Kimchi, meet your Dumplings!

Jyang-Lee's 'Very Veggie' vegan dumplings are very tasty!

Year's ago when we lived in Hampton, neighbors of ours, the wife of whom was from Thailand and used to turn me onto to Thai cuisine secrets, were friendly with a woman who went into the prepared food business.  Angela was that friend's taken name, Jyang-Lee her native name.  Jyang-Lee makes delicious dumplings.  

The perfect potsticker: soft and chewy with a crusty, golden bottom.  You may salivate now.

Dumplings, or potstickers, as they are commonly referred, are sometimes filled with pork, but these little morsels contain vegan goodness: cabbage, tofu, mushroom, green onion and garlic, all sauteed in a little oil and seasoned with sea salt.  This stuffing gets expertly folded into a whole wheat wrapper (just like a wonton wrapper but round), pinched with fingertips at the top, and flash frozen up in Coopers Mill, ME (a bit north of Lewiston, but no matter, you can easily find these at health food stores and specialty markets).

In no mind to create a complicated sauce, but wanting something--naturally--flavorful, I grabbed three items: a jar of Son-Mat's kimchi, a bottle of their hot sauce, and a bottle of tamari.  I love Son-Mat's anjou hot sauce; it has the perfect tang and piquant flavor for my palate.  So, I dumped half the bottle into a bowl with the rest of the kimchi I had on hand, and added a healthy splash of tamari.  ...Whisked it up and we had 美味的食物 in no time!

A sprinkling of scallion and a sprig of cilantro might've been in order.... 

In the time it takes to cook dumplings, I had my sauce made and the kitchen sink cleaned up.  They are so easy: heat a non-stick pan over medium-high, add a glug og veg oil.  When shimmering, place the frozen dumplings in one by one on their bottoms.  Let fry and sizzle for several minutes, then add water per the package instructions.  Cover, let steam until the water has been absorbed.  Use a proper spatula to plate them. 

Most definitely need to get more kimchi!