Chinese Stuffed Cabbage: Spilled Milk #232

No cabbage, no problem: You can swap in collards, chard or other big leafy greens.

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It’s the season of joy. That time between May and September when school is out, the tomatoes sit heavy on the vine, half-day Fridays are a joy to behold and the smell of charcoal fires and backyard burgers lays heavy in the air. And I am boating.

I get into a bathing suit, and I realize that while it may be hot person summer for many, I didn’t get the memo until the middle of July. I need to lose a few, and fried food, pasta and sweets are not going to do me any favors. So of course, I had a hankering for dumplings today that just wouldn’t quit. I thought, why not make my version of a fried dumpling salad? But then I am eating both a pasta and a fried item. And while, yes, better to have it on salad than on top of more dumplings (my usual habit), I thought to take my dumpling farce and roll it in steamed leaves of napa cabbage, savoy cabbage, chard leaves, any tender larger green that I could, then steam those and make a yummy dipping sauce to dunk them into.

So here we go. Something different, something light, with all the buzzy awesomeness of dumplings, all the gustatory satisfaction of that shrimp/pork filling but without the guilt associated with me trying to squeeze into my trunks tomorrow morning. Maybe.

A last word: At the 11^th hour, all I had were collards. They worked GREAT, and their nutty earthiness frequently means they get paired with something spicy and vinegary…well, the dipping sauce is exactly that, and my 19-year-old scarfed down half the pan. Just sayin’.

Recipe: Chinese Stuffed Cabbage