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Spork, That's correct, I used gyoza filling. Due to the large amount of fat in the sausage though, I may reconsider next time for something like Char-Siu filling or chicken and leek blend. The pork did cook through completely when I steamed it for 14 minutes, but as I hadn't let it rise after stuffing, they were quite flat and not very fluffy..

As for sweet red bean paste, I no longer have a taste for it. One night running around drinking chu-hi's around yokosuka, I picked up a bag of around 5 or 6 yeast buns filled with what looked like a red jelly donut-like filling (on the picture on the front of the packaging).. Imagine my surprise biting into a yeast bun and finding a sweet red paste instead of a jelly donut-jelly.. Well.. being the broke sailor I was, I wasn't about to let that go to waste.. Now I cannot stand the taste of Azuki bean paste...

-Damien
 
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Me neither, Damien! That tiny can of Azuki has been in my cupboard for at least two years. It's an eyesore. I need to use it, or toss it, cuz I can't wait until Chik-Fil-A has its annual Thanksgiving drive - bring a can of food for a free sandwich.

Actually, you've given me an idea...
What about spicy Mexican re-fried beans instead?
 
MMmmm.. Chick-Fil-A..

Taco buns maybe? Some refried beans, (Pre cooked and seasoned) ground beef and maybe some onion and cheese? How about green chile chicken enchilada buns.. (Green chile, ground (or shredded) chicken and cheese.. Go easy though.. the buns I made only held around 2 tablespoons of filling..

-Damien
 
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spork said:
Me neither, Damien! That tiny can of Azuki has been in my cupboard for at least two years. It's an eyesore. I need to use it, or toss it, cuz I can't wait until Chik-Fil-A has its annual Thanksgiving drive - bring a can of food for a free sandwich.

Actually, you've given me an idea...
What about spicy Mexican re-fried beans instead?
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Damien said:
MMmmm.. Chick-Fil-A..

Taco buns maybe? Some refried beans, (Pre cooked and seasoned) ground beef and maybe some onion and cheese? How about green chile chicken enchilada buns.. (Green chile, ground (or shredded) chicken and cheese.. Go easy though.. the buns I made only held around 2 tablespoons of filling..

-Damien
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That sounds wonderful! Mexican Buns. I could go nuts with those variations.

So...forego trying to nab some red bean paste? I'm already not crazy about a sweet bean flavor...but I would not be completely averse to trying it. Maybe I should just ask for it next time I go out to dinner at Hu Hots.
 
The sweet red bean paste is very common in a variety of confections. They're nutritious and healthy. Simply cooked in sugar until it becomes a syrup and the beans are al dente or just softened enough to start breaking apart. Kids'll eat it by the spoonful. Adults might warm up a bowlful to eat with a spoon. In addition to bao, it might be the center filling of a soft and chewy mochi ball made of fine rice flour. Or, it might be sandwiched between two small disks of basically pancakes of various shapes and textures, sometimes made fresh and hot by a street cart or carnival stall. Sometimes, it's thinned with wine into a hot or cold desert soup.

If your restaurant lists it in their dessert section, I'd give it a try, PF.
 
spork said:
The sweet red bean paste is very common in a variety of confections. They're nutritious and healthy. Simply cooked in sugar until it becomes a syrup and the beans are al dente or just softened enough to start breaking apart. Kids'll eat it by the spoonful. Adults might warm up a bowlful to eat with a spoon. In addition to bao, it might be the center filling of a soft and chewy mochi ball made of fine rice flour. Or, it might be sandwiched between two small disks of basically pancakes of various shapes and textures, sometimes made fresh and hot by a street cart or carnival stall. Sometimes, it's thinned with wine into a hot or cold desert soup.

If your restaurant lists it in their dessert section, I'd give it a try, PF.
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Domo arigato Spork-san.

Maybe if I learn to ask politely they will make it special for me.:) I'm working on getting a basic vocabulary right now. But, I still have to look words up to complete a sentence.
 
PrincessFiona60 said:
Complete conversation. I'm learning and it's fun!
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Oreno nihongoha ippai wasureta.. :( (I've forgotten a lot of my Japanese)

Nihongo no benkyoha Tanoshii deshita.. Samishii desu (learning Japanese was fun.. I miss it)

Ganbarre Fifi-chan! (Good luck Fifi-chan!)

-Damien
 
Damien said:
Oreno nihongoha ippai wasureta.. :( (I've forgotten a lot of my Japanese)

Nihongo no benkyoha Tanoshii deshita.. Samishii desu (learning Japanese was fun.. I miss it)

Ganbarre Fifi-chan! (Good luck Fifi-chan!)

-Damien
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Wow, I'm learning, I actually understood some of the words. Give me until the weekend, I'm off to bed since I have Rehab in the morning and work. No time to play tonight! :neutral:
 
FiFi-chan! It's not an easy language, so best way to learn is to have fun with it. You may already know these pronunciation basics, but they're worth repeating because they're all you need...

The vowels a - i - u - e - o are always short, never long.
So, always "okay" never "lose."

Consonants are always hard.
So, always "Lady Gaga," never "vegetable."

Every word has no syllabic stress.
Unlike trochaic germanic launguages with explosive stress of the first syllable, or romance languages that are iambic, all the syllables of Japanese words get equal stress. Emphasis comes from emotional expression.
 
Arigato Spork-san.

I'm wanting to learn so I can read one of the cookbooks I bought. Would also like to make sure I'm using proper grammar. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my GodMother was Japanese and I wish I had taken an interest when I was young.
 
PrincessFiona60 said:
Arigato Spork-san.

I'm wanting to learn so I can read one of the cookbooks I bought. Would also like to make sure I'm using proper grammar. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my GodMother was Japanese and I wish I had taken an interest when I was young.
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No doubt your GodMother is smiling from above. Or, maybe rolling her eyes at your pronunciation. :angel: Here's another helpful tip, FiFi: don't sweat the grammar too much. Japanese is quite forgiving about it. For example,

O-genki desu ka. = health is (question) = how are you?
Genki desu = health is (I implied) = fine, thank you.

If you address the Emperor, forrmal grammar is called for.
O-genki de gozaimasu deshou ka.

Everyday friends want to hear sloppy, less formal grammar.
Genki ka.
Genki da.

What we might consider a grammatically incomplete thought is very common in Japanese, in both spoken and written form. Have fun!
 
My dumplings box lunch.

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1. osuimono soup, with tofu, wakame and funn
2. rice with grain mix and dollop of katsuo/umeboshi
3. potsticker gyoza and traditional spinach ohitashi
4. tangerines and chili bits arare

Osuimono, likely on a restaurant menu, is a clear dashi soup, with just a splash of light soy sauce and mirin, maybe a tiny curl of lemon peel. Ohitashi, also on the menu as a salad, is a simple tsukemono of steamed spinach rolled into a log and squeezed of liquid. I cut into servings and freeze. Sprinkle with katsuo dried bonito flakes and soy sauce. Dipping sauce for the gyoza is in a little disposable squeeze bottle, made for bento lunch boxes.
 
I had a bento for lunch today from the grocery store (bleh) but it sparked some creativity.. so I made my own fresh spring rolls in rice wraps, with black tiger shrimp, lettuce, cucumber, sushi ginger, and lots of avocado... dipping it in a sauce of hoisin, low sodium soy and peanuts.
Yum!
 
I love summer rolls. They're sorta like a salad as finger food. And the translucence of the rice paper wrap always makes them look quite elegant. I'll have to think about how to use rice paper more in my lunch boxes...

Coincidentally, today's Sunday newspaper insert had a recipe for chicken summer rolls, with a dipping sauce not unlike yours, Saph. Half cup hoisin, two tablespoons peanut butter, and one tablespoon sesame oil. It also had a traditional nam sauce recipe, but many people understandably will not tolerate fish sauce in their kitchen.
 
spork said:
I love summer rolls. They're sorta like a salad as finger food. And the translucence of the rice paper wrap always makes them look quite elegant. I'll have to think about how to use rice paper more in my lunch boxes...

Coincidentally, today's Sunday newspaper insert had a recipe for chicken summer rolls, with a dipping sauce not unlike yours, Saph. Half cup hoisin, two tablespoons peanut butter, and one tablespoon sesame oil. It also had a traditional nam sauce recipe, but many people understandably will not tolerate fish sauce in their kitchen.
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No kidding! I bought some to work with, opened it and was quite struck by the powerful smell. By 4 in the morning , the smell was so overpowering it woke me up, I went out in the kitchen and put it outside the back door. I threw away the whole bottle. The flavor was really good, but I could not handle that smell.
 
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