Kimchi Dumplings

Kim Chee
(Korean Pickled Cabbage)
About 1 quart
(from http://www.cheriestihler.com/recipes/kchee.html)

2 lbs celery cabbage
1/2 cup coarse salt
4 cups water
1-1/2 Tbs crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbs granulated sugar
2 green onions, finely chopped

1. Rinse the cabbage in cold water and drain. Cut the cabbage into 1-1/2-inch squares. Sprinkle with salt, add the water, and let stand overnight.

2. Rinse the cabbage in cold water and drain. Using a wooden spoon, blend the remaining ingredients and stir this well into the cabbage pieces. Pack into a quart jar and cover. Place the jar in a plastic bag to prevent the odors from spreading to other foods. Refrigerate and let stand four to five days to cure.



Dumpling Skins

Yield: MAKES 50 SKINS
(from http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/fresh-dumpling-skins)
Ingredients

* 3 cups flour
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* Water

Directions

1. Sift together the flour and salt. Pour 2/3 cup water in a bowl and add the flour a little bit at a time, mixing with each addition. Continue mixing until the dough is completely mixed and stiff. Wrap in a damp cloth and let sit for about 30 minutes.

2. To roll out the dough, prepare a lightly floured surface. Pinch off small pieces and make them into round balls to roll out flat with a rolling pin. Alternately, roll the dough into small, sausage-shaped rolls and slice them before rolling them into flat circles. Each circle should be about 2½ to 3 inches in diameter.

3. Use to making dumplings. If you are preparing the skins in advance, store by stacking each circle with a little bit of flour between each skin, wrapping the whole stack tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for no more than a week. You may also freeze the skins, but be sure to defrost in the fridge overnight before using.


NOTES:
I let the kimchi cure in the fridge for 5 days. It was so salty though, I doubt there was much going on in there.

For the skins, I roughly followed the recipe above. I ran out of white flour 3/4 through, and used wheat flour for the rest. The wheat dumplings came out just as well as the white. After making the skins, I put a couple spoonfuls of the kimchi (chopped a bit finer than I'd initially made it) into each skin. I had rolled out the skins to be about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. After filling each skin, I folded it over and pressed the edges together. I then steamed all the dumplings for 10 minutes. Served with soy sauce and sriracha on the side. Yum!!!

posted by BNH

Braised Red Cabbage With Apples

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon bacon drippings
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 medium head red cabbage, about 2 1/2 pounds
* 2 large Granny Smith apples
* 1 medium red onion
* 1/2 cup dry red wine
* 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 cup apple juice
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* dash ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
* diced cooked bacon, optional

Preparation:
Remove outer leaves of cabbage; cut into wedges and cut out core. Using a food processor or sharp knife, shred the cabbage. Slice onions; peel and core apples and slice thinly. Combine cabbage, onions, and apples in a large saucepan. Add bacon drippings and butter. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring to coat with the fats. Add remaining ingredients; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Uncover and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes longer, until excess juices have evaporated. Toss with some diced cooked bacon just before serving, if desired.
Serves 6.

Substitutions:
We went without the bacon drippings, to keep things veggie. We also skipped the red wine vinegar and replaced it with more wine. Forgot the apple juice also, so we used water and added some extra sugar. Not bad, but I bet the apple juice would be better.

BNH

Lentil and Collard Soup

INGREDIENTS

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed and drained
* 6 cups water
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 bunch collard greens - rinsed, stemmed and thinly sliced
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 1/3 cup lemon juice


DIRECTIONS

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir in onion and salt; cook until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in lentils, and cook for 1 minute. Pour in water, then bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add collard greens, and cook until wilted, about 10 minutes. When the lentils are tender, stir in the collard greens and season with cumin, cinnamon, and garlic; allow to simmer 10 more minutes. Stir in lemon juice before serving.


Substitutions

We used large yellow lentils rather than red, which worked out fine. We also added mushroom bouillon along with the water, which complemented everything really well. Cinnamon and cumin work really well together.

BNH

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients:
For dough:
Milk powder - 1 cup
All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Whole milk - a few tsp
Ghee (or melted butter) - 2 tbsp

Oil for deep frying

For syrup:
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Cardamom seeds, coarsely ground (optional) - 1/4

Time: 20 min (prep+cook)
Servings: 8

Method:
To make the dough, mix together the milk powder, flour and rub in the ghee/butter until well mixed. Now add milk in tiny tiny amounts and knead into a dough. Add just enough milk to make a medium-hard dough (if you find you added too much milk, add extra milk powder and flour to bring it back to required consistency - you'll just end up with more jamuns!)
Divide the dough into 12-14 balls of about 1" diameter. Set aside.
Mix the sugar into the water and heat on a medium flame for about 10 min. Turn the flame to simmer and begin deep frying the jamuns as below:
In a wok, heat the oil first on a high flame and then bring down to medium. Slide each of the balls slowly into the oil. Gently shake the wok to make sure that the oil covers the top sides of the balls. Within five minutes, the balls will increase in size and (if you have enough oil) bob up to the surface. At this point, gently keep turning over the balls with a slotted spoon to ensure even browning. When the balls start turning an even deep brown, slowly remove each ball with the slotted spoon, drain excess oil, and slide into the sugar syrup (which should be on an adjacent stove on simmer).
Let the balls soak in syrup overnight. Enjoy this delicious dessert warm or cold!

Note: Deep fry on medium flame as the balls have to cook on the insides before they turn brown on the outside.
Alternative serving suggestions:
a) Before frying, insert a small raisin into each ball for a different flavour
b) Serve warm a la mode! (Vanilla ice cream goes best!)

Author: Shrinkingsodacan

Spinach and Tomato Saag

Ingredients:
Spinach (preferably whole leaf), fresh or frozen - 1 lb
Tomato, quartered - 2-3 small
Tomato juice - 1/2 cup (optional)
(Substitute the two ingredients above with half a can of whole tomato and juice)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 4
Mushrooms, chopped - 1 cup (optional)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Cooking time: 10-15 min
Servings: 2-3

Method:
Heat the oil and add cumin and mustard seeds. When the seeds start to sputter, add the green chillies and mushroom pieces. Fry for a few minutes, then add the spinach and tomato. Mix together and cook covered for 5-10 min or until the spinach has thawed (if frozen) and is completely cooked. Add turmeric and salt and mix well, cook for a few more minutes. Serve hot with chapatis or rice.

Author: Shrinkingsodacan

Fridge-cleaning Thai Curry

Ingredients:
(Stuff I found in the fridge and pantry)
Thai curry paste - 1 tiny can
Eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces - 1
Can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup - 1
Oil - 1-2 tbsp
Can of kidney beans (drained and washed) - 1

Cooking time: about 20 min total
Servings: 3-4

Method:
Heat the oil in a wok. Add the eggplant and fry on a medium flame, making sure that the pieces do not stick to the wok. If this happens, mix in a few tsp of water. Fry until the eggplant is almost cooked (you can smell this). Add the Thai curry and mix well (add some more water if required). Fry until you can smell the cooked curry. To this, add the kidney beans and stir. After a few minutes, mix in the cream of mushroom soup and add enough water to make it a thick curry. Cook 5-10 minutes on medium to low flame. Serve with rice.

Author: Shrinkingsodacan

Masala Shalgam (Turnip)

Ingredients:

Turnips, peeled, chopped and washed - 1 lb approx
Onion, chopped - 1 large or 2 medium
Tomato, chopped - 2 medium
Ginger garlic paste (or fresh grated) - 2 tsp
Green chillies, chopped - 2
Sugar, cumin powder, coriander powder - 1 tsp each
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup approx
Butter/oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped - to garnish

Servings: 4
Cooking time: About 30 minutes

Method:
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, add the green chillies and ginger/garlic. In a minute, add the chopped onions and fry on medium heat for a few minutes until light brown. Now mix in the tomato, salt, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders. Fry until the oil leaves the sides of the cooker.
Add the turnips and mix. Add water, approx. 1 cup or enough to cover the turnips. Close the cooker and bring to maximum pressure on high heat. Lower the heat to medium and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Turn off the gas and once the pressure equalizes, add the sugar and slightly mash the turnips. Dry out excess water if needed.

Note: A heavy bottomed vessel could replace the cooker. Accordingly, the amount of water and the cooking time will have to be doubled.

Source: This Syvum.com page.