a tour of asia

This picture really doesn't give the feast the credit it deserves, but by the time I realized I hadn't taken any pictures everyone was already seated and eating, so I just snapped a quick one before diving in. I hadn't even managed to get a lettuce wrap on my plate, yet. You have to be quick during a meal like this or else all the potstickers get eaten before you get your fair share — and that would be a real tragedy.

The reason for such a feast? My sister, Katherine, is back for Christmas and she brought her hollow-legged boyfriend home for a couple of days to meet the clan and check out Dallas. I figured it'd be fun to cook dinner for everyone at least one of those nights and hang out at home. But it wouldn't be fair to only treat Powell to an awesome dinner, so the rest of the boyfriends were invited too. Talk about a full-house! I was worried for a bit that I had made way too much food, but between the three boyfriends and Katherine (she's been deprived of good food since June) we had almost no leftovers.

I've made these potstickers countless times and they're everyone's favorite, so those were a must. Katherine loves lettuce wraps and to give us more variety I wanted to make a dish with shrimp and one with beef. Sounds like a lot of meat, right? I thought so too. So I added the cucumber salad to the mix. All together, I thought the dishes created a really well balanced meal. I really liked the contrast between flavors, textures and even temperatures. Oh course, that's just me over analyzing the food, everyone else would probably just say it was a great dinner.
While all of these recipes are delicious, if you're making just one, make these potstickers. You'll know why as soon as you eat one.

Cucumber Salad, adapted from Essentials of Asian Cooking

• 3 English cucumbers
• salt
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3 shallots
• 3 Tbsp cilantro
• 3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 Fresno chile, cut into thin rounds and seeds removed

Peel the cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise. Using the end of a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Then cut into 1/4" slices. Sprinkle with salt and toss then set in a colander for 1 hour so excess water can drain. Toss the shallots, drained cucumber, fresno chile and cilantro. Sprinkle with sugar and toss again. Then add vinegar, toss with a spoon and refrigerate for 1 hour and serve chilled.

Pork & Vegetable Potstickers, adapted from Essentials of Asian Cooking

• 3 cups Napa cabbage, minced
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 3 green onions, white and pale green parts, minced (root ends removed)
• 1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
• 30 wonton wrappers
• canola oil, as needed
• water, as needed
• Tamari-Sesame Dipping Sauce, below

Sprinkle the cabbage with salt and let sit for 20 minutes, squeeze excess liquid out. Brown the pork and drain excess fat. (You can leave the pork raw as it will cook when steamed, but I made the mistake of cooking it once and have done it this way ever since). In a large bowl add all ingredients from Napa cabbage through white pepper. Mix well to combine. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Dip your fingers in water and run it around the edges, pinch edges to seal and place on a baking sheet. Continue until you have no more filling. In a large skillet, warm 2 Tbsp of canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Cook them in batches as to not overcrowd the pan. Place potstickers bottom-down and cook for 1-2 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned. Pour in a 1/4 cup of water and place the lid on the skillet and let steam for 4-5 minutes (or 5-7 minutes if you started with raw pork) Remove top and set on warmed platter and cover with foil. Serve immediately with tamari-dipping sauce.

Tamari-Sesame Dipping Sauce

• 3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp minced green onion
• 1/4 tsp sugar

Beef & Green Onion Skewers, from Essentials of Asian Cooking

• 1/3 cup tamari soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 lb. beef tenderloin, cut into 1" cubes
• 10 green onions, gnarly ends removed and cut into 1" pieces
• wooden skewers

Combine soy sauce through ground pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cubed beef and toss to coat. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to overnight. Soak your skewers in water for 30 minutes before grilling. Thread 3 pieces of beef on each skewer, alternating with a green onion. With remaining marinade, reduce until it reaches a syrupy consistency, set aside. Brush your grill with canola oil and sear each side, about 8 minutes total. Place on a warm platter and brush with reduced marinade. Serve immediately.

Lettuce Wraps, adapted from Wasabimon
We made two batches of the meat and stir fry sauce and only one batch of the pouring sauce, which was still more than we needed. Also cut the water chestnuts by half

BBQ Asian Shrimp, adapted from Big, Bold, Beautiful Food
I substituted Thai Spicy Chile Sauce rather than sweet and grilled them on skewers.