[食記] 畫布's 水餃

山高路遠，終於到了!!!!!!!!! (An interjection post by Albert)

I have been waiting for 畫布's 水餃 for a long time! I thought I would never see this day..




I want to start off by thanking 小予, without whom, I would have never gotten these dumplings.

The dumplings arrived and right away, I was a little bit worried. They were not very frozen, and we still had a long ways to go before we got home. With Janie and I riding the scooter, it was still about 30 minutes before these dumplings would see the inside of a frig or freezer. I was worried that the skin would start to stick... Most of them came out unscathed, but there were about 6 which were clumped together. I was getting more worried, we will see. but the wrapping job was excellent, the skin was tight, and nothing leaked. I let them sit in the freezer for a few days, and most of them pulled apart easily.


I have to say, that most have no clue how to cook dumplings. Most cook it in a very small pot with very little water. The water then gets very cloudy, and the dumpling skin falls apart. The dumplings are usually cold, or frozen, and so when you drop it in a pot with insufficient water, or a pot that does not conduct heat well, then the water will turn cold suddenly, and your dumplings will sit in cold water for a LONG time, that is why most people cook horrible dumplings.



There are 4 secrets to cooking good dumplings, they are:

1) You need a big pot that conducts heat very well. Here in the picture, I have a cast iron dutch oven.
2) You need a LOT of water. Fill the pot up to about 80%.
2b) Most are scared to fill the pot up, because once the cooking starts, the pot will boil over and spill everywhere. So they use very little water to prevent this, and they end up with skin that is not QQ, and dumplings that taste soggy on the inside, and skin that tastes tough on the outside. This problem is solved with secret #4.
3) You should add some salt, to raise the cooking temp. This decreases the cooking time, and that means the skin will have to sit in the water as long.
4) The last secret is, OIL. The excessive amount of foam is due to starchy water. Starch is broken up by oil. So just remember, oil eats foam. So turn up the heat, pour oil on top, and cook good dumplings!

A lot of people will pour some cold water onto the dumplings. This will "shock" the skin, and make it slightly more QQ, I don't do this, but you can if you want to.

About 4 pairs of dumplings were stuck together. I usually get a spatula and get in between the dumplings and gently wiggle them until they come apart in the boiling water. 畫布's dumplings are excellent, the skin is fairly thick, and so they didn't break as I seperated them.



Tada!!! They are cooked!! And they look beautiful. There was only one casuality of war, only one dumpling had a broken skin, but over all, most made it just fine.



If you are like Janie, then you will wonder which vinegar to use with your dumplings. Should you go with the white one??? What about the black vinegar? (白醋 vs. 烏醋). The answer of course is 紅醋! I bought this vinegar especially for eating dumplings and 小籠包. This naturally fermented rice vinegar has been fermenting for at least a year.


I like to put some pepper on the dumplings. It absorbs some of the oil on the skin, and smells very good.



Even the little tail part is still on the shrimp!! 畫布, how did you do that???

The dumplings overall were excellent. The best things come to those who wait! The skin was 香Q, the pork was not too soggy, and did not have a strange smell, the shrimp was so fresh it jumped into my mouth as if it were still alive!

Thank you 畫布＆小予 for the dumplings!


From Albert and his stomach


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謝謝畫布和小予製作的美味水餃．這是很久以前一次抓抓樂的禮物，畫布前一次寄出時，包裹遺失．這次謝謝小予特別幫我們帶來了這份美味的禮物．

鮮蝦水餃，外皮桿的手勁剛好，香Ｑ有嚼勁，不會軟趴趴的；高麗菜豬肉內餡肥瘦比例適中，一口咬下鮮美多汁；還有一尾肥嫩的鮮蝦，蝦子新鮮的程度，從每隻蝦尾的完整程度可以看的出來；整體的平衡度非常好，好吃極了！吃了這麼好吃的水餃，也是煩惱一枚，擔心外面的水餃都吃不習慣啦.....

Albert也寫了這一大篇，因為他最愛吃水餃啦～好吃的水餃最讓他開心了 ：）

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