Mulan: Easy Dim Sum Party!

Mulan: Dim Sum Party!!

Happy May everyone!! Well … okay Mid-June. These blog postings seem to be getting later and later don’t they? BUT I’m going to continue to forge on and bring you more recipes. Who knows I may even have a plan for a YouTube channel showing how I prep these meals in the future (maybe as soon as 2017!!).

In the meantime, I hope warmer temperatures are finding you. Hear in Ohio we’ve seen everything from 40 degrees all the way up to mid- and upper 90 degree weather!! When warmer weather comes out I generally like to find lighter fare to eat but if you know me … I can’t resist a good party!! For May, I give you an easy party to put together with dim sum inspired recipes featuring one of Disney’s princesses Mulan!!

Released in 1998, Mulan is a story pulled from Chinese folklore about a daughter, young Fa Mulan, taking her father’s place in the Chinese army during China’s war with the Huns. In the original legend Mulan remained in the army for many years and eventually rose to be a general in the army before being discovered to be a woman. In the Disney version, Mulan joins the army and with some comedic hijinks from her pal Mushu and the lucky cricket Cricky, manages to join the army and stop the Huns from taking over the palace and killing the Emperor.

Okay it’s hard to get all the finer details into a short paragraph of a synopsis. But … I can’t give away everything, still need to leave a little bit of the movie for you to watch right? I admit that in researching this movie I found it very hard to believe it came out in 1998 (my junior year in high school). And yet when I watch the movie, it still seems fresh and new. With a right mixture of humor and drama mixed into the entire story (because let’s face it, I don’t think you can listen straight-faced to Eddie Murphy’s voicing of Mushu) Mulan still entertains even though it will soon reach the 20 year anniversary!! I’ve mentioned in the past how Disney has always ruled in the talent division and this movie is certainly no different. With Ming-Na Wen at the helm of Mulan (with Mulan’s singing voiced by the amazing Lea Salonga), BD Wong voicing the general Shang (and music performed by Donny Osmond), as well as George Takei, James Hong, Pat Morita, and yes … Even Harvey Fierstein in the mix. 

Mulan for me endures for many different reasons. It was one of the first Disney animated films I can recall that was not based on a fairy tale but rather folklore from another culture. Also it features a heroine, who would later be inducted into the princess court by Disney, that was not in the “damsel in distress” ilk. At the focal point of the story is not the Princess victimized by the villain or villains in the story but rather the princess challenging society and doing what is the ultimate right. This comes to a head later in the story when it is discovered that Mulan is in fact a woman and by laws should be put to death (a little spoiler but no more … You’ll just have to watch the movie). Mulan’s lesson teaches us to find and do what is ultimately right, and that sacrifice and honor go beyond what society tells us it is. One reason Mulan resonates with me is as gay man and drag queen, it took many years to go against what society told me was “normal” and be myself. Today I make no bones about being openly gay and being a drag performer to anyone that asks… It’s a non-issue at work (and in fact many of my co-workers enjoy the fact I perform and we find many funny after the show things to talk about) but it took many years to get to this point in life. Mulan teaches us that struggles are as much internal as they are external and by being true to ourselves we can indeed become better and in many ways change the world … Maybe it’s saving China, or creating a better community where you live.

In putting together this month’s menu I drew on inspiration from a wonderful restaurant here in Columbus called Golden Flower. Every Saturday and Sunday the restaurant hosts dim sum. Dim sum is normally characterized by smaller dishes and bites served at your table while drinking tea. Kind of like a Chinese equivalent to Tapas in Spain, at the Golden Flower they serve dumplings, fried goods, sautéed vegetables, all served in carts right to your table while enjoying warm tea (or ice tea in my case). The first time I had dim sum I was working in Illinois for my company and being so close to Chicago… Well you couldn’t be that close and not go to China Town right? I went with a few co-workers and experienced my first dim sum while in Chinatown and I will say … I’ve been hooked on it ever since. This month’s recipes are inspired by some of the dishes I’ve had whilst out on a dim sum outing. I say inspired because I’ve taken a few shortcuts and drawn ideas from YouTube and various places on the Interwebs. So I have taken liberties with these recipes and they may not be completely authentic. So let’s dive in shall we?

First up, one of my absolute favorite items to make and this recipe is as easy as it gets!!

Easy Chasu

1-2 lb pork roast or pork ribs (I find ribs are easier to cut after cooking)
½ cup Soy sauce
1-2 Tblsp sugar
1 tsp ground ginger

Place soy sauce, sugar, and ground ginger into a mixing bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Place pork in bowl with soy mixture and coat. Cover the pork and soy bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours (or overnight).

When the meat is thoroughly marinated, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pork in a baking dish (I found glass works best) and cook for 25-30 minutes. Check the pork if done (you can poke the pork with a skewer, if the liquid runs clear the pork is ready). When the pork is thoroughly cooked remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes, then cut into slices about ¼ inch thick.

The reserve marinade can be used to baste the pork periodically while in the oven or reduced on the stove top for additional dipping sauce.

Reserve some of the chasu as you’ll be dicing it up and using it for the next recipe:

Finished Chasu

Easy Fry Pan Nikuman

9 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls (NOT brown and serve)
1 cup Chasu, diced (see previous recipe)
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil

Spray or coat a baking dish with cooking spray and place the frozen dinner rolls into the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls sit for 30-45 minutes to rise. NOTE: for this recipe, be sure you buy the raw dough rolls and not the brown and serve. The brown and serve have already been prebaked and won’t rise properly. While the dough rises, place the chasu and green onions in a bowl and mix well. At this stage you can add whatever flavorings you would like (fresh chopped garlic or ginger, soy sauce, Chinese seven spice powder… Let your imagination run wild!).

After the rolls have doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and flour your work surface. Take one roll and flatten round to about ¼ inch thick. Scoop a tablespoon of the chasu filling into the dough and pinch and rotate the dough closed until it forms a spiral type pattern on top. Do this for all the dough.

Once all the dumplings are formed, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and lightly coat with vegetable oil. Place the dumplings in the pan. When the bottoms of the dumplings are lightly browned, put about ¼ to ½ a cup of water into the pan and cover. Allow the dumplings to steam. When the water is gone pour sesame oil into pan and lightly brown the bottom of the dumplings. 

Remove from pan and serve.

Not pretty but delicious still 

The trickiest part of this recipe for me was getting the pinched top mastered. So the nikuman may not look too pretty but the taste … Delicious.

To accompany these two more labor and time consuming recipes I added a simple bok choy side dish (also good for any other time you need a quick side dish for a meal)

Shanghai Bok Choy

1 lb of Shanghai or Baby bok choy, rinsed
4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
2 Tblsp sesame oil

After rinsing the bok choy thoroughly, place in a double steamer and steam for about 5 minutes (if you don’t have a steamer, the boil about 6 cups of water with salt and blanch the bok choy for about 3 minutes). In a non-stick fry pan heat sesame oil over medium heat. Place garlic in sesame oil and slowly sauté until golden. The goal is to not burn the garlic or heat the sesame oil up too fast, but infuse the sesame oil with garlic flavoring. Toss the bok choy into the sesame and garlic oil and quickly stir fry (no longer than 2 or 3 minutes). Place on a plate and serve.

You can easily substitute baby bok choy or any other smaller bok choy, or even regular bok choy that’s been roughly chopped.

I hope you had a wonderful time enjoying these recipes and I hope you are finding your summer kicking off to a wonderful start!! Sadly I am going to be taking June off from Disney and Dinners as it’s going to be non-stop on the go. But no worries, I’ll be back in July with another Disney Treat-Filled Menu featuring one of the most successful, modern movie series from Disney: The Pirates of the Caribbean!! Just wait until you see what I have planned!!

Make it a Magical Summer!! Pat A.