FoodTrek: Getting My Xiao Long Bao Groove On

I came, I saw, I waited in a long line, and I had xiao long bao. Din Tai Fung, purveyors of the "juicy" soup dumplings known as xiao long bao, is open and ready to rumble in downtown Bellevue. Or, more to the point, to stop the rumbling of stomachs craving this unique and delicious dish.

Not enough soup for the droop, but still tasty - Photo by Wasabi Prime

The enjoyment of food is as much in the texture as its flavor. Chewy, soft, crunchy, delicate -- all these different sensations really enhance the experience of eating something and provide a memorable mouth-feel that really leaves an impression. That's the aspect of trying new styles of dishes that I enjoy, the promise of discovery. The joy of eating soup dumplings is the sensation of both solid and liquid, with the soft wonton skin holding both hot, flavorful broth and a small morsel of ground meat, usually pork. It's not a typical combination for American palates, and so I think people being drawn in to the novelty of a new restaurant like Din Tai Fung will walk away with something fresh, and hopefully it leads them to investigate other places that serve this style of cuisine. For those who are familiar and well-versed with the wild and crazy world of dumplings, the debate continues over whether Din Tai Fung is worth the hype, long wait times and so on. I'm  not jumping on either side of the argument, mostly because I'm not versed well enough to weigh-in with the dumpling pros. I'm a cheap dumpling date -- I like eating 'em any which way I can, just because they always taste like comfort to me. And really, the best way to enjoy food is when it's shared with good company.

Pork chop fried rice and sweet taro buns - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I was able to visit Din Tai Fung twice in one week, right after its crazed weekend opening that had people waiting in three hour lines and setting the local foodie scene ablaze with discussion. I didn't have nearly enough time during the first visit, just grabbing a quick seat at the bar (yes, there's a full bar in there -- weirdly wonderful, right?), and ordering up the small, bite-sized pork juicy dumplings and the sweet taro-filled buns. I liked being able to just sit and eat, but it was of course much more enjoyable to go a second time with Jay Friedman, Seattle's intrepid Gastronaut explorer, and his lovely co-pilot, Akiko, where we were better able to navigate the menu as a group.

Xiao long bao party - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The company was grand and of course the nice thing about more people is you can order more items. I definitely enjoyed the delicate flavor of the pork soup dumplings, even if there wasn't enough broth to give it the signature "soup-droop." That's not an official term, I just like it because it rhymes. I was just pleased at the tenderness of the pork inside. In terms of notable flavors, the pork and shrimp shao mai were my favorite, along with the pork dumplings served in a spicy, lightly sweet sauce. The pork chop fried rice is a popular crowd favorite, but I may just order the pork on its own the next time. I love rice, but the crispy texture of the pork chop was what I enjoyed most.

Don't just order the soup dumplings - plenty of other yummy things - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I look forward to visiting Din Tai Fung again, mostly to accompany other friends who have expressed an interest in going, but I'm not in a hurry to go during its honeymoon fever pitch and long lines. I'm happy to bide my time visiting my old favorites for dumplings, where I meet with friends and we share tea, company and food -- in the end, that's all I care about. I think like a lot of restaurants, things will develop with time. I'm mostly hopeful that having a place as well known as Din Tai Fung will be the spark that inspires people unfamiliar with the cuisine to continue exploring beyond the foods that offer a side of fries. If that can happen, then I feel like Din Tai Fung is doing some pretty great work.

UnRecipe: Happy Valentine's Day, Tiger

Yeah, yeah, I know -- it's not Valentine's Day, Rip Van Wasabi! True, but sometimes it takes a few days to get my shinola together after a busy week, so forgive the belated post to honor sweethearts and overpriced roses. The weekened celebrated Lunar New Year as well as heart-shaped lovey-doveyness, so the Prime prepared an Asian-inspired dinner for Mr. Wasabi: Sake Marinated Steak with Kimchee, Pork Dumpling Ravioli with Mushrooms, and Pork-filled Potstickers. For dessert, we had Coconut Vanilla Rice Cakes over Seared Mango Slices, drizzled with a Peanut and Coconut Sauce. But for the main "beauty shot" of the post, I'm showing all the leftovers shoved into a baked bun or ju bao, made from Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings book.

I made fresh bao - just call me YoSaffBridge! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

It seemed like all signs were pointing towards a meal like this for Valentine's Day, as the Prime was fresh off the delicious high from the luncheon hosted by Monsoon East, for Andrea Nguyen's book. I have to admit much Epic Shame that I didn't make the dumpling skins from scratch, even after her very easy tutorial over how to make them, and the fact that I had the book in-hand. I had already bought a package of premade wrappers and just promised myself, "next time, I swear." I made a filling that was used in all the dumplings, which included ground pork, chopped mushrooms and peppers, garlic and ginger. Not a typical mix, but I had made the mistake of getting mushrooms from Costco and if of course meant I had to put 'shrooms in everything that week to use them up. I hate letting food go to waste -- you know how I roll.

Hello, my little dumplings! Photos by Wasabi Prime

I used the large package of dumpling wrappers to practice a few different shapes. Everything was cooked the same way, potsticker-style -- seared in a pan with oil, add a bit of water, cover to steam, and hopefully you don't eat them all before they get plated. I had mixed results with the open-topped pork-stuffed satchel-shaped dumplings. I didn't use enough oil, so many just stuck and had to be torn up and scraped out of the pan -- FAIL! But they were still cooked and edible, so they became ugly lunch for the following week. But lesson learned, either use a nonstick pan with a little oil or just add more oil and let our arteries figure it out later.

The flank steak was marinated in a mixture of seasonings and sake, which gave it a nice hint of sweetness. Seared and left to rest, the pan was deglazed with kimchee, and served together. With the different-shaped dumplings and the kimchee beef, it was defnitely a pretty dinner to have for Valentine's Day. All the flavors were fairly similar between the three options, since I used a lot of the same ingredients, but after taking so long to take the photos of the food, we were too hungry to be picky about flavor profiles and just ATE.

Like rice pudding, on crack! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

For dessert, I had been inspired by the pancakes served at Wild Ginger for brunch -- spongey flapjacks with a peanut and coconut sauce. I wanted to do something similar, so I made a batch of rice, steamed in coconut milk and vanilla, with a bit of sugar. It was pressed in a mold to form compact little squares which were then oiled and pan-fried to give a nice crispnness to the outside. Fresh mango slices were seared and the cakes were placed over the fruit, sprinkled with toasted macadamia nuts and more mango chunks, and a sauce of brown sugar, coconut milk and peanut butter was poured over. It kind of made me think that Elvis would have liked it, as it was reminiscent of his famed cravings for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Just call it an Elvis Goes Hawaii dessert. It was a nice mix of sweet, fresh, and a little savory.

As for the ju bao, this was both a solution for finishing off the leftover dumpling filling and penance for using store-bought wrappers. No, no, I shouldn't say penance, because that implies it was a chore to make the dough -- it totally wasn't and the results are worth the effort! It was simple enough to make, although I'm a clumsy baker, so I had to add more flour to keep the dough from being too sticky. It didn't affect the final result, as the finished pork-filled buns were a heavenly bite of springy dough and a crisp outer shell. I made giant-sized ones because I knew they would be like ready-to-eat meals and added a little flourish of sesame seeds on top -- kind of makes it look like a fluffy hamburger bun. The dough is simple enough to make and neutral in flavor to where you could fill it with anything. It makes for a great solution of getting rid of any odd leftover bits that aren't enough for a full portion.

This was the 10th Valentine's Day for Mr. Wasabi and I, and we've never gone out for a Valentine's dinner. I'm certainly not sad about it, as we've always liked making it a more personal holiday instead of going out and being in a busy restaurant where everyone else is there for the same reason. The first Valentine's Day, Brock took the whole day off from work and made an amazing meal, with a big bouquet of roses waiting for me. A couple of years ago, he literally made a portrait of me out of different kinds of chocolate, and put it on a creme brulee -- for reals! I don't think I can ever match some of his amazing and thoughtful Valentine's Day capers, but the 14th definitely makes me thankful for his sweet, creative heart.