Alley Street Eats in Rosewood

Everyone in the neighborhood has eagerly awaited the opening of Alley Street Eats. I read an article about these folks and their concept.  Asian street food, of different styles.  The decor is cool and modern. The menu is extensive without being overbearing and features the variety we so desperately need in our area.

Viv and I shared shrimp and zucchini tempura to start.  Their tempura is light and crispy, just as it should be.  Next, we had an order of the Sichuan wontons. 

These are delicious.  Pork wontons with soy, scallion, cilantro and garlic. I was expecting them to be spicy, given "Sichuan" but they were actually pretty mild, but very flavorful.  I bet next time I can just ask for them to be spicy and they would oblige. 

Next, we had the Yaki Udon Noodle with shrimp.  This was also quite delicious. Soft, pillowy Udon noodles in a soy based sauce with red bell pepper, scallion and mushroom.  The shrimp were nicely cooked, which as we all know, can be a 50-50 shot in some restaurants.

Viv and I are excited about this place.  We've often lamented the fact that almost every Chinese place we know of has a zillion dishes on their menu, yet they all taste the same.  We love, love, love Mai Thai but sometimes the trip to W.C. just isn't in the cards. And, our Korean and Japanese choices are limited.  Now that we have Alley Street Eats right here in the neighborhood, we can get our Asian food fix much more readily!  Here's the link to their MENU. Support our locals!

Baby Got Knack

 A knack for cooking, that is!

My daughter is a sucker for a crab rangoon.  My issue with this little morsel, is that pretty much every restaurant on Earth uses "krab" with a K.  Here, in my little coastal state, we spell "crab" with a C, as it is so. Red-dyed surimi (Krab) is fish. Not crab of any sort. It's fake ass Krab.  So, due to my seething loathing for this stuff, I informed the wunderkind that I'd much rather make rangoons at home so I know she's getting the real deal.

We made our inaugural batch together yesterday and were quite pleased with our results.  Today, she decided she wanted to make more, but as a solo mission.  She used the cookbook she gave me last Christmas, The Woks of Life. After our first batch yesterday, the one change she decided on, and it was the right decision, was to increase the crab meat by one ounce. They turned out great and we've decided that using 3 oz. of crab will be our standard.  

She had a few as a little snack and still has about 20 more that we will store in the freezer for next time.  I'm very proud of her and more importantly, she's proud of herself and her efforts. This may become the signature dish of the Vivver!

Potstickers!

Asian cuisine, of all descriptions, is one of my all-time favorites. So much so that my first foray into Chinese cooking came when I was in high school. I discovered that my mom had a Chinese cookbook that I'd never even seen before.  I just happened upon it on the bookshelf. I began reading it and quickly realized that it was a pretty complicated and authentic cookbook.  But, despite the pretty intense techniques described on those pages, I was enthralled and undaunted. Thinking back, it was my early high school years when cooking really became interesting to me. A complicated recipe didn't intimidate me because I had no experience, therefore, no fear of failure.  Just follow the instructions.  I remember tackling fried rice from this book I found. I think I really surprised my family.  

Next, came my French club's "cafe" at school.  Traditionally, the "cafe" was really just a bake sale.  Well, as French club prez, this simply would not do for me.  I hit the books, experimented at home, and the day of our sale, we trucked in a microwave to the courtyard at Irmo High School and served up a lunch plate of chicken crepes, green beans amandine and a croissant, in addition to the usual French baked goods.  It was a resounding success.  

NOT a photo of my 1985 crepes, but you get the idea

We may have served more than the cafeteria that day.  Well, ok, not really, but I know our diners were much more pleased that those who had the obligatory rectangular pizza, iceberg salad with ranch & fake bacon bits and bowls of french fries.  (I mean, really? Who decided to serve fries in a BOWL?)

So, back to Asia...I credit my friend Susannah for teaching me to make what I simply call dumplings but most of you know as "potstickers."  First, do you know why they are called that?  You must brown the bottoms well before adding water to steam them.  If you don't, they'll stick to that pot like they have super glue on them.  Many a cook has lost a pan to a bad case of true pot-stickers. While she was in law school, Susannah had a bunch of us over for a casual get-together.  I wandered into the kitchen for a beer to find her finishing up her dumplings and heating up a pan.  She had my attention.  And, I've been making my own ever since.

After Viv's school Halloween carnival, we came home to make dumplings.  Btw: she's a "glampire."  Ya know, a glamorous vampire.

 I make them differently depending on what I've got.  Suze always used ground pork, which back in the glorious early 90's wasn't easy to find.  In fact, I'd usually go to the Fresh Market and buy good looking pork then have them grind it up.  Then, I started using ground turkey, which works just as well, but needs a little extra seasoning because, you know, it's turkey.  I've added soy sauce, ginger, water chestnuts, cabbage, green onion, bamboo shoots, garlic...whatever I have available.  Twist up those little babies and they're cooked and ready to eat in minutes.

Tonight, I had the great pleasure to teach Viv how to make them.  Gotta hand it to her...I showed her how to do it twice and then left her to it as I tended to our veggie/chicken rice.  The kid picked right up on it and made the majority of them all by herself.  Then, feeling confident, she invited Neil into the kitchen for her to "teach" him how to make them.  As is so often the case with kids, having made them herself, she loved them and devoured them.  And, just to see the confidence exuding from her as she took charge of the project was delightful.  And, under her tutelage, Neil twisted up some fine dumplings himself!

She got the hang of it pretty quick!

Now she's schoolin' daddy

Add your filling, then fold 'em up!

Ready to go into the pan

Plate 'em up while they're hot!

Wanna make some?  Buy some wonton wrappers and assemble any combination of ingredients you like.  Adding some soy sauce, ginger, garlic, etc. to the meat mixture is important, I think.  Tonight we used ground pork, fresh ginger, minced water chestnuts & green onion.  Scoop about a 1.5 tsp of filling in the middle of the wrapper.  Dip your finger in water and wet all four edges of the wonton.  Fold two corners up to meet, then bring the other corners in and pinch it all together to make a little "purse" shape.  Heat a pan with a thin layer of oil in it.  When hot (medium-high heat) place the dumplings in the pan.  Cook until the bottoms brown and the dumplings release on their own.  (Shake the pan and see if they will move around on their own.)  When this happens, add a quarter cup of so of water and cover to let them steam.  **Tip** Hold the lid in front of you, angled over the pan as you add water so you don't get spattered**  Steam them until the wonton wrapper becomes translucent.  I always take one out and cut into it to make sure the meat is cooked through. Serve with a simple dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and some fresh ginger & sliced green onion.

These are so simple yet so flippin' good!  And quick, once you get them all assembled.  And, they also freeze well.  Try it out and let me know what you think!