Tastes Like Love: Mom's Dumplings
As children we may not have been the most obedient or grateful but as time passes, unexpected events and experiences prompt us to change. When I moved out of my parents home I was elated but quickly took on many new responsibilities. Cooking and food is what ties my family together. I only started cooking seriously once I moved out and I have lots to learn.
My parents have been a major influence on my food preferences but one thing I always admire is my mom's capacity and drive for learning. She never made dumplings until 5 years ago and they are always the best. That is something I will truly miss when she leaves this world.
On a rainy weekend, I decided that I would finally make dumplings on my own. The energy of Christmas and New Year festivities had settled and it was time to take on new challenges. Written in a previous post as to why Tastes Like Love is important to me, the people who are willing to tell their story become vulnerable and I felt that I had to share my story first.
As long as I can remember I always had homemade dumplings instead of store bought ones. As my mom always says, “why would I buy it when I can make it better?”. Dumplings symbolizes hard work and the learning experiences that my mom has gone through over the years of perfecting her technique. Watching her experiment and improve was always very motivational. Dumplings bring warmth but also the sadness that one day my mom won’t be around but I strive to be half as skilled in cooking and as strong as she.
Cooking is one of my favourite things to do. When you spend most of your day in front of a computer screen, you tend to gravitate towards things unrelated to your daily life. It’s a way for me to be creative and experimental without judgement. I enjoy experimenting with flavours and attempting new techniques.
Food is a symbol of love and care. I wish I had realized this as a child but my dad would always ask me, “have you eaten yet?” or “are you hungry?” and that was his way of showing his love. I find myself taking on a similar love language where I always offer home cooked meals to the people I enjoy spending time with. The first thing I catch myself asking my husband is if he is hungry or if he would like something to eat.
If you could hold onto anything from your elders what would that be?
Knowledge is something I wish could be instantly transferred into our brains or onto paper. There are a vast amounts of experiences or challenges that we would never face but there is something to be learned from the hardships that people before us have come across. If I could only hold onto one thing, I would hold onto the quote from my dad, “Ask yourself, truly, ‘did you try your best’ and if you did then there is nothing to be ashamed or disappointed about because you gave it your all.”
What is one thing you would pass onto young people?
Glean as much knowledge and learnings from your parents. Sooner than later, they either won’t remember or will not be around. Learn that lasagna recipe or learn that weird thing she did when getting stains out of clothes. As much as the internet as all the information you want, it won’t be your mom, dad, or grandparents secret method.
I started this project in 2015 and held onto all my writing and photos because I was afraid of criticism. It has been 4 years and reading back on some of the things and seeing how the participants have grown is amazing. I want this project to be something people can read and be inspired to share their story or preserve their family history.
Pork, Chive, and Cabbage Dumplings
(makes 5-6 dozen)
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds ground pork (or ground chicken or beef, as long as they aren’t too lean)
2/3 cup shaoxing wine
½ cup oil
1 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2/3 cup water, plus more for assembly
2 ½ lbs napa cabbage, finely chopped, salted then once squeeze water then mix oil (30 minutes before assembly)
4 bunch chinese garlic chives
3 tablespoon ginger grated
6-8 packages dumpling wrappers
Directions
Mix the ground pork with the wine, oil, sesame oil, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, soy sauce, white pepper, and water together until it has a “sticky” consistency. Marinate overnight. You can leave it for up to 2-3 days
30 minutes before you’re ready to assemble, salt the cabbage and let it sit for 15 minutes. Proceed to squeeze as much water out as you can and mix in enough oil to coat
Mix half of the pork mixture, chives, ginger, and napa cabbage together. Mix the rest when your first batch is complete
Start folding your dumplings. I’m not the best at it so here’s a video with different styles
Put your dumplings on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and put a completed tray into the fridge. Once the dough feels firm, place the tray into the freezer and when the dumplings are semi frozen, transfer them into freezer bags
To fry the dumplings: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the bottoms start to brown, about 30 seconds. Add 2/3 cup water, cover and cook 3 minutes.