Gyoza dumplings

I can't believe it's Saturday already!  How did that happen?  And I can believe even less how quickly summer has turned into autumn here!  I even have to put the lights on when I get up in the morning which is a sure sign that we are moving into the latter part of the year.  Mind you, I love all the seasons for different reasons (quite the poet today :-)) - now I'm looking forward to wooly jumpers and eating stews by the fireplace.

Before I get to more winter warmers though, I should write about the gyoza dumplings we had recently.  Now, if you can lay your hands on some ready-made wonton wrappers, these will be done sooo quickly and easily.  Stuffed with minced chicken, ginger, spices etc they are finger-licking good with a simple dipping sauce  - you could also fill them with crab meat, veggie mince or tofu.  I believe that traditionally they are fried on one side and then steamed but we actually preferred them fried on both sides - it made them nice and crispy on the outside yet soft in the middle.

I couldn't get any wonton wrappers, so made the dough from scratch - it was worth it though, especially since I made enough to pop some leftover gyozas in the freezer for another time.  In fact, I think we'll have those tomorrow :-)

Sesame chicken for an easy midweek supper

After a wonderful few days with my friend, it is now back to reality.  But not without a smile on my face because we just had the most lovely time.  It's funny, isn't it - when you have really good friends, it's just easy to spend time together and it doesn't matter when you last saw each other...you just pick up where you left off.  Lots of chatting, dog walking, laughing and relaxing...and of course eating - just tasty stuff like fish pie (see the recipe link here) and roast dinners, prepared together.  Perfect :-)

Sesame chicken

But now, I better had caught up on posting a few recipes .  How about this one: sesame chicken. 

Mr Happy Larder and I had this as part of our anniversary dinner the other day and with a few tweaks we turned it into a quick and simple yet tasty meal.  Served on rice and veggies, this is not just for special occasions but can easily be made as a midweek meal for the family when you need to feed everyone quickly.

The trick with this is to dust the meat with cornflour prior to frying - this keeps it incredibly soft.  I do this with all types of meat in stir-fries or casseroles and it always works a treat (added bonus: the cornflour also thickens the sauce).

I hope you'll enjoy this one! xx