My girlfriend loves dumplings. It's one of the few things I've ever noticed that she really likes so I'm making some pork dumplings for Valentines dinner. I'm having trouble figuring out what else goes with dumplings.

I'm hoping you cuisine guru's can help me out. I can cook just about anything.

Nothing sour so seaweed salad is out. I'm thinking maybe some miso soup, some kind of salad or green, dumplings, white rice... and then I'm at a loss.

2/14/2007 10:46:29 AM

just serve it as an appetizer and don't try to make the whole meal asian

and stop being your girlfriend's bitch

2/14/2007 10:48:01 AM

Make some kind of noodles.

2/14/2007 10:48:27 AM

Do some mango spring rolls. Go to whole foods or an asian market and get the rice paper wrappers...the ones that look like transparent paper when they get wet. Use those to wrap a mixture of lettuce, diced carrots, diced cucumber, mint, basil and a mango slice. Buy some peanut sauce as a dip.

[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 10:51 AM. Reason : ]

2/14/2007 10:50:12 AM

this is a sweet idea.

2/14/2007 10:57:57 AM

Mmm mango spring rolls sure sound good.

Now do I need to fry those? I've seen some that have wrappers that just get hard after getting wet so I'm not sure. If so how long do they take and at what temp should the oil be. And what kind of oil?

She's a very healthy eater so the dumplings are a treat. I already plan to go to the asian market in South Hills. They have everything I'll need.

So right now my menu looks like

Dumplings as a side dish
Mango Springrolls

She likes fish.. so would something like tilapia be good? I need a main dish. Neither of us eat too much and she'll probably focus on the dumplings. We went to Ten ten and she was like "ooo dumplings". Ate 4 and was full.

For desert I'm getting some of their bake goods from their bakery. That stuff is awesome.

2/14/2007 11:14:23 AM

I'm refering to thai style spring rolls, these you don't fry. It's like a salad wrapped up in thin edible rice noodle. You just dip them in warm water and lay them on a damp cloth while working with them. When you're done wrapping, cover them with another damp cloth so they don't dry out.

It looks like this in the store:


It looks like this when done:


Don't forget to use fresh basil and mint. You can also mince some ginger in there for a little kick if you like.

For an asian main dish, you can do a coconut curry pork. Recipes shouldn't be too hard to find, and you can use less curry and more coconut milk if you don't want it to be spicy.

PS: Get some pearl sake if you do the coconut curry...you'll be glad you did, they pair perfectly.



[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 11:25 AM. Reason : ]

2/14/2007 11:19:49 AM

make almond tofu for desert.

It's not really tofu by the way.

[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 11:23 AM. Reason : red x]

2/14/2007 11:20:28 AM

What dumpling recipe did you use?

2/14/2007 11:35:02 AM

The walk in the store and buy a bag of dumplings kind...

2/14/2007 11:52:49 AM

I agree with the noodles, dumplings go well with most noodles. Or most noodles go well with dumplings.

2/14/2007 11:56:04 AM

Quote :

"Do some mango spring rolls."

Quote :

"Do some mango spring rolls."

Quote :

"Do some mango spring rolls."

Quote :

"Do some mango spring rolls."

Yes yes yes - do these!!!!

2/14/2007 11:58:48 AM

yes yes yes the spring rolls are a definite.

2/14/2007 12:04:04 PM

Noodles are a no unless they are very light noodles. Remember the dumplings are the "heavy" item in the dinner. I want to keep everything else somewhat light. The spring rolls from their description will be light, and so will the fish I'm probably going to make.

I haven't picked up the dumplings yet and I'm probably going with the cabbage mix ones. The garlic ones tend to conflict with anything non seafood.

I would make them myself but that's incredibly time consuming. She gets hand made spring rolls. The dumplings I buy are delicious. The idea behind Tilapia is that it's light and easy to cook to her tastes. I'll probably use a lemon and more basil for seasoning. Simple flavors are the way to go with both her and I.

2/14/2007 12:12:42 PM

Tilapia is a pretty good choice. Tuna and salmon are other possible options (depends on what fish she likes best, I suppose)

If you want something light, go with some fried rice. Just buy a packet of fried rice mix, add it to your white rice, pan fry it for a little while, and voila. It would also complement the fish better.

2/14/2007 12:33:38 PM

I would think white rice would be better since you want the flavor of the fish to be more profound than the rice.

Jeebus I'm over thinking this. She's just going to be extatic I cooked for her. She loves it when I do and I don't cook for her enough.

2/14/2007 12:52:13 PM

yellow noodle + dumpling + fishball + some veggie + chicken broth = one big meal

if you cook dumpling by yourself, try to stuff both shrimp + pork . it tastes really good

good luck !





[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 1:29 PM. Reason : ]

2/14/2007 1:27:57 PM

^ mmm shrimp

2/14/2007 1:34:22 PM

^^ recipe?

2/14/2007 1:49:59 PM

why dont you just go buy a bunch of them from a chinese restaurant and then just put them on a plate like you cooked them

2/14/2007 2:25:44 PM

because I'm cooking everything else and reheating dumplings is not good tasting. You buy them in the bags at the chinese grocery store. And heat up a steamer and toss em in. The ones I get are realllllly good in my opinion. Steamed correctly are very juicy ones. The downside they are $12 a bag.

2/14/2007 3:34:01 PM

Total success

2/14/2007 11:42:36 PM

That means you had some great monkey sex?

2/15/2007 12:37:52 AM