Dumpling Diary

For the longest time, I couldn't get around the idea of having a taste for Chinese cuisine. The culprit? Your sauce boss, Ketchup.

You might wonder about the ketchup link—I have hardly ever eaten a true Manchurian dish, the one whose sauce should be a blend of rich soy sauce, chillies and garlic. Instead, to me, this Indo-Chinese dish always tastes ketchup-y as if boneless chicken strips are dunked in heaps of ketchup. Yikes.

My family and friends love this dish, but it's not for me, not even the egg-fried rice. Nothing beats the flavours of a freshly cooked pulao, not even the mighty biryani. Anyhoo, let's not drag the delicious Pakistani cuisine into this; this blog is dedicated to Chinese delicacies.

I was so fixed on hating Chinese which kept me from trying other dishes for a long time. Eventually, during a couple of back-to-back formal dinners at Chinese restaurants, I was nudged by courtesy to at least try new flavours. To my surprise, I loved most of them. Since then, I have been trying different delicacies at home, except Manchurian, of course.

I developed a taste finally.

That is why a few days ago, when I got a call from Maan that her daughter was making dumplings and wanted me to come over; I found myself at their home in less than thirty minutes. How could I refuse such a tempting and delicious offer?

I went straight to their kitchen, which was noticeably warmer than the cloudy outdoors, not just because of the burners but also with the hum of delightful banter and clattering of utensils.

As you can see, Maan's daughter (let's call her H) had already prepared the dough and cut it into beautiful round circles.

The filling was also ready, which was, I guess, made of minced (looks finely shredded though) chicken. It's aroma was filling the kitchen and I couldn't wait to devour it.

I tried to help her with the filling and shaping the dumplings, at which I visibly struggled. H was really good with shaping each piece, whereas I was twisting dough into wrinkled little sacs. Anyhoo, despite my slowing her down, we somehow managed to quickly prepare the first batch. Maan had already set the steamer. In there, the dumplings went.

H had also prepared some chilli oil which I don't know how—perhaps some oil, soy sauce and chillies? I'm not sure.

I was sleepy and exhausted, so went back to the living while the dumplings steamed. It had been a long day, and I was confused about what to have for dinner when I got a dumpling call. 😁 One feels blessed to have kind friends in such situations.

Twenty minutes later, Maan dished out the juicy dumplings for us. They were tender and were melting in the mouth—the most delicious. I think I almost ate the whole plate.

It was a nice and fun hangout with Maan and her kids that made me appreciate Chinese cuisine a little more.