Jan 27 2010
Theme Night I: Chinese
I sent Dougal to the Chinese Supermarket the other day to pick up a new bottle of Nam Pla (he came back with Cock : Fish Sauce) and golly but didn’t he come back with dumplings too. We cracked the packet open the other night.
So they look a bit plain and uninspired on the outside but by golly these pork and coriander babies were good. We dipped them in soy sauce and sesame oil (our best imitation of Chop Chop eating) and served with a Ken Hom Chinese Broccoli salad (vast improvement on the rubbish Thai one the other day and a bit of a favourite at my Mum and Dad’s) and some simple oniony noodles.
For pudding (it had been quite a light tea) I threw in a bit more Chinese theme. Which is to say I had ice cream (not at all Chinese) but I topped it with crystallised stem ginger. A topping I absolutely love but not one I eat often as Dougal despises these sophisticated golden orbs of joy!
Neat little meal and the great thing is there are loads more dumplings in the freezer. They are as easy to cook as filled pasta and are also local. Judging by the address on the back of the packet these are from the team that now also run Chop Chop and make dumplings for Sainsbury’s. I wonder whether they are the same dumplings only in communist-style packaging at proper Chinese prices?
gosh, grated ginger? I don’t think our grater is up to that any more. We, as you may recall, go for micro-diced ginger, plus on a ludicrously overindulgent day, cream… a habit best avoided, but cream plus the ginger syrup makes, well, ginger cream which is pretty darn good in my book.
Wish I could get these dumplings more easily… perhaps need to subcontract the shopping to my working wife as she passes the Chinese Supermarket on a frequent basis. ?Opening hours??
It turns out Pat’s Chung Ying Chinese Supermarket has a website, open from 10-6, though they close pretty sharply.
I should also point out that having a bottle that says cock in large letters is the gift that keeps on giving. Endless fun for all the family, etc. (Well, maybe not all the family.)
Indeed, both the Chinese supermarkets are open till 6pm so do-able for Lizzie. Also that grater is the old Southfield House one- blunt as hell and only really good for things that crumble under pressure. Like ginger. Also I sometimes use it when I want *really* finely done garlic, like with a garlic press, or when I’ve forgotten garlic and the oil is already heating and there’s no time to slice!