Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Love & A Shoppa Docket

I do enjoy it when I find love in the most surprising places! Firstly I found it in Luca Guadagnino's movie Io Sono L'Amore (I Am Love). Not love at first sight mind you, rather a slow, simmering realization on the way home that I did love this film. At one stage I could have sworn the ghost of Luchino Visconti was in the cinema giving his tacit approval of this style of movie-making!

Then lo & behold, I found love again in the strangest place, this time on the back of a Frewville Foodland Shoppa Docket. A recipe for Asian Noodle Soup grabbed my heart & I just had to cook it on the weekend. It filled all the criteria for the No Fat Ever Again diet & I combined it with a favourite recipe for Steamed Pork Dumplings from our bible - The Biggest Loser Best Ever Recipes. So I assembled all the ingredients above & here's what you'll need:

4 cups good home-made low fat chicken stock
1/4 Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1 bunch (3 heads) bok choy, chopped
1 small knob fresh ginger, grated
2 tablespoons soy sace
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 packet organic soba noodles
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
2 spring onions (scallions), sliced
1 fresh lime
Punnet of enoki mushrooms (a special optional treat - but gosh they were good!)

To make the pork dumplings, mix together in a large bowl the following:

400gm. pork mince
2 spring onions (scallions), sliced finely
1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 medium knobs fresh ginger, grated
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed

Then open 1 packet of fresh gow gee wrappers, place a teaspoon of the pork mixture in the centre of each wrapper, fold in half & seal the edges well. I've got a cute little dumpling mould, that makes it a little easier & crimps the edges tightly so the filling doesn't ooze out everywhere during the steaming process. It's time consuming, but throw the iPod into the docking station & have a sing along while you work!

Phew - one tray down, three to go!

Steam all the dumplings in a metal or bamboo steamer in batches for about 10-15 minutes, or until the wrappers turn translucent. Keep singing! I ran out of wrappers, so rolled the left over mixture into little balls & baked them on an oven slide for about 15 mins. @ 180C. While all this is happening, combine the chicken stock & Chinese cabbage in a large saucepan & bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 3 minutes. Add all the other soup ingredients except the bean sprouts & spring onions to the stock mixture. Quickly blanch the soba noodles separately in boiling water.

Divide the soba noodles between deep bowls, add the spring onions & little pork mince balls.

Then add as many dumplings as required & ladle a generous amount of the hot soup mixture over them. Garnish with spring onions & coriander & if you fancy, lay the enoki mushrooms over the top & squeeze lots of lime juice over the whole lot. Mix well in the bowl & enjoy - loud slurping is mandatory!

12 comments:

  1. i can't wait to see that movie.

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  2. Yum! Thanks to you, dinner is sorted for tomorrow night! Looks delish. K xx

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  3. When hubby gets back from his conference on Friday this recipe will be waiting for him on the kitchen bench, yummo! So glad I married a foodie:o)
    When we were last in Adelaide (10 years ago - overdue for a visit) we took a photo of a "Frewville" sign to give to some NZ friends, the Frews. Sally Frew married Mike Frew and became Sally Frew,haha. Sorry, I'm rambling....
    Angex

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  4. Chapter one of Millie's Cookbook. I love it. Heidi

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  5. That looks delicious, and since my kids love any food that comes in little tiny individual parcels, they probably won't turn their precious little noses up when I place it lovingly on the table (known to happen all too often unfortunately!) Think I might have to buy one of those dumpling moulds though.
    Clare x

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  6. I am so looking forward to this film! I've heard mixed reviews. Now, about your dinner!!! I see a trip to the Asian market coming up soon! That looks delicious Millie.

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  7. That looks delish Millie! What a great meal and no fat.. joy!!
    I haven't heard of the movie, but I do like the ones that grow on you...
    Flick :)

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  8. I want to come over for dinner! I want to have time to cook like this! I want...sigh...Yum!

    Smiles

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  9. yuuuum. Now - how to find those dumpling wrappers in Southern France... may have to go back to duck breast for me Millie! Quick comment for Ange - I thought that sort of marriage was reserved for Tassie only ;-)

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  10. Dear Millie, this looks yummy and very healthy too. I was rather distracted by that glorious bit of bling being flashed amongst the ingredient prep. Thanks for your lovely comment on my last post, unfortunately I cant publish it due to the ongoing blog moderation problems I and hundreds of others have been having because of the vile chinese porn rubbish being dumped continuously on us. They seem to have frozen the system again and the blog police are not exactly being very helpful in remedial action.

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  11. I just might have a look at that movie Mills..Love the recipe, I'll store it away. Yours looks so good, I can't imagine making such perfect dumplings! Rachaelxx

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  12. whoa!!!
    you are turning into a regular
    NINJA chef!!

    it looks so darn healthy.

    xx

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And none will hear the postman's knock
Without a quickening of the heart.
For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?
~W.H. Auden

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