Happy Year of the Tiger!

To close out the Year of the Ox and the Year of Lily's Birth, Kate and I decided to try our hand at making mandu so we could have it with our dukgook on New Year's Day.

Kate loved how the small circles of mandu pi (dumpling skins) felt cool and soft in her hand, and I was very happy to see how much she enjoyed making them with me.

I used halmoni's recipe of tofu, garlic, ginger, scallions, and sesame oil, substituting ground pork for beef. The smell of the ingredients, the texture of the skins, and dipping my finger in the bowl of water for the "glue" all reminded me of halmoni and the times we made mandu together. Now that I have kids, I appreciate those seemingly simple moments even more. While Kate and I gabbed and stuffed, Lily enjoyed some mat time and pondered how the parrot got on top of the arch. Voila! Mandu for New Year's Day soup and a few for frying.

Kate spent part of New Year's Eve reading to her sister, who is always captivated with big sister's voice.

Lily also enjoyed some standing and Giraffey gazing.

Kate asked me to make her a little paper hat. Next thing I knew, it was propped on top of Lily (a.k.a. Popeye)'s, square head, and Kate was cracking up.

Jaunty Lily didn't seem to mind.

After Lily went to bed, Kate, Chris, and I had a special dessert (klondike bars on a stick), a special drink (Naked's Blueberry Machine), and tossed up some of Kate's homemade confetti before the countdown.

Then we got to the real stuff.

Where are the Times Square sweepers when you need them?

Attractive, aren't we?

On New Year's Day, Lily joined us for lunch on the table, finally able to hold her neck up in the bumbo seat. Huzzah!

Rice cake soup for New Year's Day.

The mandu came out great, thanks to Kate, and we all "ate another year."

After dukgook, the whole family went to see "Princess and the Frog," a surprisingly good and minimally offensive Disney princess movie. We returned home just in time to enjoy this incredible sunset.

Sae hae bok mani badu saeyo! Happy 2010! Kate and Lily (and anyone else who is reading), here is the mandu recipe, a combination of a recipe from halmoni and from the Eating Korean cookbook:

MANDU (KOREAN DUMPLINGS) INGREDIENTS: 1 lb of ground pork or beef (I prefer ground pork) 1 package of firm tofu 1 cup mung bean (sookchu) or green bean sprouts (can usually find this in the regular grocery store, or definitely Asian market. They look like very small, white beans with a teeny-tiny yellowish top). 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 2 scallions, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon ginger, minced 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 50 dumpling wrappers, or mandu pi (can find these at any Asian market. They usually read, "gyoza" on them. Get the small, round ones, not the "extra thick skins," but the regular ones. canola oil for frying a small bowl of cold water for the "glue" TO PREPARE: 1. Open package of tofu and pour out water. Wrap the brick in cheesecloth or towel or paper towels. Squeeze out as much water as you can (this is important). Repeat as necessary. Crumble tofu in a large mixing bowl. 2. Blanch the mung bean sprouts. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop them, put them in mixing bowl. 3. Add the remaining ingredients (except dumpling wrappers) and combine until mixed. 4. Get a large tray or flat surface for laying down the dumplings as you make them. Get small bowl of cold water. 5. Place a mandu pi in the palm of your hand. Spoon enough filling into the middle of the circle to leave about a 1/2 inch of empty skin (about a tablespoon). Dip your finger into the cold water and wet 1/2 the edge of the dumpling skin. Fold the skin in half, sealing the filling inside, making a semicircle. 6. If you want to be fancy, you can make small ridges on one side of the edge as your seal, using your finger and thumb, making about 5-7 ridges on each dumpling. 7. Repeat with each wrapper until all the filling or wrappers are used. TO COOK:

TO FRY THEM: In frying pan, pour enough oil to cover the bottom surface and heat over medium. Carefully, place the dumplings in the pan, filling it without crowding them. Should have enough space in between them in the pan. Fry until golden brown and crispy on one side. Flip them. Continue until all dumplings are cooked. Note: this is what I do -- I fry one side for 3-4 minutes, flip them, then add a 1/2 cup of water (steam will shoot up), quickly cover the pan with a lid, lower the heat and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. OR, you can cook them the following ways: TO STEAM THEM: Get a steamer. Lay a wet cloth on the bottom of the steamer to prevent sticking. Add a single layer of dumplings, making sure they're not touching each other. Steam over boiling water for 10-15 minutes, until filling is cooked through and the skins are slightly translucent. Servie immediately with soy sauce and vinegar. TO BOIL THEM: Boil a large pot of water. Add dumplings one at a time, careful not to fill the pot. Let them cook 8-10 minutes. Fish them out with a slotted spoon. You can also boil them in beef stock and make dumpling soup (mandu guk)! Just top with chopped scallions, some dried seaweed, and cooked egg strips! Makes 50 dumplings. Serve warm with soy sauce and a little vinegar. --You can freeze the uncooked dumplings if you have too many. If have left over filling, make them into patties and cook.

Enjoy!