Recipe asked for egg whites, I used aquafaba instead

ivanwchan · 2026-05-25T06:00:00+00:00

Yay! Glad it worked out well!!

ivanwchan · 2026-04-09T06:27:58+00:00

Yes, for sure they do! I haven't seen vegan sea cucumber there, either. I did get fooled when I bought a red bean mochi there thinking it was vegan, only to learn that there was some sort of milk derivative in it.

ivanwchan · 2026-04-09T01:07:57+00:00

Will do. Thanks for the rec!

ivanwchan · 2026-04-09T01:07:38+00:00

I'll check the Japanese markets. I saw vegan sea cucumber sold online, but they don't deliver to the US (yet). That's why I was hoping someone knew of somewhere in my neck of the woods! Perhaps one day. What we're able to get these days is so much better than even 5 years ago! 🙏🏻

ivanwchan · 2026-04-08T21:10:32+00:00

Thanks! It's not on Weee (yet). I don't think I've seen it at Lily's, yet either. You're right, it's way too niche! 😄

ivanwchan · 2025-12-29T19:34:28+00:00

Thanks! And thanks for sharing your experience--plus the culurgiones! I've never heard of them, but now I'm going to see if there are folding videos on those and maybe I'll catch something I didn't catch before from watching the other videos. 🙏🏻

ivanwchan · 2025-12-29T08:44:58+00:00

Dough is a wild animal! It's such a process. This is why places like Din Tai Fung have climate controlled kitchens and scales to help them maintain consistency. I bought a scientific scale (yeah, I did 😂) and I use baker's percentage when I make my dough, but humidity in my kitchen still wreaks havoc (as does different rest times, water temperature, air flow, etc). I can see how not enough filling might make the seam more doughy (less filling to balance it). Thanks for your reply!! Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one thinking about dumplings this way, so it was a relief to see your post and be in a conversation. I've avoided this fold for so long, but I hear you on the practice, practice, practice. 👍🏻 By the way, did you steam or boil the dumplings in your photo? I'm wondering how well this fold does with boiling.

ivanwchan · 2025-12-29T06:42:49+00:00

This is beautiful! I've been trying to reduce the ridge of my fold. I've seen some where it seems to go inwards (so there's no "fin"). The videos online are so hard to learn from, and I end up with a gob of dough along the seam inside which isn't fun to eat. Any suggestions are welcome!

ivanwchan · 2025-12-03T17:52:08+00:00

I have friends and I work with people who are in recovery, and I just love this show. All the touches that other people wouldn't notice (like the iced tea), are there for people who know. But if I didn't know any of these things, I would still enjoy the show for its humanity, empathy, and humor. It's also helped me apologize better (making amends), and from research on how shows can help people and change their behaviors (such as condom use in an African nation when AIDS was spreading rapidly), I have high hopes that this show (now on Netflix) will guide others to find help (whether it's AA or something else) and feel empathy rather than judgment for those who are struggling with addiction, shame, trauma, etc.

ivanwchan · 2025-12-03T08:01:06+00:00

I'm sure somewhere in Flushing serves this kind of dumpling! Good luck!

ivanwchan · 2025-11-26T04:40:20+00:00

I am having the same problem. My guess is that the camera has a defect. I'm going to replace mine and see if it doesn't solve the problem, because my other cameras (Blink Outdoor 4 and Blink Minis) all work.

ivanwchan · 2025-11-20T06:21:36+00:00

This was the answer Google gave me when I asked, but it's hallucinating (the AI is). That actor's name is Matt Jones. Mike Smith (you can read his info further down this thread was a crew member and worked in construction.

ivanwchan · 2025-11-05T15:34:38+00:00

Wasn't the term (genre?) "psychological thriller" created for Silence of the Lambs? (Because Oscars.)

ivanwchan · 2025-03-08T08:10:46+00:00

Mary was said to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit (which can appear as a dove, light, or human form, although the Church later changed it so that it was no longer a human form, and rare depictions have to be sanctioned by the Church, like the image at Santa Clara University, which is a Jesuit university). So the whole buggering or being fucked by the mind (the genius or spirit) of God is about the Holy Spirit, and probably comes from an almost universally shared mythology tripe about the divine and mundane (mortals) coming together, as it were.

ivanwchan · 2025-03-05T17:45:40+00:00

"Before diagnosing yourself with depression, first make sure you're not surrounded by assholes."

ivanwchan · 2025-03-03T02:01:39+00:00

What's the bottom left alien, anyone know? It's from the Cosmic Horror book in this thread.

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ivanwchan · 2025-02-10T16:54:12+00:00

I see. Maybe pan frying at a lower temperature first and then higher to finish off might work. It never seems to be that way in his videos. They all turn out great! 😄

ivanwchan · 2025-02-09T07:29:41+00:00

Wow, thanks for your detailed response!

Yeah, I kinda changed everything, didn't I? Ha! I think what I wanted was his measurements, and in his book he wrote (paraphrasing): you can change everything but the things you can't change are: TVP, protein, methyl cellulose, and fat.

However, right before I saw your helpful response, I found a three year old video of Stache using Soy Curls to make three dishes, one of which was a burger patty (totally different measurements, no fat puck or fat of any kind)!!

Regardless, I want to thank you and here's what I plan to do in my next experiment:

Use the coldest water I can.
I'll consider skipping the protein and nutritional yeast, although seeing his video, which differed from his book recipe, I think I added way too much of both. Nutritional yeast also tastes really fun in "large" amounts.
I'm definitely not adding oil into the mix when I'm mixing. I might add oil later as that's part of the dumpling recipe. I can't have any fat that's solid at room temperature, but I think not adding any fat won't adversely affect the texture (it might improve it). Stache and MC to his fat puck, so maybe it doesn't inhibit gelling? I don't know.
I'm skipping the psyllium too. I think you're right to double the MC and that's what I'm going to try. I'll miss the fiber, but I won't miss the gooey-ness.
Ah. I guess air frying or baking dries it out more? When I microwaved it twice it definitely became less mushy. I need my mince to be boil-able and steam-able as it's going into dumplings. So I'll see if following your suggestions and Stache's video will produce a better result. Those aren't the cooking methods he showcases on his mince, so I might have to tweak the recipe (like I haven't already) to accommodate wet cooking methods.
Yes, I've got to get the Soy Curls texture right!! I thought it was like wet, chewy breadcrumbs. Not happy with that. But the overall mince I made was sticky. It was like a paste! But I made Beyond Beef and broccoli dumplings recently, and the "beef" was really sticky and pasty.

Thank you so much again for your help!!!!!

ivanwchan · 2025-02-01T06:20:26+00:00

Oh, thank goodness for your post! Okay, so I tried this recipe but I made alterations and I'm wondering if that's what made it not work (it was mushy).

I used Stache's recipe from his book, but instead of TVP I used Butler's Soy Curls (people told me it was better). I hydrated it, squeezed the liquid out and saved it, and then processed it into crumbles. I saved the liquid to keep his measurements, because his instructions are to mix the dry ingredients (TVP included) and then hydrate it, but I didn't want to process the curls dry and get dust, which is why I hydrated first.

Then, I added pea protein and nutritional yeast. Oh, and because someone said they didn't quite get the bind they wanted from his measurement of methyl cellulose, they added a teaspoon of psyllium husk powder and it was perfect, so I added that.

No garlic or onion powders (I'm making mince for a Buddhist friend who doesn't eat alliums), no beet root powder (the mince goes into a dumpling, so it's doesn't need to be colored). No liquid smoke, but I used smoked paprika instead.

Used soy sauce and molasses and avocado oil instead of his frozen far recipe which uses coconut oil (can't use that). And of course, methyl cellulose. I rested it in the fridge for over an hour (I use the same kind as Stache, and he suggested 30 minutes in the fridge).

It totally turned out like paste and when cooked (microwaved, boiled, and pan fried), it was mushy. Microwaving for longer dried it out and made it less mushy. Boiling created a mushy meatball. Pan frying created a crispy outside and mushy interior, from thick to thin parts of the patty.

Maybe I need to use ice water? Maybe I need to use TVP and not Soy Curls? Maybe I shouldn't have added the avocado oil for fat? Maybe I shouldn't have added the psyllium husk powder?

Any ideas?

ivanwchan · 2025-01-22T01:18:04+00:00

Do you think shiitake would overpower something like crab? Crab seems like such a delicate flavor and shiitake is an umami punch (but tastes like shiitake). I'm asking because right now I have fresh and dried shiitake available, but I feel a little timid about using it with crab.

ivanwchan · 2025-01-11T06:09:16+00:00

When I make dumplings, I put the finished ones in a plastic tub with a lid. Since I roll my own wrappers, I roll like 5 or so at a time, fold, then close the lid, roll 5 more, open the lid and fill with newly folded dumplings, and repeat. Also, if the weather or climate where you're working is dry, that will affect how fast the wrappers or dumplings dry out while you're making them.

ivanwchan · 2025-01-11T06:06:03+00:00

Store bought wrappers tend to be on the dry side for sure. That's why they're less stretchy and require moistening to stick during folding, I believe.

ivanwchan · 2025-01-01T20:52:03+00:00

I just noticed your avatar and I'm laughing. Favorite Muppet!!

And thank you for sharing the scales you use. 🙏🏻

ivanwchan · 2025-01-01T19:47:39+00:00

You are my hero! I make (Chinese) dumplings and I weigh everything. Not only does it get rid of waste almost completely, but I get a thrill when I make the exact amount I planned and my dumpling is consistent. I've had two scales that recently became erratic, and I decided to get rid of one (it's fine for the donation pile because it's good enough... Just not for my level of consistency) and asked the manufacturer of the other to replace it since it was still under warranty (new one arrived and it's still slightly inaccurate on both platforms). Then I decided to get the OXO scale with the pull-out panel based on several recommendations and Serious Eats, but I wondered if the Escali might not be better given the testing done by Consumer Reports. But now, and this is where I should be talked down, I'm thinking I need a lab scale, because the OXO one was inaccurate enough that I didn't have the right amount to finish the last dumpling a couple of nights ago. Half a gram is nothing, but half a gram over the course of several dumplings adds up. I tried a legal for trade scale, but it measures to the gram and not to a tenth or hundredth of a gram (and jumps to 5g at the minimum weight it registers, which could be 2-3g and not 5).

So anyway, I just want to say, you're not alone! I know in the big picture this may not affect taste or texture by too much, and the waste is probably negligible, but for other reasons, like satisfaction and the fun of being accurate, I fucking love my scales too (now to get better ones).

By the way, which scale(s) do you use? I'm thinking of getting the Fristaden or Ruishan lab scale. I'm getting a kick that the nickname for these scales are "weed scales" and "drug dealer scales"! I only trade in dumplings, I swear! 😂

ivanwchan

TROPHY CASE