China town in London.

Despite being jet lagged after my Trans Atlantic flight from New York I decided to take my Son to China Town in London for his belated Birthday meal after a good clothes shopping escapade in the West End as he adores Chinese food and has even adopted a Chinese name he likes that he chose from an Anime Movie.
He has given himslef another a.k.a Bai Long which means white dragon and it is true his colour is as white as milk lol and so he has another name now Yan Bai Long which is my Fiance's surname and his new Chinese name..
We had some awesome crispy duck along with another four course meal and are coming back for more on Sunday as Ipromised to take him to Covent Garden to have a look around too.
China Town in London has some peng restaurants and also a great shop to get Chinese art supplies. I am thinking of stocking up on a calligraphy pen and some ink at least..

Chinese Dumplings..I love them.

I have a great love for Chinese dumplings and so today here is a lovely recipe I used and they turned out pretty awesome to say the least.

Jiaozi

Chinese dumplings (Jiaozi) are very popular during the Chinese New Year season

Ingredients:

• Jiaozi dough:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• up to 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Filling:
• 1 cup ground pork or beef
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 TB Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
• 3 TB sesame oil
• 1/2 green onion, finely minced
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage
• 4 tablespoons shredded bamboo shoots
• 2 slices fresh ginger, finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

Preparation:

Stir the salt into the flour. Slowly stir in the cold water, adding as much as is necessary to form a smooth dough. Don't add more water than is ncessary. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients. Add the soy sauce, salt, rice wine and white pepper to the meat, stirring in only one direction. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the same direction, and mix well.

To make the dumpling dough: knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 60 pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle about 3-inches in diameter.

Place a small portion (about 1 level tablespoon) of the filling into the middle of each wrapper. Wet the edges of the dumpling with water. Fold the dough over the filling into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the remainder of the dumplings.

To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add half the dumplings, giving them a gentle stir so they don't stick together. Bring the water to a boil, and add 1/2 cup of cold water. Cover and repeat. When the dumplings come to a boil for a third time, they are ready. Drain and remove. If desired, they can be pan-fried at this point.

Chinese Cakes and Sweets..

When I was in the U.S and living in China town for a few months I got addicted to Chinese cakes, my favourite was called Canoli. My Beloved would bring me one home every afternoon and I would eat it with my English cup of tea with milk. I love Chinese cakes because they are not too sweet but they are just sweet enough for me. There was also a delightful Chocolate mousse that I adored but it was more expensive..actually at 2.45 bucks it was the most expensive of the lot but I used to love eating that one on the weekends as my end of week treat. I hate it that I have a sweet tooth but those cakes are lovely. I do a lot of exercise though and don't drink and smoke so that really is my only eating vice..but I have to enjoy something in my life otherwise I would go mad lol.

I MISS CHINATOWN..

I really feel the pinch, especially at night. I miss my Hubby and I also miss the hustle and bustle of Mnahattan's Chinatown. Every day I would go around the shops and look around for fresh fruit and veg. I can't even cook my noodle soup the same way as we can't get the veggies locally. I have to bus it to a Chinese shop and now the weather is so cold here it si not very convenient. The place is so lively and full of sights and sounds that you don't feel lonely or bored. Night time was a great time for us to take romanitc walks and eat Canoli cake whilst watching the Chinese soap operas on the communal telly in the Cafe, along with Hong Kong Cha. Those days were fun and I am sad today knowing that it will be months of a hard slog before I can enjoy that again. This is what I like about blogging..I can just sprawl my thoughts on paper, like sand rushing to meet the sea and all it needs to do is just be there..