Cooking with kids: Summer camps in the kitchen
Gyoza with Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce
From World’s Best Foods: Kids
Adapted from Chinese cuisine, gyoza are Japanese dumplings that are very popular both inside and outside Japan. Though they can be steamed or boiled, these dumplings are pan-fried to make one side crispy.
Yield: 24 dumplings
Dipping Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Gyoza:
1-1/2 cups ground pork
1-1/4 cups minced green onion (both white and green parts)
1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 round Gyoza or wonton wrappers
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup water, plus more as needed
To make dipping sauce, mix all ingredients in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Set aside.
To make gyoza, place pork in a large mixing bowl. Add green onion, ginger, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and egg. Season with a large pinch of salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Gently but thoroughly mix to combine all ingredients well.
Sprinkle a little flour on a large shallow tray or baking sheet and keep it near your work surface. Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of a wrapper, then moisten the edge of the wrapper with a little water and fold over to form a semi-circle. Press the seam firmly to seal while, at the same time, pressing out any air bubbles. Set gyoza aside on the prepared tray. Make the remaining dumplings in the same way.
In a large skillet with a lid, heat vegetable oil over medium heat until hot. Add gyoza and cook without moving them until the bottoms are deep golden brown and crunchy, about 2 minutes. Add water to the bottom of the pan. Cover immediately, reduce heat, and simmer until gyoza are cooked through and water has evaporated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Strawberry Ice Cream
From The Science of Cooking for Kids
You will scream for more of this ice cream. So easy to make, and has freshly sliced strawberries included, giving this yummy dessert a creamy yet little fruity texture.
Yield: 1-1/2 quarts
8 large egg yolks
1 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
4 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups heavy cream
In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and using a whisk add the sugar and salt until blended. Gradually whisk in the milk.
Transfer the mixture to the stove, and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens, and coats the back of a spoon.
Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and place the bowl over ice. Using a whisk, stir in the cream. Leave the mixture to cool, in the bowl, over the ice, stirring occasionally until chilled.
While the mixture is cooling, place the strawberries in a bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and add the sugar. Puree the mixture until smooth, transfer to a bowl, and add the cream.
Pour the strawberry mixture into the custard, and mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the churned ice cream to a resealable plastic container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.