Got Dumped? Lotus' "Lings"

I have a friend who is living, breathing onomatopoeia. She's a very tall, etherial Chinese-American woman with striking long black hair and an angelic way. She'll breeze down the street gently, gliding, deceptively other-worldly, yet she's always the last one to break the embrace whenever she hugs "hello".

As a writer, I know I'm supposed to show-me don't tell-me, and now I've just botched it all to hell. Here's an example of my very dear friend Lotus:

Many moons ago, when I was in the early stages of grieving a newly ex-boyfriend, Lotus and I had a Chinatown date. She was going to show me around, introduce me to the dumpling places that white people just don't know about. We went through our day, stuffing our faces and slurping down bubble drinks, and I finally confessed that my boyfriend of 5 years had moved out just a few weeks ago.

She looked at me steadily, grabbed my hand and held it. Her face had such empathy and warmth, that I couldn't cry (in this particular phase, I was spending most of the waking hours wet-faced, so this was odd). I felt grateful to have Lotus as a friend, and knew all would be okay. She didn't chastize me for not sharing the news sooner; she was simply present, and continued to call and check in as I pushed through.

A few years later, and I was coming to closure on another relationship, also unbeknownst to Lotus. The phone rings, and it's Lotus, asking me to come along and help her find a good local pork store; she was in a dumpling making mood.

Oh, the irony is not lost on me that whenever I get dumped, Lotus has an urge for an aptly named snack. For those of you who go straight for the frozen pints, trust me, dumplings work. Piece together a little of this, a little of that, season it like mad, wrap it up like a present, sear it in hot oil, dump water on it and steam it, then voila; the perfect metaphor for what you're experiencing! A bite-sized version of someone throwing you out the door. Have one! No, have five! Stuff yourself mad and then you too can be a lovely little dumpling!

So the Jew (moi) and the Chinese girl (Lotus) walk deep into Brooklyn looking for an Italian pork store. Joke stops there. We hit Staubitz, Lotus asks the men to grind up some fresh pork, and home she goes to make her offering to the relationship gods.

She came over later with fresh, delicious packages of fatty goodness, complete with a dipping sauce. It went a long way to curing what ailed me.

But the story doesn't stop there; now she's experiencing her own romantic challenge, complete with a move out, and I've been invited over for a Chinese feast tomorrow afternoon -- mom's coming in from out of town to cook a bird. Perhaps she's inherited her culinary wisdom; tune in next week for culinary details.

But for now, I'm worried about one thing and one thing only: whatever should I bring?



New Year’s Dumplings
Lotus created these recipes based on experimenting with two of Grace Young's cookbooks, The Breath of a Wok and Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, then adding her own je ne sais quoi to it, as noted.

Dumpling Wrappers
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
or skip the meditative joy :-) and buy round gyoza wrappers
* Use a doll-sized rolling pin, about 7in.

Filling
8 ounces ground pork
10 large leaves Napa cabbage (finely diced, soaked in 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar, drained)

(Allison – these are ingredients that were originally part of the recipe, but I adjusted the amounts)
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice cooking wine

(Allison- these are ingredients that I added to the recipe.)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp coriander, with stems
1 tbsp minced scallions
1 tbsp diced water chestnuts

Ginger-Scallion Dipping Sauce
(Allison – this was a result of combining/adjusting a couple of recipes)
1/3 cup Chinkiang or balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp minced scallion
3 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp sugar


Put the 2 cups of flour in a bowl and make a well. Pour ¾ cup cold water into the well and stir until the mixture begins to pull from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5 minutes. Cover and allow to rest 30 minutes.

Combine all dumpling filling ingredients together.

After the dough has rested, continue kneading 5 more minutes on a lightly floured surface. The dough should be elastic, smooth and not sticky. Roll the dough into an even rope about 15 inches long. Cut the rope into 1/2-inch pieces to form about 30 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball with a rolling pin that has been lightly dusted with flour into 3-inch rounds, rolling from the center to the edges, making the center slightly thicker and the edges thinner. Cover all unused dough with a slightly damp cloth.

Place about 2 teaspoons of pork in the center of each round of dough. Fold in half to form a half-moon, and pinch one end of the half-moon together. Using your thumb and index finger, make 4 or 5 small pleats in the front piece of dough, then pinch together the other end of the dough to seal the dumpling. Dust each dumpling lightly with flour. Stand each dumpling so the rounded edge is upright.

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and carefully add 8 dumplings, rounded-side up, about 1/2 inch apart. Pan-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown, gently using a metal spatula to make sure the dumplings are not sticking to the wok. Add 1/3 cup cold water, immediately cover the wok, and cook 3 minutes. Uncover the wok, and fry 2 more minutes on medium heat, or until almost all the water has evaporated. The dumplings should be served immediately. Place the vinegar and the ginger in little condiment dishes and serve with the dumplings. Using 1 tablespoon oil for each batch, continue frying the remaining dumplings, 8 at a time.

Makes about 30 pot stickers. Serves 6 to 8 as part of a multicourse lunch.