Happy New Year!
Plus: Let's make mandu
I truly hope you had safe, peaceful and delicious holiday celebrations and your year is off to a good start. I’m still drowning in citrus so we are delaying our dumpling production until Lunar New Year which is mid-February. But you don’t have to! Below are my recipes for the mandu and the dipping sauce plus a couple of other bonus bites.
Make mandu with a Hawaiian flair
This mandu recipe is full of Aloha spirit - based on the recipe from my husband’s Hawaiian family. One major difference is that the filling is uncooked when the dumpling is formed and cooks when you sear/boil/steam the dumplings. The original recipe starts with cooked meat. Our cooking times are very carefully set to provide a perfectly cooked wrapper and filling.
How to fold the mandu
Here is a video of my husband folding a dumpling - in case you are a visual learner!
Don’t forget the dipping sauce!
In my husband’s family’s recipe files, there is a sauce called “cho jung”, short for cho gochujang. Gochujang is Korean fermented chili paste and cho means vinegar. I’ve edited the recipe a bit - my favorite part is using two vinegars - rice and black. This sauce is irresistable - double the recipe - you’ll want to use it on more than dumplings and it lasts in the fridge for weeks!



Help with holiday leftovers
Still working your way thru leftovers? Don’t forget fried rice as a way to use up miscellaneous veggies and proteins. This recipe post has a great video of my husband making it. At this time of year, we always use leftover prime rib and our au jus sauce to top it but you absolutely can use the same technique without prime rib or au jus sauce! This was a staple around our house when the kids were younger - fried rice, a few dumplings and some steamed veggies.
Beth’s favorite sound bites
Olive oil cranberry orange cake? Yes please!
A cold weather winner from my friend Jenni - white beans and rice with vegan and vegetarian options.
A different take on fried rice from my Bay Area neighbor and author of 7 Asian cookbooks Andrea Nguyen!
Mystery link: Could be one of my recipes or someone else’s!
Have any questions? I never tire of talking about food so leave a comment below or reply to this email. Happy to help! Have a delicious weekend.
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Happy New Year!
We love that cho jung dipping sauce too!