Veggie Gyoza

Yesterday I woke up from the most amazing dream ever. I mean, my dreams are random and weird, but sometimes magical. This time it was the latter. I dreamt that I was friends with Valentino. We were partying together, walking around parks and talking about art, music, fashion, films. Just before I woke up, we were having a picnic with few other friends (and Giancarlo of course), lying on the grass, eating strawberries, laughing…It seemed so real and relaxing, it was almost painful to wake up. If there is psychological explanation to why I am having a dream like that, I would like to hear it. Probably some escapism shit or another…

Anyway, the dream made me want to watch again the documentary ‘Valentino: the Last Emperor’.

I always thought that Valentino’s designs were timeless. Whichever year the dress you pick from, you can wear it now. There’s so much elegance, grace in his designs, and although they are very glamorous, there’s also simplicity. To me Valentino is an artist, he didn’t create ‘just dresses’, he created art. Beautiful and well crafted.

When you watch a documentary about an artist, you have to have something simple but flavorful for dinner.

Veggie Gyoza:

veggie gyoza

200g chopped mushrooms (oyster, shiitake or chestnut)

1 clove minced garlic

1-2 cm peeled and grated ginger

1 tsp chopped chilli

1/3 cup chopped spring onion

1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage (napa or bok choy)

1 cup chopped water chestnut

1 cup chopped bamboo shoots

1-2 tbsp tamari

gyoza wrappers (I get them from Chinese supermarket)

rice oil

For the dipping sauce:

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp tamari

1 tsp teriyaki sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

sprinkle of chilli flakes

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger, garlic and chilli. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Add chopped finely mushrooms.

2. Fry until mushrooms loose moisture. Add spring onions, Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Stir for few minutes, add tamari. Wait till cabbage is wilted. Cool.

3. Put the stuffing in the middle of gyoza wrapper, wet your finger with water and trace it around the edges of the wrapper.

veggie gyoza

veggie gyoza

veggie gyoza

veggie gyoza

 

Smoked Tofu Stir Fry

 

Smoked tofu stir fry

First of all, Happy New Year! It’s a year of a goat or sheep or ram, you can detect a confusion here, so I can only assume it will be a very confused year. Nothing new for me then.

Secondly, sorry for the quality of pictures, it was dark and gloomy. Good job I remembered to take them anyway.

On a new ‘confused identity’ lunar year, you should watch a film which I adore – ‘Raise The Red Lantern’. The film was directed by Zhang Yimou who also introduced us (the western world) to Gong Li, an amazing actress.

She plays Songlian, young girl who’s family becomes bankrupt after her father’s death. She marries into a wealthy family and becomes a fourth wife.

There is a constant rivalry between wives, secrets, never ending plotting. What’s interesting, we never really see the husband, who’s the master and commander of the household but also of the wives life, having the power to choose which one of them is in favour. And who’s in favour is important – the wife he chooses for the night gets a massage, special treatment, her favourite food, etc. His choice is indicated by lighting red lanterns at the entrance to the wife’s house.

It’s a very beautifully shot and quite dramatic film. I can’t stop thinking of the end of the patriarchate whenever I watch it. But I’m still drawn to Yimou’s beautiful world, even knowing, there can’t be a happy ending.

You can have it with a really quick and easy stir fry.

Smoked tofu stir fry

Smoked Tofu Stir Fry:

small chilli, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

2cm ginger, grated

200g smoked tofu

200g shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 celery stick chopped

1 red pepper, cut into matchsticks

200g baby corn

1/2 cup chopped spring onion

200g snap peas

1 cup chopped bok choy

1 tbsp black sesame seeds

sesame oil

soy sauce

1 tsp miso

rice noodles

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok or heavy pan. Add chilli, garlic and ginger. Fry for 1-2 minutes, add mushrooms. Fry for 4-5 minutes.

2. Add all vegetables. Fry till they are tender. In the meantime cook rice noodles.

3. When vegetables are softened, add tofu, soy sauce and miso. Mix well. Serve with rice noodles and sprinkled black toasted sesame seeds on top.

 

Mushroom and Tofu Wontons

I’m going to get a bit sentimental here.

As Christopher Moltisanti from Sopranos once said: ‘I love movies, you know dat. That smell in blockbuster, that candy ‘and carpet smell, I get high off it!’

That’s how I feel. I’m all for Netflixing, streaming, digital box recording, etc, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling nostalgic, when I think of old Blockbusters. I think the excitement of finding something you were looking for is lost when you get everything you want on tap.

So I felt really sad when the Blockbuster in town closed. The smell of the carpet gone. Dusty shelves explorations gone forever. Blockbusters were like a temple to me. When I was a teenager, my dream was to work in a DVD (or back then VHS) rental place. Where would Tarantino get his film education if there were no places like that????! Forget about it!

So I felt really apprehensive when I saw that Blockbuster place is being refurbished. I was worried it would be replaced by something horrible, a profanity to the old place. Something like a Pound Shop…or worse…

Imagine my surprise when I walked by one day and I saw a little Chinese supermarket. Oh boy! Was I happy?…

Every time I shop there I feel like a child in a candy store. Now I can get kimchi, any type of noodles, any type of tofu I want, you name it. And the best part is – I can get won ton wrappers. And because I only think, talk, dream, discuss and get excited about two things: film and food, I am in heaven. I used to get high on that carpet smell in Blockbuster, but it’s nice to know I still can get high in the same place, just on spices, mushrooms and general Chinese food products smell.

A few years ago my friend who lives in Shanghai was visiting, and she brought me a bamboo steamer. I feel really happy I can finely put it into use.

 

Vegetarian Wontons:

200g shitake or chestnut mushrooms

spring onion

250g silk tofu

150 water chestnut

clove of garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

pepper

soy sauce

rice bran oil

vegetarian wontons

vegetarian wontons

vegetarian wontons

vegetarian wontons

1. Heat the oil. Add chopped garlic and ginger, fry for 2 minutes. Add finely chopped mushrooms and spring onion.

2. Fry until mushrooms lose all the moisture and start getting some colour. Add tofu. Mix well. Add soy sauce and pepper, chopped water chestnuts. Leave it to cool.

3. Brush bamboo steamer with oil, line with parching paper (you can get lining paper already cut into circles from a Chinese shop). Put your steamer over a pan of simmering water.

4. Put a spoonful of stuffing in the middle of wonton wrapper. Brush the edges with water and seal it. Steam covered for about 3-5 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce and sprinkle of black sesame seeds.

For the dipping sauce you will need: soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, teriyaki sauce and chili flakes.

I made another version, gluten free, using rice paper. One part was steamed (gets a  bit slimy but still delicious) and another fried. Yum!

rice paper vegetarian wontons

rice paper fried wontons

Kimchi Fried Rice

Food Network to me is like a porn channel to some people. Cookbooks are as exciting as dirty magazines to some. I get aroused when I watch it and I’m an addict. I would probably have withdrawal symptoms if someone stopped me from watching it. Even my co-workers have noticed that. When we have a bit of a break (which last time was in November, haha) and people are in the staff room, whenever I enter, they say ‘oh, Eva’s here, you’d better switch TV to Food Network’.

I just love watching people cooking and where would you find your inspiration from otherwise?

I have a soft spot for Ina Garten in particular. She’s just so fabulous with her amazing mansion in Hamptons and loving Jeffrey by her side…(sigh). My fantasy is living next door to her, so she can pop in with good muffins, and we would laugh our heads of while  sipping champagne…And I could be invited to her parties.

So I watch a lot of Barefoot Contessa on Food Network as you have guessed correctly. I find it very relaxing and inspirational.

On one of the episodes called ‘Off Duty’ Ina was asking different chefs, what they are making, when they cook for themselves. Julia Turschen (the same Julia who co-wrote ‘It’s All Good’ with Gwyneth Paltrow) shared her favorite off duty dish – Kimchi Fried Rice. And to me it was the best, simple, understated dish you can make. Since I had made it, I never looked back. It’s only a few ingredients, whenever you cook too much rice, next day you can use leftovers. You just need to keep kimchi in your fridge or cupboard. It’s a very tasty Korean fermented cabbage with other vegetables. It’s a bit spicy and  full of vitamins and minerals. Totally worth a try. You can find the recipe here. You’re welcome.

kimchi fried rice – ingredients

kimchi fried rice

kimchi fried rice

kimchi fried rice