While visiting my local Mexican market this afternoon I noticed a peculiar item on sale in the seafood section. "Pulpo" (Spanish for octopus) was on sale for a mere $3.99/lb. I had always been curious about preparing octopus at home, and knew from past experience ordering it at restaurants that when properly prepared it makes wonderful table fare.
After cutting into short pieces and tossing in olive oil, I grilled my purchase in a wire grill basket to ensure that none of the tasty morsels slipped through the grill grates into the hot charcoal fire I had built. After splashing with lemon, I served the octopus in soft tortillas with corn, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream. My wife Lindsay opted not to partake, and instead enjoyed a salad with grilled chicken: more for the Food Pope!
I have to continue practicing how to properly cook this unique ingredient, as my finished product was a bit tough. Nonetheless, I quickly realized why octopus is rapidly becoming a stylish dish in America and has been a staple in Greece, Spain, Asia, the Middle East, and South America for thousands of years. It's delicious!
On a recent visit to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, my wife and I were given Kung-Fu Panda-inspired fortune cookies. Mine read, "Po says: Money is not everything. Dumplings are everything." I couldn't agree more!
While they can be made by scratch, these tasty dumplings were purchased frozen at a nearby Asian market. Look for dumplings that contain the ingredients you like (options vary, but often include such varieties as beef, pork, chicken, vegetable, and sometimes shrimp or seafood).
I usually look for dumplings made in the U.S. (usually in New York, New Jersey, or California near major Asian communities), but I've also had excellent varieties imported from China and Korea.
Use a steaming basket or wire rack to elevate the dumplings above a half-inch or so of boiling water in a covered saucepan for 7-10 minutes. Allowing the dumplings to sit in the boiling water leads to soggy dumplings :(
Enjoy with a hot cup of oolong tea. Happy Eating!
Image of Po from http://www.dreamworks.com/kungfupanda/
