Chubby Bunny

It’s Too Darn Hot…

…a great song by Cole Porter. Or maybe he didn’t write it.

Heat. Nothing like heat (and later, humidity) to remind us that we are indeed experiencing summer. Summer often means less appetite for food and/or a strengthened desire to eat foods that are not hot in terms of warmth.

I was surprised when mom made wontons and noodles for dinner tonight. Surprisingly, it wasn’t so bad to eat this despite the moderate heat (things cooled down by the evening.)

What I love about food in the summer is that the produce seems fresher. The Chinese chives (jiu cha, in Mandarin) on the left were grown in my parent’s garden. Let me just say, this stuff grows like weeds in my backyard, so it’s still when people pay something like 2.50 per pound or, in the case of buying the stalks that have a bud at the end (jiu cha huang), 9.00 per pound. :O Shocking.

But, what goes in wontons?

Anything that can be stuffed into a dumpling can (probably) be stuffed into a wonton wrapper. In this case, mom used the Chinese chives and ground pork. When dad is around, he’ll request that chopped shrimp be added as well as extra starch so the texture is more clean and crunches a bit when bitten into. Starch also asks as a good binder, making it easier to spoon and transfer into those little squares.

Usually at my house, wontons will be served with chicken broth and thin egg noodles. Oh, and of course vegetables of some sort (else, I might get upset.) Some people like to deep fry wontons or sear them in a pan for a crunchier texture on the wrapper itself.

Perhaps my favorite part of eating wontons or dumplings would be the fact that I can dip them in a hoisin sauce and sirarcha (spelling? It’s that giant bottle of red, pasty hot sauce with the green nozzle.) Yum.

Here’s an idea: try stuffing them with something that we’re more likely to find in an Italian ravioli or tortellini. No, I haven’t done it yet. Until then, I’ll remain at the drawing board.