新年快樂! Happy Chinese New Year

So I know I've been neglecting the blog for quite some time, but it was becoming the end of the year, end of the semester and things were crazy. My camera decided that it just wouldn't work anymore, although that shouldn't have stopped me from posting up recipes and cooking. I spent hours at school and minutes and home. My bill clearly reflected all of that time spent in my dungeon in the sky. But it's a new semester and new year. So to start things off, here's a little something I whipped up despite a lack of veggies and other foodstuffs.

And not to neglect those at home...

新年快樂! For all the students, 學習進步 and for all those working, 生意興隆! To everyone with blocks today, 金榜題名.

Pan-fried Buns with Turkey and Green Onions
Original recipe is Pan-fried Buns with Chives and Minced Pork (more traditional but you have to make do on the island)

Dough
1 1/4 cups of AP flour
6 tbls hot water
3 tbls cold water (or however much it takes to moisten the dough)

Filling
4 oz ground turkey (you can use pork, chicken, beef, a combination if you like - pork is more traditional)
1 green onion
1/2 inch peeled ginger
2 garlic cloves
salt/pepper
dash of sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce
2 leaves of cabbage (use any vegetable you like, this was the only thing I could find that was green and would go with the filling) - approx. 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped

Onto the fun part.....

To make the dough, place the flour in a bowl. Make a small well in the center and add the hot water. Mix until small crumbs begin to form and the flour begins to moisten. Add 1 tbl of cold water at a time until all of the dough comes together and it's no longer sticky. I added about 3-4 tbls of water. Oil a bowl lightly and place the dough in the bowl to sit for approx. 30 min. This will let the dough rest before you roll again.

To make the filling, place the ground turkey in a bowl. Add cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Mix well. Mince the green onion, garlic and ginger very finely (Use a garlic press for the garlic/ginger if you so desire). Don't worry if there are a few pieces that are slightly larger. Chop the cabbage into small pieces, the smaller the better (think the size of a mini M&M) If you have chinese chives, use it. It lends a distinctive taste to the buns. If you don't like cabbage, use any vegetable you like, bok choy is a great substitute. Add all the veggies into the meat and mix well, incorporating everything.

To form the buns, divide the dough into 10 pieces. Taking each piece, flatten it into a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling into the center and pinch the sides together. If there's excess dough, you can trim it off. I placed it between my hands after forming the bun and rolled it a few times to get it more even before patting it slightly. Continue until you've formed all of the buns.

In a non-stick skillet/pan, heat 2 tsp of oil on medium heat. Place the buns in the pan and fry on both sides until they're nicely golden. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water, place a lid on the pan and cook until the water has evaporated.
For a quick sauce, you can combine some vinegar, garlic chili sauce and sesame oil to taste.