Asian-style bowl is a quicker way to dumplings
Bowls are a huge trend around the world, and so are dumplings, if the crowds that I saw at Toki Underground on a trip to Washington, D.C., a couple of years ago are any proof.
If you’re in the D.C. area, Toki Underground is worth finding.
I’m not one to watch food shows on TV very often. I write about food almost every day, so turning on the TV to watch food shows is a little like a home-repair man sitting down to binge on “This Old House.” Nevertheless, I did happen to catch an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” a couple of years ago, and the host, Guy Fieri, was right on target when he said that Toki has the best vegetarian dumplings and classic ramen this side of Japan.
But dumplings are hard for the average home cook to make. Why not turn them into a bowl instead and bypass the hassle of making dumplings, stuffing and steaming them?
I’d like to claim this idea as my own, but I cannot. I’ve seen several recipes online, and most are quite simple, but I tweaked them and made them even easier. Every recipe I saw called for shredding cabbage, both green and red, and shredding carrots. You used to be able to buy a quarter or a half of a head of cabbage, but I haven’t seen cabbage sold that way in quite some time. Instead you’re forced to buy an entire head of cabbage, and you simply don’t need that much for the average family of four. So instead of buying two heads of cabbage — one green and one red — and a whole bag of carrots and have a lot of it go to waste, I bought a bag of coleslaw mix and cut my labor in half. I was able to use a little bit of the mix I had left over to make some coleslaw later in the week.
Not everyone keeps hoisin sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce and rice vinegar as staples in their pantries, but I do because my family loves Asian food, and I make and prepare it often. If you don’t have these condiments on hand, it will be a little bit of an investment to make this pork noodle bowl, but the ingredients will keep for some time in your refrigerator.
Rice noodles are essential when making this dish, but I guess if you were in a pinch you could use spaghetti. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it, though. There’s something about the wonderful texture of rice noodles that simply can’t be found in traditional pastas. I’m cooking for two now, so one box of rice noodles was plenty enough for several meals. Best yet, any leftovers freeze beautifully.
Pork Dumpling Bowl Sauce:
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
In the bowl:
1 package rice noodles
1 pound ground pork or
ground Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches ginger, grated
1 yellow onion, diced
4 green onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5-6 cups coleslaw mix
In a mixing bowl add all of the sauce ingredients, and mix well. Set aside. Cook rice noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.
In a large wok over medium heat, add the pork. Cook for a few minutes, and add the garlic and ginger. Cook the pork until fully cooked.
Add in the yellow and green onion. Season with some salt and pepper, and cook until translucent. Add the coleslaw mix, and cook until the cabbage begins to wilt.
Slowly stir in the sauce, and bring to heat. Slowly stir in the rice noodles using tongs to avoid breaking the noodles. Let cook 5-10 minutes with the sauce before serving.