Chicken Dumplings, Chow Mein and Swiss Chard

We started today with the dumplings. This is the hardest thing to do...are you ready? Get the dumplings out of the freezer. I usually count out 4 per person. The dumplings I use come in a bag that looks like this.....I put a pot of salted (2 tsp) water on to boil. When it was boiling I added the dumplings (I cooked them in two batches). When the dumplings float to the top they are finished and can be removed from the water with a slotted spoon. This is how I did it:

I let them drain for a few minutes before I put them in a hot fry pan with sesame oil (1 1/2 Tbsp) and browned the dumplings.  I did sprinkle some Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Seasoning evenly over the dumplings just before they finished cooking. Dump them into a serving bowl, and they are ready for the table. 

After all the dumplings are removed from the boiling water pot, I add the dried Chow Mein noodles.  There are many kinds to use, lately I have been using this type:  I only use 1/3 of the package.  I put the dry noodles into the boiling water and cook them until they are all separate, then I remove the noodles from the water and put them into a strainer.

I put lots of vegetables into my chow mein dish; today these included:  cabbage, carrots, onions, celery, bean sprouts.  I slice all the vegetables in strips, so that when they cook you can't always tell where the noodles are and where the vegetables are.  I can easily hide onions in this dish.

Finely sliced cabbage (1/4 head) cooks fast,

Celery (1 stalk) sliced diagonally looks nice.

Carrots (2) julienned give some sweetness and colour.

This is what the cooking pot looks like at the beginning.  Notice I haven't put the bean sprouts (3/4 bag maybe 2 cups you can be generous) in yet.  I usually put them in just before the cooking is done as they only need to be heated to maintain their crunchy texture.

I add the noodles to the cooked vegetables, then mix it all together and serve.

Now wait a minute you are saying...what kind of seasoning did you use????

This is where some of you need to learn how much seasoning to use on your own. Part of the problem of knowing how much to put into this type of dish (or any dish) is the age of the spice or seasoning.  The potency of lets say onion powder will diminish with age. But you can start small, by adding some salt (just sprinkle over top) then taste your food; add some pepper; a bit of garlic powder (not too much - a sprinkle will do), taste it again. It should have some more flavour by now. This is how you learn what and  how much of each seasoning or spice to add. Although it takes time to learn, it makes cooking much more fun when you can create your own culinary masterpiece. 

But until then, here is what I added:

To the pot (I emptied the water form the dumplings/noodles and used it for the veggies):

2 Tbsp Sesame oil

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

I then let it cook on medium high for a few minutes while stirring from time to time. If the heat is too high the bottom of the pot will get dry and the food will begin to stick. If this happens you can add some water (2-3 Tbsp) or chicken broth or whatever flavoured liquid you have on hand. Scrap the dried bits off the bottom and continue.  Taste a piece of carrot; is it getting tender, if so, add the bean sprouts to the pot, give a good mix without crushing the sprouts. Now add 1 Tbsp of Soy Sauce and then dump in the cooked noodles, mix it together, and taste. Does it still need more flavour?  On this occassion, mine needed more help; I then added 1/2 tsp of Thai seasoning and 1/2 tsp of Roast Red Pepper and Garlic Seasoning. One more taste, and I was happy with the flavour.

The Swiss Chard is next.  A few leaves were given to me today freshly harvested and they were fabulous.  I washed the leaves (I had 1 very large and 2 medium) and chopped them into bite size pieces.

Next, to the the fry pan I added:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp butter (I use unsalted butter)

1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)

1/8 tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes

Heat the fry pan, but add the swiss chard before the minced garlic starts jumping.  Stir together until swiss chard wilts and is just tender (but not mushy). The swiss chard will be less then half of the amount you started with. 

Plate and serve, and

ENJOY!