Day 48: DUMPLING MANIA!!!

Hey! Check out my dumpling! Only this one dumpling was shaped well, 

but it made my eyes shine with pride for a moment. 

Take that Taiwanese Grandma!

Dim sum. Steamed pork buns. Pot stickers. I love them all, but have never attempted to make any of them before today. 

Ok, once I asked a student's mother in Taiwan to show me how to make pork dumplings and by the 12th unknown condiment that went in the bowl - I was lost. When I tried to shape them, the Grandma scowled at me and said my dumplings looked "machine made", and that, my friends, was NOT a compliment.

But that didn't happen today! Carefully guided by the Chefs, our class turned out pan after pan of gorgeous goodness, with a little heaven on the side. 

Steamed Pork Buns - delish! 

Pork Dumplings before steaming

Shrimp Dumplings with Ginger

Pork dumplings after steaming - A+!

Possibly my two favorite dishes from Taiwan - dumplings and the tasty "scallion pancake". These pancakes were a little thick though, and didn't get cooked all the way through, oops! Hid those away under the table as the Chefs came by. Nothing to see here Chefs! Just keep moving!

And the two dishes of the day I didn't like so much....

Deep fried silver fish, still not my favorite. Silver fish coated in a mixture of corn starch and flour and deep fried along with garlic and jalapeno pepper and finished with 5 spice and salt. Many of my classmates liked these, and the chefs popped them like popcorn all day long!

Diakon Radish Cake 

How many times have I eaten this dish? Probably too many times to count, and I STILL dislike it. And judging from the bags of leftovers available for take home at the end of the day, many of  my classmates felt the same way. 

It's a diakon radish cake. This one had dried shrimp inside which I didn't love. Maybe I should try to make his cake with ingredients I like, but then again....nah. Forget it. If I'm going to eat something fried, let it be something I love. 

Just  before the end of the day a new shipment of blenders came in. The blender situation at the school had been getting tedious, with a different brand of blender at every station, and each blender with it's own unique parts, which are not interchangeable with any other blender in the room.... do you get the point? 

Well, long story short - I got a new blender for 5 bucks! Woo hoo! Mango lassi here I come!

Have a good weekend everybody!