The Fork

Happy (Belated) Chinese New Year!
On the one hand, we're, like, a full week late for the whole Chinese New Year thing, but we didn't want to just let it go by without mentioning a few things. First off, since Talin Market closed its Santa Fe location, it's been pretty hard to come by lots of ingredients one needs for going wild (or at least authentic) with Asian food. The good news is, they'll still do delivery, the bad news is that that's not always accessible to everyone. Womp-womp. But with a little determination, you can still work something out. The Fork is rooting for you!

-For example, the Food Network is such a great resource for fans of food, and so are the slideshows at Food & Wine. The Spruce has 10 simple suggestions for easy-to-make Chinese offerings. Looking for recipies that are the real deal? Check out the China Sichuan Food blog, and  find some authentic recipies from a Chinese grandma. Head to chinesenewyear2018.com to learn all about new year traditons and food.

-When in doubt, use this awesome Essential Ingredients Checklist and you're well on your way to Chinese amazingness. Try to remember that the Chinese food we know and love is generally not so much the real deal (even though it's often delicious). The Fork's mom went to China one year and said she was surprised at the differences, but also that a number of people in her group kept searching for McDonald's. Don't be those people.

-SFR Digital Services Manager Brianna Kirkland made those potstickers up at the top, and was kind enough to share a few with us. She's got the recipe for you riiiiiiiiiiight ….. here!

—
Happy year of the dog, Fork Family! I couldn't let Chinese New Year go by without doing a little something to celebrate! My family always tries to make a few traditional lucky foods for the holiday, like a whole chicken (for family unity), a whole fish (for surplus), noodles (for longevity) and spring rolls (which resemble gold bricks). It was a bit much for me to make everything on our mile-long menu wishlist, but I did get around to making some dumplings.

Pork Potstickers

Ingredients:

(Note: The filling is pretty flexible, so expirement with different flavors: Swap pork for chicken or shrimp, use different vegetables, or vary the amounts to your liking.)

• Wonton wrappers (you can usually find these in refrigerated section of big supermarkets)
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 cup shredded cabbage, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Gochujang (you can usually find this in the Asian foods section of big supermarkets)
• 1 tablespoon seasame seeds
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon seasame oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Gather your ingredients, get yourself a workspace to assemble the dumplings, and grab a frying pan with a lid. You’re going to need a little dish of water for sealing the dumplings, as well as a wet, but wrung out, paper towel to keep your dumplings and wrappers from drying out as you work.
2. You can take some shortcuts with the prep by buying pre-shredded carrots and cabbage. Or break out your food processor. Buy that chopped up garlic in a jar; make it easy on yourselves. Toss all the ingredients into a bowl, and mix it up with your hands.
3. Make a tiny little meatball of the mixture and fry it off in a pan to taste for seasoning. Adjust the flavors to your liking.
4. Now we’re ready to make the dumplings. Don’t be intimidated by the dumpling crimping process. It doesn’t matter what style you choose, or if it looks messy. They still taste great. Get yourself a little assembly line set up to make the process easier. Place only a scant teaspoon of filling in the middle of each wrapper. (I’m not kidding, it’s way less than what you think. Don’t put a big ol’dollop in there, or you’re never going to get it closed.) Wet your finger, and draw it along the edge of one half of the wonton wrapper. Gently fold the wrapper over, squeezing out as much air as possible. Finish by crimping the edge four or five times.

1. Once you’ve assembled about a dozen, get some vegeteble oil heating over medium-high heat. Place the dumplings in a single layer in the pan, and fry for three minutes.
2. After the first three minutes of cooking, add a few tablespoons of water to barely cover the bottom of the pan, and cover with the lid. Continue cooking 3-5 more minutes, until the filling is cooked through and wrappers are transparent.
3. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces, and enjoy!

Also
-Can we talk about this recently updated list of the 10 Best Restaurants in Santa Fe (according to yelp.com)? We're pretty into all of these, but we're hoping some readers will be like, "I disagree, and presented for the approval of the midnight society is THIS PLACE." Lay it on us.

-Did you know that Feb. 22 is National Margarita Day? Remain calm. Personally, we like to work our way through the offering at The Shed and La Choza, but we've also been known to party it up with a Del Charro marg (because they come with the shaker with the leftover stuff like it's some kind of milkshake or something). Anyone aware of any hidden gems we need to know about?

-This week's Instagram suggestion is chef Joel Coleman of Fire & Hops. He's in our mind because we recently mentioned his ice cream outfit, La Lecheria, but also because his feed gives us the low-down wanna-eat-it blues. Anyway, you can follow here.

–Trinity Kitchen is hiring seasonal cooking help. And now you know.

-We're hearing rumblings about a new brewery/distillery that is slated to open soon in the old Club Alegria spot on Agua Fría Street. Tumbleroot it's called. There's not a lot of information yet, but if there's one thing New Mexico has proven time and time again, it's that we're great at beer. Anyway, we'll tell you more when we know.

More Tidbits
-It's not human food, but be aware that a number of dog food brands have been recalled for containing traces of pentobarbital, a drug used in euthanasia. For a comprehensive list of these foods, click here, and say hi to your cute dogs for us.

-Over on website delish, they've compiled a list of fast food items to NEVER ORDER according to the people who work in fast food. We try to stay away in general, but we've also been known to decimate a seven-layer burrito from Taco Bell. Anyway, don't shoot the messenger.

-RIP to New Orleans' Mr. Okra, a man who brought the ice cream truck business model to veggies. He also sang, so … sad day.

-Apparently Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in bringing macaroni and cheese to the nation. Wow.

-And speaking of that, this meme people are sharing everywhere online about how it might be called "mac and cheese" because "mac" is short for "macaroni and cheese" is absurd. It's basically saying it's called "macaroni and cheese and cheese." Get real, macaroni-breath!

-The upcoming James Beard Awards are taking behavior into account. Good. We'd also point out that this year's nominees represent a higher percentage of women chefs. Also good.