Full steam ahead

You may have noticed - or not - in most S-Markets/Prisma and Stockmann Food Markets, fridges & freezers with dumplings, sauces, drinks & bamboo steamer baskets from Beijing8 (swedish made). At first. we weren't convinced, but after a while, the tease was too strong and we had to give a try. 

So we bought 2 steamer baskets, 3 packs of 10 frozen dumplings - or Dim Sum (duck & ginger, chicken & peanuts and veggies), 2 bottles of sauce (coriander & chili and spicy plum).

The dumplings can be cooked frozen straight from the freezer, or room temperature. You just need to adjust the cooking time (5 to 7 min.). Don't forget to use baking paper.

We've been bluffed by the quality. The dumplings are rich in flavors, generously stuffed with pieces of meat (instead of a mushy stuff), and crunchy herbs & veggies. Really on par with most chinese restaurants we have visited along the years in Helsinki - which incidentaly begs the question: do they use frozen products? (the answer is in the question for most of them)

With the dumplings, we drank a Sancerre white, because of its clean taste. But of course, the chinese way is with beer/green tea/rice wine, or even sake.

The 1st try was such a success that we had to do it again the next evening. This time we still had the chicken & peanuts dumplings, but with a twist: once steamed, they were pan fried in sesame oil, one face only until gold and crispy. The result was whoaaa... Then we light steamed pieces of scallops, served with a sauce made of sesame oil, light soy sauce, grinded ginger, lemon juice, bit of sugar and Shichimi Togarashi (blend of japanese spices). Again great. Then finally, korean dumplings stuffed with minced bbq pork & beef (found in k-market). Truly yummi. 

I mean, why bother going to chinese restaurants (and tbf, most suck big time) when you can have this kind of food at home, and for a lot cheaper. So, if you haven't yet, give a try to Beijing8.