I’m in a rut. My beloved routine (walk, work, eat, repeat) is getting the best of me. I need more excitement in life. Any suggestions?
Travel is still off the table, so here’s how I’m staying entertained:
- Monitoring two baby hummingbirds in the backyard … and worrying about them when it’s windy and rainy (Apparently, the teeny tiny hummingbird I spotted a few weeks ago was incubating eggs!)
- Ordering an assortment of goods from Zero Grocery, a sustainable online supermarket in the Bay Area and Los Angeles – They currently offer more than 1,300 (largely locally sourced) products and excellent customer service, including next-day delivery. If you’re into convenience and environmentalism, use code TWOOFAKINDCOOKS to get $15 off your first order (with no minimum purchase).
- Preparing simple but delicious small plates, such as roasted butternut squash and bacon and pan-fried pork and cabbage potstickers, using ingredients from Zero Grocery (While these dumplings are nothing like the delicate jiaozi my grandma made, they are satisfying in their own right.)
What have you been up to lately? Any fun plans for spring or summer?
Recipe adapted from Healthy Nibbles.
Pork and Cabbage Potstickers
Makes about 36 potstickers
Ingredients
Potstickers:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1½ cups thinly sliced green cabbage
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 teaspoons tapioca flour
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 36 potsticker wrappers
Soy-vinegar sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Chinese black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
Make the potstickers:
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add cabbage, green onions, garlic and ginger and sauté for 2 minutes. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, tapioca flour and 3 tablespoons water and mix well. Then add soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and mix well. Add prepared vegetable mixture and stir to combine.
- Place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of a potsticker wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water and pleat to seal (see notes). Transfer to a baking sheet dusted with flour. Repeat with remaining pork mixture and potsticker wrappers.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the potstickers to pan and cook for 3 minutes or until brown on the bottom. Pour ⅓ cup water over the potstickers and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Then remove lid and cook until water evaporates, about 1 minute. Serve with soy-vinegar sauce.
Make the soy-vinegar sauce:
- In a medium bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients; let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Lisa of Healthy Nibbles has helpful step-by-step photos of the process.
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