I feel like I’m back in my cooking bag!! For a while, I was in a slump, not feeling experimental in the kitchen, and not having enough inspiration to document anything that I was doing. But deciding to make chicken dumplings from scratch was enough inspiration and external feedback that I needed to get me going.
The week before making them from scratch, I had bought a pre-packaged veggie dumpling from the asian market. I personally don’t usually buy them, but I’ve been exploring a lot more in asian cuisine. The week after, I was craving them again, and Mussé suggested I should try making them on my own. Honestly, leave it to him to get me to make something from scratch because he knows how I’ll feel after doing it, but most importantly, during the process.
I bought the dumpling sheets premade to save some time and used Japanese Gyoza recipe to help me with the filling. I don’t eat pork, so I substituted for chicken, and followed the important things like soaking the cabbage in salt and squeezing out the water, adding the sesame oil and soy sauce (mushroom for me).
Filling:
1 pound of ground chicken
Half Cabbage
2 cloves of minced garlic
Half-chopped red onions
Sesame oil
Mushroom Soy Sauce
I used AP flour since I didn’t have corn starch or corn flour
The Dumpling sheets came in a pack of 60. I made 30 for the first night and watched different YouTube videos to help me fold the dumplings properly. There are so many ways to fold, but I chose the easiest one for now!
I truly enjoyed this process. It was fun, they came out delicious, and now I want to learn to make soup dumplings. I’m on the lookout for a good bamboo steamer!
IMPORTANCE OF COOKING WITH YOUR HANDS
Since I’ve been on this journey of building a better relationship with food, I love to stress the importance of cooking for yourself. Using your hands helps develop a deeper connection to your food through sensory feedback, helps improve your culinary skills, and enhances your dining experience. I’m huge on energy; your hands are a direct source for energy transfer, and when cooking with your hands, it triggers physiological responses that aid digestion and promote overall well-being, including reducing stress, encouraging mindfulness, and a deeper connection to your food. In all, it just makes you feel good seeing the food you’re making, and within that act of self-love, your body responds with kindness.
xo. Alicia 🌺