So despite my incredibly slow gait these days (I am seriously waddling like a penguin), I am doing my best to prepare special meals and activities filled with love.

And nothing says love and celebration like handmade food and… dipping sauce!

So in honor of the Chinese tradition of having dumplings on Chinese New Year, I spent most of Sunday preparing a house favorite- Potstickers.

**My usual disclaimer:  In case you do not normally stock rice cooking wine or oyster sauce in your house (if you’re Chinese, shame on you!), this recipe is very forgiving and you can just increase the amount of soy sauce and oil to compensate.  But you will need the sesame oil, white pepper, and the other fresh ingredients.  They are important.  The sesame oil alone will fill your house with an amazing aroma!  Also, this recipe may seem intense, but it is really quite easy.  The time invested is SO worth it, and it yields enough for multiple meals.  Unless of course, you have a husband who eats potstickers by the dozen, then this recipe may be just enough.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 3 tbsp rice cooking wine
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 stalks finely chopped scallions
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 package wonton skins or dumpling wrappers (I use round for dumplings and square for wontons)

Yields approximately 40 dumplings or wontons

With most Asian dishes, it is all about the prep work. This one is no different. While onions, carrots and celery make the up a Mirepoix, the “holy trinity” flavor base for many French dishes, in Chinese cuisine, it is often ginger, garlic, and scallion/onion.

Once you are done chopping and measuring your ingredients, whisk together the egg white, rice cooking wine, sesame oil, white pepper, salt, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a medium-size bowl.  Stir in the scallion, ginger, and garlic.  Then add the ground pork using a fork or chopsticks until it’s thoroughly combined.

I like to cover the mixture and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at LEAST one hour before stuffing the dumplings.  They need time to mingle and get acquainted.

After they’ve sat together for an hour or so (or even overnight if you like), fill each dumpling wrapper with about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture.

Keep a bowl of plain water handy.  Dip your finger in the water and moisten the inside edge of the wrapper.  This makes the wrapper sticky.  Just make sure to keep the water away from the pork, or else the wrapper will become gooey and rip.

At this point you can fold the edges together over the meat like a taco, and press or crimp the edges together like a turnover or empanada.  However, if you want to make your dumplings look all ‘official’, moisten the front edge of the wrapper too.  Fold over and pinch down the front edge a few times to form pleats (I aim for 5 pleats) and then join the back and pleated front edges together to seal.  Lightly dabble the edge with more water if necessary.

*However you decide to fold your potstickers, be sure to place your folded potstickers down onto parchment or wax paper so the skin doesn’t rip or stick.

If you don’t get the folding down at first, don’t worry, this recipe yields a few dozen potstickers and I promise by the tenth one, it will be easy peasy.   It will almost feel like molding with Play-Doh.

Once you’re done filling the wrappers, you have many options on what you can do:

- You can freeze portions of the dumplings for later meals (I reserve 1- 2 dozen in the freezer for when I’m in a pinch for dinner)

- You can boil the dumplings in chicken stock with veggies to make a wonton soup. Just boil the dumplings until they float and they’re done!

- You can steam the dumplings in bamboo steamers for 12-14 minutes in a pot over an inch of boiling water.  Line the steamer with a lettuce leaf to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. And make sure the potstickers are not touching the water.

- How I like to eat potstickers the best is by pan frying them.  They are crispy on the outside while soft and juicy on the inside.

Just add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a skillet or pan over medium-high heat.  Allow the oil to heat thoroughly and coat the bottom of the pan evenly.  Add a few potstickers to the pan 1-inch apart from each other and do not touch them for 2 minutes.

Add 3 tablespoons of water to the pan and cover immediately. Turn the heat down slightly and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.

Carefully uncover the pan and cook off any remaining water or fluid.  Gently turn the dumplings using a spatula and shake the pan occasionally to toss them around while they continue to fry for another 2 minutes.  This will help crispify the other sides and turn them golden brown and delicious.

Serve them immediately just plain or with a little soy sauce for dipping and they make the perfect finger food, appetizer, or addition to any meal for someone you love.

Enjoy!

A quick Google search for “Boston Cuban restaurant” presented only one result- El Oriental De Cuba.  I’ve been craving Cuban food for weeks.  More like years.  Okay, perhaps since I moved out of Miami.  Anyway, I had Googled the restaurant before, but never ventured to go with Babisodes.  The reviews online mention “a few tables” in a “small restaurant setting.”  And only having street parking in a congested part of town.  These things never mix well with toddlers.   So we finally ceased the opportunity to go for our date night.

At 8pm, with a GPS itinerary set, we backed out of the driveway, completely child-free.

The drive alone was a bit surreal. It was nighttime.  When I would normally be winding down the day indoors, I was actually not home. The familiar streets and storefronts emerged differently.  As if my everyday world became blanketed in black velvet.  Cars and buses driving alongside lit up the road. I had forgotten this world.  Forgotten that it still existed, a world at night, beyond the hours of bedtime.  Crowds of people opening menus and ordering drinks as my daughter fell deep into slumber.  I used to be part of this world.  I used to be one of them.  How did I forget?

All of the restaurant reviews were true. Parking was a bitch. Maybe 8 or 9 tables already seating patrons, not 1 kid in the joint.  But the aroma of black beans and rice oozing from the tiny corner establishment, kept us going in our never-ending quest for street parking.

After the gluttony of shredded beef and ham croquettes, we decided that sitting through a 2-hour long movie would not be a wise decision.  Instead, we tucked ourselves into the dark velvet sidewalks of Harvard Square. Street musicians filled creased alleyways and corners with an assortment of horns, strings, and vocals.  Each audience lost in a tune.   A cool breeze rustled the leaves above in the tall maples.  I grabbed Dadisodes’ arm and pulled him close.  We walked, and walked.  Just holding hands.

Like I said. It was uneventful. Merely a simple night out. Nothing fancy.  But for us, one child-free night just walking (and not having to share even 1 sweet, precious fried plantain) was priceless.