Pot-Sticker Hot Pot

Saturday, 1 Dec. 07
Persimmon and Daikon in Sweet Vinegar Dressing, page 235- take 2 on this one
Kakinamasu
Japanese Pot-Stickers in Hot Pot, page 449
Gyoza-nabe
Rice Vinegar and Yuzu Dressing, page 73, revisited
Ponzu
Dashi, page 65-66, revisited

Fun meal. I have to get some equipment to make hot pots at the table. But even so, we had a very nice evening. Some gyoza and some of the parboiled vegetables (cabbage, shungiku, and carrots) ate added to a pot of dashi to finish cooking. Add some ponzu sauce and lime juice to the bowl Eat. Cook. Eat. Cook… When everything is gone, drink the broth.

First: The persimmon and daikon “salad” re-make: The first time I made this (in November), I used the Hachiya fruit most common in the U.S. It was soft, so I thought it was ready to eat, but not so. Very astringent. This time I used a couple of very ripe Fuyu. They are now grown in the U.S.!!! Wonderful fruit, just like imagining you are on a tropical beach and warm waves are lapping around you. This fruit should be more popular! Anyway, the persimmon pieces and julienned daikon are dressed with rice vinegar, dashi, sugar and a bit of salt. Beautiful and yummy. Ms. Shimbo says you can sub dried apricots. A very nice Japanese woman I talk to online tells me her mother uses dried persimmons for this dish. Pretty dish, don’t you think?

Second: I bought pork and veg pot-stickers at the wonderful Korean grocery just a couple blocks from my house! That place is amazing. It’s a tiny space, but they have tons of Korean and Japanese food—frozen, fresh, and shelf-stable—crammed all together with a selection of other Asian foods.

Anyway, for the main hot pot recipe, the new to me part was the “cabbage rolls” where I parboiled Chinese cabbage leaves and arranged them overlapped 2 down, 1 up. Then I rolled them jelly-roll fashion (no filling) and cut into bite-sized lengths. I secured them with toothpicks because I think they should have been parboiled a bit longer.

Shungiku is edible chrysanthemum leaves. At least I think that’s what I used. When Mr. Tess asked at the Korean store, the woman said no they are (??something??), but yes they are for hot pot. Could be a language difference. It tasted like spinach, but with more tooth and more taste. It looked like pictures of seen of it.

Advertisement