Libreng Sabaw: dumplings

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This is as close I can go to "connecting with the earth". For now, I guess. I really want to go mountaineering soon or something similar like camping or going to the beach (not the typical beach plan most of you would think of) and just allow myself to connect with the earth. Also, you just can't see in the photo (because it is black and white), but I'm also absorbing sunlight (again, makes a lot of sense because the sun is the giver of energy and life). I remember this concept of sungazing and its alleged benefits. On a good day, fair weather and all, maybe in the afternoon or early morning (this would be better), it would be very advisable to eat outdoors.

I've always assumed that L-Tryosine is found mostly in meats but eHow.com says that crabs and shrimps are also very high in this amino acid. This is good for increasing dopamine in your brain. This is why, I always use the example of the lion in Madagascar who wanted to eat his zebra friend. We get happy when we are satisfied with what we eat.

So what better way than to go for Japanese cuisine, something I consider to be one of the most pleasurable and artistic kind of comfort food. I will need 5-HTP, of course (for the serotonin). I will as soon as AdSense pays me (30th it is, yeah?). There are supplements being sold in those "Healthy Options" type of stores.

Then there's dim sum, like hakaw specifically one of my ultimate favorites, another culinary concept I consider to be comforting (and romantic and sensual much like the experience of eating sushi or raw salmon or sea urchin). Plus, the chili oil that comes with it supposedly releases endorphins (yes, spicy food does that, some say). The wrapping and the perfect texture of the steamed shrimp is just indescribable.

Then freshly squeezed orange juice (no photo though). Vitamin C is just so helpful. Pirates got scurvy before because they didn't have citrus fruits or something like that. I don't even know what scurvy is and I'm lazy to Google.

Maybe the other aspects of it can be tackled in my other blogs. What matters is that I write and people read. A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Are you interested in what I think about food? Is that why you are here?

#NowPlaying: Lojik - Get Up

A discovery that will change the way you cook and eat dumplings for the rest of your life.

And so I was merrily walking around the kitchen and preparing myself some dumplings. I figured I should fry it then eat it with rice. It's not every day that one can have fried dumplings as ulam, I figured, but somehow I wasn't that excited. Then I realized that perhaps there has been something very wrong in the way I fry my dumplings. Little did I know that this little blurb of curiosity will change the way I cook and eat dumplings for the rest of my life.

The image you see on the left is the typical way we see fried dumplings such as the Japanese "Gyoza" (one of my ultimate favorites when it comes to Japanese cuisine). The other image, the one on the right, is how I've always fried my dumplings; thoroughly and golden-brown. The most staggering difference is that with the one of the left, only a certain portion seems to be fried. And yes, apparently this was the case.
So the idea is for you to fry the bottom part of the dumpling in cooking oil until it is golden-brown and then pour water on your pan, turn the dumplings, and cook the other side in the water and let it simmer. This gives that beautiful balance between crunchy and soft; truly a harmony of textures.
Regret filled my heart as I ate the dumplings I cooked. Why do I discover this only now? It is as if a small part of my life had been a lie all along; a charade of wasted dumplings. But all that matters is I now know what I know and I can write about it and share my glorious epiphany to the world.
For the sauce, I conjured this interesting mix of Kikoman soy sauce, sesame seed and sesame oil, and sweet chili sauce. Surely I didn't want to submit such a discovery to a mediocre sauce and so I thought of making that sauce mix and to my surprise it was actually very good.
For something so basic and can easily be done, it is something I have overlooked. More than a good meal, this was also a great lesson. I put all my experiences of bad dumplings behind me. I move on and survive to cook another day.
Peace.

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