I’ve found I’ve had to really manage the food I’m eating. Four years of pandemic, the amount of pollution in our soils and water, the difficulty of trusting what is delivered to our food shelves seems to have made my stomach even more sensitive. I learned this recipe over 30 years ago from a friend visiting from Beijing.
If I’m Going to Eat Meat, Why I Chose Pork
Since the outbreak of Avian Flu in cattle, I’ve been changing my eating habits because there is more evidence that we are getting infected with Avian Flu from our food supply than not. You can read my blog “Avian Flu Myth Versus Fact,” where I summarize the information. I’ve talked about this outbreak since the initial outbreak up to the end of last year when more and more small newspapers, not legacy news, started discussing how the dairy industry used public opinion and social media to take control of the pandemic response. The push back from industry appears to be the reason why Avian Flu in cattle became such a problem, and why it is now threatening our health.
I still eat meat – less meat – but I’m still eating meat. I like this recipe because it’s made with pork and we don’t have evidence of avian flu in pigs, sheep, and goats.
Foods for Health From an East Asian Medicine Diet Perspective
I’ve talked about pork dumplings/dim sum before, and why I like them.
Many of us sense that if our health was a Wifi signal, it would be down to 1 bar. We know that food is our greatest health partner, but how do know what to eat? East Asian diet therapy is one way to choose foods and if your signal is low, you want food to boost your signal. In East Asian Medicine, boosting your signal is about Qi (energy) building foods and foods that encourage your body’s energy to move upwards.
Over the last four years, you may have found you’ve been getting cravings for pork. The multiple waves of COVID infections and other infections have eaten up a lot of the building blocks you need to repair your body. Pork is a Qi building food. Pork provides all the amino acids (proteins) needed to rebuild your body and it helps rebuild your energy or Qi.
The dumplings include pungent spices like garlic, ginger, peppers that help lift your energy upwards. Lifting energy helps reverse feeling heavy or your brain has been foggy.
Vinegar is one of the favorites in Chinese cuisine. Not only does it help break-up the fats you’re eating (so your gall bladder doesn’t have to do all the work), it also helps your liver function. Our body is on detoxing overdrive. Your resources and organs are getting exhausted. Vinegar is a great way to help improve the function of organs and contain your resources.
Ingredients
In this recipe you’ll:
- Make the dim sum filling,
- Use premade dim sum wrappers, and
- Make one of my favorite sauces for dipping
If this makes more dumplings than you need, you can freeze the rest and they will hold for about three months.
Ingredients Dim Sum Filling
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. If you are going to use eggs, mix the pork and eggs first and then add the rest of the ingredients.
- 1 lbs ground pork
- ½ Cabbage shredded
- 3 Carrots shredded
- ½ onion diced or 2 bunches of scallions diced
- 1 oz oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp. sesame oil (can do toasted or regular depending on your taste buds)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs (can add to make more mousse like consistency but don’t need it)
- 1 inch peeled and shredded fresh ginger
Ingredients Wrappers
- 45-50 Dim Sum wrappers. I buy these. You can make your own with flour and water, but I have difficulty with consistency and thickness making homemade wrappers.
Ingredients Sauce
If you like vinegar, you might love this. Mix all the ingredients together. Make it the night before and keep it in the refrigerator until needed. That will enhance the flavor
- 1 cp Black Vinegar
- ¼- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried chili pepper or 1-2 birds eye chillis chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 scallions chopped
- ½ bunch of cilantro chopped
Making Dumpling / Dim Sum
You’ll need:
- Dim Sum filling
- Wrappers
- Small bowl of cold water
- Normal spoon from the silverware drawer
Use a spoon to scoop up a little more than a fruit ball size of filling and place in the middle of circular wrapper. To fold and close the wrappers, dip your fingers in cold water and paint the inside edge on ½ the wrapper. Fold the wrapper over and press the edges together. You can pinch the edges to form a wave that ensures the wrapper is closed.
Cooking
I either boil or fry the dumplings.
To boil, bring water to a boil. Drop in dumplings. The dumplings will first sink and then float. I cook them about another 1-2 minutes after the dumpling starts to float. That should cook them through and get the wrapper to be flexible.
To fry, heat a pan with with oil on medium high heat. Check the temperature of the oil by sprinkling a couple drops of water. I want my oil to sizzle the water. Then I place the dumplings in the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side. I want the wrappers to slightly brown.
There is an easy recipe that you can modify for your own taste nuances. If you want some ideas on what kitchen gadgets have been saving me a lot of time, check out this blog!