Mini Goledn Egg Dumplings with Pork Filling

Febrary 4th is the date for traditional Chinese New Year in 2019.  On this day, most Chinese families get together from all over the places to celebrate the beginning of a new year.  It is kind of like Thanksgiving in America, but longer and more festival. 

On the last evening of lunar year, it is also a tradition to make serve a marvelous feast which could take up to weeks’ preparation.  

Now since we are living in the United States, we still celebrate Chinese New Year, just on a smaller scale.  I still make some traditional Chinese food on this day.  Egg dumplings are one of them.

Egg dumplings are a must for New Year’s feast.  The beautiful golden color resembles gold and more money incoming in the New Year.  The shape of flower means good luck and blessing in the New Year too. 

Ingredients:

180 g ground pork
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 to 2 teaspoons rice cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock/ water
5 large eggs
salt to taste
vegetable oil for cooking

Directions :

Add ground pork to a medium bowl, along with ground ginger, rice cooking wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, ground white pepper, and salt.  Whisk clock-wise with a pair of chopsticks.

While whisking, add a tablespoon chicken stock/ water.  Whisk until the liquid is absorbed before adding more.

Add a pinch of salt to the eggs and beat them until smooth.

I use a cast iron pancake puff pan to make egg dumplings.  It is super efficient because I can make 7 of them at a time. 

Heat the pan over medium low heat.  Spray with oil.  Add a couple teaspoons of beaten eggs to each hole.  Swirl around a little bit.

Add teaspoon ground pork filling to each of them.

Fold them over.

Once egg dumplings can hold their half moon shape, remove from pan. 

Repeat the process until all done.

Assemble all egg dumplings in a plate like a big flower. 

Add to a steamer.  Steam dumplings over high heat for about 6 minutes.   The steaming time may vary with dumplings’ sizes and shapes.

They can be served hot or cold.  Aren’t they pretty?

The rest of our New Year feast also includes boiled free range chicken with dipping sauces.

med bass with ginger and oyster sauce

Purple daikon salad

Cucumber salad

Spinach and tofu salad

Steamed sweet rice with nuts and red beans paste

Merry 2018 Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

"味道Yankitchen“ now is an Wechat Official Account!

Wechat is a widely popular social network apps in China and some other Asian countries, all due to its super powerful influences in messages texting, social media and mobile payment all combined together. That is right, try to imagine what it is like when Instagrm, facebook, tweeter, and paypal all merge into one single apps. Now get the idea?

Yankitchen now is on Wechat too! Search “味道Yankitchen“, or simply extract QR code from the following photos, and follow us on Wechat!

Brenham Wildflowers and Blue Bell Ice Cream Store

The most exciting events in spring for us are wildflower touring and crawfish festivals.  We make plans to going to Brenham and Austin to see wildflowers every year.  The plans don’t always get carried out because the wildflowers’ peak time is very short.  Besides, wildflowers are affected by many other factors like temperature and rainfall. 

This year, we finally have a perfect wildflower tour to Brenham during bluebonnets peak time.  Hooray

Bluebonnets are literally everywhere!  You can spot them along the highways, country roads, parks, farms…you name it.

The very first stop we make in Brenham is of course the Blue Bell ice cream store.

They are not open during weekends anymore.  There are no more factory tours either.  But the ice cream store is still there selling delicious ice cream for a very reasonable price.  

You can still peak through the glass from observation deck on the second floor.  No photos are allowed in that area.  To be honest, you don’t get to see much from observation deck.

A lot of people come here in large groups.  The parking lot is full of cars and buses.

The ice cream store is on the second floor, same as observation deck.

Look at the flavors they produce

There are flavors sold the store

Did I mention the price is very reasonable? O(∩_∩)O~

rocky road  and mocha almond fudge

moo-llenium crunch  and strawberry cheesecake

The ice creams here are a bit too sweet for us.  And I wish they could be creamier.

Peachy peach

It is surprisingly good.  There is an intense peach flavor, and very sweet and creamy with large peach pieces.

There is also a visitor center right next to the ice cream store where you can experience blue bell history.

I guess this is the oldest ice cream machine O(∩_∩)O~

It is peak time for bluebonnets.  You can spot them everywhere.

We drive up north to Independence

There is Antique Rose Emporium right on highway 50.  We stop by every time.

They sell all kinds of roses, plants, bushes and herbs here.

Old Baylor Park

The bluebonnets are not very good here this year.  But it is still a very nice picnic spot.

On our way back to Brenham, we come across a very large field of blue bonnets.  I am totally amazed by its beauty and colors.

Indian paintbrush

Not sure what these blue/purple white flowers are.  They are also very lovely.

Sun is coming down.  I take a few more photo shots and head back to Houston  O(∩_∩)O~