Double Take: Almost Bourdain's Mandu (Korean Dumplings)

Dumplings.... one of those things that I don't photograph well.

Dumplings are one of those foods that seem to cross food cultures. Each one has its own version, a different unique spin, and I have yet to come across one I didn’t like. Oh, some of them fail to excite me, that’s true enough, but I don’t actively dislike any of them.

But one thing that really doesn’t excite me about them is making them. There is just something about filling and sealing each dumpling individually that doesn’t get me going. I’m more than happy to eat them (and very happy in the case of samosas and empanadas), but to stand there over a bowl of raw meat filling and sealing and crimping the edges for ages just doesn’t excite me.  

Double Take: Almost Bourdain’s Agedashi Tofu

Agedashi tofu with fried basil leaves

Don’t let the T word scare you. I did until I was 16. Tofu never entered my house growing up, but once I tried it, I was hooked. And I blame this particular dish for hooking me. Agedashi is actually a very descriptive term: age means deep fried and dashi is a type of broth. So, agedashi tofu is deep fried tofu in dashi sauce. I typically order it as an appetizer in Japanese restaurants, but have had to go without since we moved to Germany.

I tried making it once before when we lived in the US, but it didn’t turn out quite right. The crust was off. And the crust tasted terrible. I wasn’t the master fryer then, and I suspect that my oil wasn’t quite hot enough. When I found a recipe that used a different coating (potato starch instead of corn starch), I decided it was time to try again. And I convinced (without much difficulty) Tabitha to try it, too.