the filling. Filling can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight. Letting it sit for a few hours or overnight can help bring out the flavors, but it’s not absolutely necessary if you’re short on time. There are all sorts of fillings you can put inside a dumpling, but here I have stuck with some of the classic ingredients.

4. Combine all the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add seasonings and mix well. Use your hands!

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FORMING THE DUMPLING WRAPPERS
This might just be my favorite part of making dumplings! It is so much fun, and I love the challenge of trying to make the perfectly round and thin wrapper. 

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5. Remove the dough from the bag and place on a floured surface.

6. Cut the dough into thirds and put two of the thirds back into the bag. Seal completely.

_MG_2261 copy_MG_2264 copy7. Roll the remaining third of the dough into a 1-inch thick log. Cut the log into even pieces, about 3/4 ” thick each. (If the ends of the log are thinner, make those cuts a bit longer, about 1″ thick.) Now here is the trick I learned in the dumpling class: After each cut, rotate the log a quarter turn, so that the dough pieces are pinched in different directions on each side (see photo above). As you’ll soon see, this is an important step in forming perfectly circular dumpling wrappers!

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8. Roll the pieces lightly in flour and then set each piece on one of its cut ends. Flatten each piece of dough with the palm of your hand. Because of the quarter turn when cutting, the dough will naturally flatten into the shape of a circle. How brilliant, right? :) Without the turn, you’d get more of an oval shape, due to the way the knife pinches the dough flat. Then, if you take as much delight in this process as I do, you can simply reshape any pieces that don’t look as perfectly round as they should. :)

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9. To roll the wrappers, start with a lightly floured surface. If you’re right-handed like me, hold one of the flattened pieces of dough in your left hand and the wooden rolling pin in your right. You’ll want to roll the rolling pin gently back and forth, while turning the dough in a counter-clockwise motion in your left hand. Roll up about 1/2″ – 1″ in from the edge, avoiding the center of the dough completely. This way, you’ll leave the center a little thicker — perfect for holding the heavy filling — while making the edges a little thinner — perfect for making delicate pleats to seal the top. After the dumplings are folded and the outer edges pressed together, the thicker center will have about the same amount of doughiness as the outer pleated edges. I love how perfectly this all works out. :)

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10. Continue rolling until you have about 10 wrappers to work with. You don’t want to roll too many at a time, or else they will start to dry out (unless you have a partner to fill the dumplings while you roll!).

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11. Fill your wrappers with about 1 tablespoon of filling. Flatten the filling a bit in the center. Fold using your favorite method! The Beijing method for boiled dumplings is very easy and involves simply folding the wrapper over, and then pinching it shut by holding the edges between thumbs and index fingers of both hands. Andrea Nguyen also has some fantastic videos on basic dumpling folds here and here (I tend to use the method in the second video).

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At this point, your dumplings are ready to be fried, boiled, steamed, or frozen. I like to make a huge batch of dumplings and freeze them for later use. Be sure to put them on a nonstick tray (lined with freezer paper, or a Silpat mat works well) and space them out individually in the freezer; otherwise they will stick together and be impossible to separate once defrosted. After 30 minutes or more, the dumplings are frozen enough that you can place them all into a Ziploc bag for quick and easy meals. Frozen dumplings do not need to be defrosted before cooking — just add a few minutes of extra cooking time to each of the three methods below.

COOKING THE DUMPLINGS: 3 ways to cook fresh or frozen dumplings

My favorite go-to method for cooking dumplings is in a frying pan. I love the crispy bottoms and tender, steamed tops. Here’s how to get perfectly cooked dumplings every time:

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_MG_2336 copy1. Heat up 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add in the dumplings in a single layer. Arrange them in a circular shape, allowing them to hug one another. Leave about 1/8″ between each dumpling because they will plump up.

2. Let the dumplings fry until the bottoms are golden brown.

3. Add in about 1/3 cup water (until there is about 1/4” of water in the pan) and cover with a lid. Let them steam for about 5-7 minutes, until you hear the dumplings begin to sizzle after all the water has evaporated.

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4. Remove the lid. The dumplings should look translucent at this point. Fry just a little bit longer, until the bottoms are crispy again.

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5. For a nice presentation, find a plate just slightly smaller than your frying pan. First flip the plate onto the dumplings in the pan, and then invert the pan of dumplings onto the plate.

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6. Serve immediately with dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Boil
Place dumplings into boiling water. When the dumplings begin to float, cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon. I tend to think this is best served in soup. In Beijing, though, they’re just eaten as is dipped in some vinegar. Traditional Beijingers even drink the flour water that the dumplings were boiled in!

Steam
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large wok. Place dumplings into a bamboo steamer basket and place into the wok. Steam for 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

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