Small SwimI have been cheating; I tromped down the local Asian supermarket last weekend and stocked up on dumplings and steamed buns for the freezer. I picked up a sack full of pot stickers, a brightly labeled bag of pork buns, and a smaller, less assertive bag of buns with bean paste in. I've made all of these before from scratch, and I should be practicing, because I am not very good at them yet. On week nights, though, it is very much easier to get the steamer going to soon tuck in to a hot dinner with so little time and effort.
However: it gives me an excuse to break out the bottles and mess around with dipping sauces. This is a fun way to while away the minutes: soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger pepper sauce, oyster sauce, garlic sauce, thai chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, scallions, bits of ginger and garlic into a bowl to sit (but probably better not all at once). So far, the winner that was easiest to make was a splash of good light (not lite) soy and a dribble of Korean garlic/pepper paste. The winner that requires me to plan a bit was the leftover (untainted) extra marinade from the pork the other night: soy and sesame oil and smashed ginger and star anise, with scallions in.
A simple plate of hot dumplings, and a shallow bowl. Turn on the radio and eat.
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