I went to Chinatown on Chinese New Year's Eve

I needed dumpling wrappers and even though the wrappers are manufactured in my neighborhood, I have to go to Chinatown to buy them.

The store was packed. I couldn't even find a basket, so I bought a bit less than I would have otherwise. I got 4 packs of dumpling wrappers (yellow/white, round/square), napa cabbage, a leek, and a giant bottle of soy sauce. Dumpling wrappers cost $2.49 and $2.99 now. They used to be half that.

Anyway, I can't complain about the experience. I knew what I was getting into and that's one of the reasons I wanted to go. But now I should go buy the rest of my things. I still need ground pork, mushrooms, and maybe shrimp.

Dumpling Night

Ridgely reminded me to have a dumpling party, so I am going to do that tonight. Yesterday I went to Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown and bought ingredients. (Then I walked around and now my feet hurt so much that I don't think I can get to Key Food to buy pork.)

I bought 4 packs of dumpling wrappers (which makes 160-200 dumplings I guess. $1.50 each), a big Napa cabbage ($0.59/lb) , a bag of bok choy ($0.99/lb I think), 2 8oz containers of white mushrooms ($1.19 each. What a deal!), 2 bunches of scallions ($0.50 each), a bottle of Squid brand fish sauce ($1.19), a leek at a price I forget, and maybe that was it. I was running late so I didn't get to peruse. I spent about $18, which isn't bad for getting to feed 10 people or so.

I have been thinking about fish sauce a lot lately. I use anchovies when I cook pasta a lot. Maybe fish sauce, which is made of anchovies, salt, and water, would be easier or cheaper. I'm going to find out. I have no experience with fish sauce though so I don't know what brand is good. I bought Squid because it wasn't the cheapest, wasn't the most expensive, had an ok color, and had a squid on it.

I think I might fill some dumplings with ricotta and spinach and call them raviolis.

C-Town now carries dumpling wrappers

About two weeks ago I was walking through Chinatown to buy dumpling wrappers and thinking about how annoying it is that these are made not far from my house but I have to go to Manhattan to buy them. Then a lightbulb went off over my head and I tweeted a picture to C-Town to ask if they carried them. Yesterday C-Town tweeted me a picture of them back to let me know they're now in. Now I can make dumplings every time I feel spiteful without advance planning. (I exaggerate. If I made dumplings every time I felt spiteful, I'd never get a chance to eat anything else.)