Potato Salad with Dijon Mustard, Horseradish and Dill

I cannot put up a picture of this dish. It does not look nice. But . . . ooooh! the taste.

2 pounds waxy potatoes
3/4 cup or more Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise)
1 bunch scallions, white only, minced
1 bell pepper, seeded, peeled somewhat and diced
3/4 cup finely chopped dill
4 tbs. Dijon mustard
2 to 3 tbs. horseradish (extra hot or not, your choice)
1/4 cup malt vinegar
1 fl. oz. dill pickle juice from a jar.
2 tsp. salt for the salad
1 tbs. salt for the 'tater boiling water
1/2 tsp. white pepper
6 hardboiled eggs, well chilled

The malt vinegar gave the 'taters a brown-ish cast. Not at all appetizing looking.

Using a sharp pin (I use a push pin) make a pinprick in the top (wide side) of each egg. Bring a pot of water to a boil that covers the 6 eggs by 2 inches. Add the eggs with a slotted spoon. Return the pot of water to a boil. Watch carefully. The moment the water returns, remove from the heat, cover and set a count down timer for 18 minutes. When done, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon run the eggs under a cold water bath (at the sink) for 5 minutes. Return the pot of still hot water to a boil. After the eggs have chilled for the 5 minutes, put the eggs back in the boiling water for 90 seconds. Again remove them to the cold water bath for another 5 minutes, whence crack the eggs under running water, put in a bowl and refrigerate overnight, covered. Alternatively, if you have cooked the eggs on the day you are making the salad, put the eggs in the freezer, having previously dried them individually in a paper towel. They won't be completely dry, but the moisture won't cause them to stick and break the whites, either.

Mix the malt vinegar, dill pickle liquid and salt in a cup. Allow to stand, reserved, to give time for the salt to dissolve.

Bring the 'taters to a boil in salted water, lower the flame to a simmer and cook them 25 minutes. Remove the 'taters with a slotted spoon and drain them in a colander so the skins dry. That takes but a minute or two.

In a large bowl, put one of the hot potatoes. Mash it with a potato masher and add the vinegar liquid. Stir well to make a puree. Add the remaining potatoes and mash them and stir it well to incorporate the vinegar into the rest of the mashed 'taters. Next, add the mayonnaise and stir well to mix thoroughly, add the mustard and horseradish and stir thoroughly to incorporate. Add the dill and white pepper, mix in thoroughly then add the scallions and bell pepper. Mix. Slice the eggs and decorate the top of the salad with them. Allow the bowl to sit on the counter until the bottom is cool to the hand, about 1 hour. (This is a judgment call, I don't put warm food in the refrigerator.)  Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve.

Goes well with barbecued meats and hamburgers.

Shui Mai (all variant spellings, elsewhere)

Dimsum, the Chinese heart's delight of the culinary kingdom are a labor of love. Not including the time to purchase the ingredients, it took me 3 hours to prepare, mix, assemble, and cook the delights. I haven't made these for over 10 years, but they truly are worth the time and effort, once-in-a-while.

If you have a large family and the help has dexterous fingers, the job is much easier.

16 ozs. ground pork
16 ozs. chopped shrimp
16 ozs. baby bok choy
2 scallions, mostly the white part, smashed
2 packages of dumpling wrappers
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. dark soy
2 tsp. light soy
2 tsp. Shaoxing wine
1 egg

Condiments:

Diluted Red Vinegar
Chile Sauce

I found a pound of shrimp, pre-cooked, but unpeeled. The next time I make this dish, I will but the 32-40 size shrimp, uncooked. As the shrimp must be peeled, you can do this task, while the water for blanching the  baby bok choy heats.

Break the egg in a mixing bowl and beat to mix with the remaining ingredients. Reserve, while the rest of the ingredients are prepped.

Cut the stem ends of the bok choy off. Save them for soup or stir-fry. Discard any leaves that are yellow¹. In a pot of boiling water, add the leaves. Return the pot to a simmer and keep a careful eye on the leaves. When the green color darkens, immediately remove the pot to the sink and run cold water on the leaves to stop the cooking. When the bok choy is the same temperature as the running water, remove them to a strainer or colander. Press the leaves between your hand, squeezing out excess liquid. If all the shrimp's shells are removed, you can proceed to remove the sand vein, by slicing along the top and removing the black line (vein) that is visible. If you cannot remove all of it, that's not a problem. When the shrimp are cleaned, using a Chinese cleaver chop the shrimp into a mince. Put it into a large mixing bowl. Cut the top from the scallions using one to two inches of the green. Smash the scallions and then mince them and add them to the bowl.

Next mince the well drained baby bok choy. Add it to the shrimp. Add the ground pork and mix all these ingredients. I wear nitrile (latex) gloves to do this. Don't overwork this mixture, the pork fat will warm from the heat of your hands. So mix only 30 to 60 seconds. Next add the egg mixture and mix again, this time for 90 seconds.

For the making of the dimsum I find a place to sit. With the shrimp and pork mixture, a small bowl of water, the wrappers and a paper towel, the making proceeds like this:

Fold Diagonally

If your fingers and thumb are moist, dry them on the paper towel. Take one wrapper and put the top edge facing way from you. This makes the wrapper look like a star not a square. With your index finger dipped in water, moisten the perimeter of the wrapper, the width of your finger. Next put one teaspoon of mix in the center. Fold the wrapper to make it look like a triangle as pictured above. (I'm left handed, so your wonton will point to the left, not the right, like mine.) Fold one end over the other. Click to enlarge the picture, below, to see what the wonton is folded like.

Place the wonton on a tray. I have my tray lined with foil, but if you have a plate you can use it. The wontons will stick where they have been moistened so they must be kept somewhat separate. 

When about 76 wontons are made, you can either freeze them. For freezing, they must be kept separate. The wrappers will tear if they are frozen together. On a plate or tray, place the wontons in the freezer, turning them at 30 minutes. After another 30 minutes turn again. If they are frozen, then can be put in a freezer bag and kept. I cannot say how long, but I would (educated) guess at 30 days.

If you are going to make them immediately, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the wontons, when the pot returns to a boil, add ½ cup of water. The pot ceases to simmer. When the pot again simmers, the wontons are ready to serve. This method of adding more water makes the proper cooking time much easier. There is no exact cooking time! Yay!

¹ If you are a careful shopper, you will buy the package of bok choy that have no yellow leaves. If the bok choy has been in your refrigerator and the tops of the leaves have yellowed, trim that away.

Salmon Steaks in Chinese Black Bean Sauce

I like this recipe as the ingredients are few and the flavors of the salmon and bean sauce are a marvellous combination.

Ingredients

16 ounces salmon steaks (or fillets)
1/4 cup Chinese black bean sauce
1 scallion
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. butter
2 T. water
2 cloves of garlic

Cut the scallion in 1" sections. Reserve. Mash the garlic and mix it with the bean sauce, lemon juice and water. Reserve. Pre-heat the skillet, for 5 minutes, using a flame of 3/8" size. Add the butter. As it melts, add the salmon and pan fry each side for 4 to 5 minutes. During the last minute of cooking, sprinkle the onion and sauce over, covering for the 60 seconds.

Serve with white rice. Any vegetable accompaniment you like and a small salad.