My Eighty-fifth - Ethnic Dumpling -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Eighty-fifth - Ethnic Dumpling -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients


 "Dumplings are cooked balls of dough based on flour, potatoes or bread. They may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may be sweet or savory, and are made in many various cuisines in the world." - Wikipedia

Not a catch title but let me explain . . . 

My college age son was home for Thanksgiving weekend and was sitting on shay lounge chair (where I spent many of my days healing from cancer treatment).  He had his laptop and was studying for tests for the coming week.  I was sitting in my favorite chair and tuned into Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on TV. After two episodes, he looked up and asked me how could I watch this show, when I can't eat any of it?  Simple answer - I live vicariously . . .  I can nearly make a pureed version of anything except peanut brittle.  Yes, it is a burden that I carry.

More importantly, it is my favorite research show.  One show was about pierogis and the Pierogis Princess of Patti's Pierogis.  And it dawned on me that nearly every ethnic group has a dumpling - har gow, ravioli, wonton, gujia, empanada, samosa, pierogi, palt, kreplach, knish, tortellini, just to name a few.

I could make a pureed cookbook on just dumplings.  Some are boiled; some are fried; some are baked.  They are all a stuffing surrounded by a layer of starch.  Doesn't matter which dumpling you want to eat, there are three things they all have in common: pre-sized, flavored with sauce, starch and protein included.RECIPE:
Dumpling
Sauce
Warm water


PRE-SIZED
Because you can measure them in whole units, it is very easy to make small portions of a cup of less.  Some like shumai are very small and might require two per cup of puree.  If you have someone who waste a lot of puree because they don't eat much - these are great for portion  and waste control.  Most come with different meats or vegetarian versions so it is easier to change the flavor regularly

SAUCE
Most dumplings come with a powerful dipping sauce, so go light when adding the sauce to the puree.

WARM WATER
Except for a few exceptions like some Dim Sum, most dumplings are served warm, so make sure the puree is served warm. Since the dumpling already has the starch, the protein will be suspended in the puree.

PROTEIN
I include vegetable proteins in this group.

SUPERMARKET HOT FOOD BAR
The new trend in supermarkets is to have huge hot food bar.  Many of these places carry two or three different dumplings on their hot food bars, so it is easy to pick up one or two fresh ones to bring home.  The downside is most don't carry the fresh sauce on the side.  Those that do have a sauce, tend to have been sitting in the sauce for quite a time, and can be overwhelming.

FROZEN
I usually keep bag of frozen dumplings in the house - typically samosas, or peking dumplings.  I don't buy frozen ravioli nor tortellini anymore, because my daughter will eat them all without telling me. It is a good problem to have.

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