Physically, this means no more smoking. Period. (I really hope this statement lasts longer than the next time I have a cocktail. And no, I'm nowhere near as bad as Bridgette Jones.) Another resolution for myself will be to cure my back problems once and for all. I've been dealing with the same back issue, which has not been diagnosed, by the way, in over 3 years now. It's gotten so bad that I can hardly move myself out of bed without severe pain. (This is not an over exaggeration.)
It's been a compilation of both the healthcare industry and my own actions that have prevented me from getting to the bottom of the issue. While the doctors first make you go through a list of channels like massage therapy, physical therapy, chiropractor, etc. before treating you at all, I am embarrassed to say I can be a real pushover. I need to develop a different way of asking for help when I need it.
This ties into the mental aspect of things and I just hope I can find more confidence in myself. Without smoking though, it will be difficult for me to handle objections easily. I guess you can say it won't be as easy for me to blow off smoke (no pun intended) without the cigarettes. But in wanting to be healthier mentally I know I need to make a lot of big changes in my life and I hope I find my own inner strength.
It required quite a bit of time for me to sort out and the organize my thoughts however I had plenty of time to think when I was preparing the gyoza. It took me almost 3 hours to prepare the gyoza! Granted, this is the second I've made this recipe but the first time I have ever made homemade gyoza on my own. The prep time will hopefully shorten the more often I make these.
I learned this recipe from my sister, who learned it from her best friend's mother, who learned it from her roots in Japan. I believe gyoza is actually a Chinese dish but its popularity has spread like wildfire in Japan. These pot stickers do take quite a bit of time to prepare so I wouldn't try to make them unless you have a lot of time on your hands or you just need to do a bit of heavy thinking but I can guarantee they are absolutely worth the wait.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of ground pork
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1/2 head of green cabbage
- 8 oz of fresh shitake mushrooms
- 2 packages of gyoza dough
- 1 head of fresh ginger root
- 1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
- Olive Oil
- Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of room temperature water for 30 minutes and then pay dry
- Grate the ginger root on a cheese grater into a bowl
- Once completely grated squeeze the grated ginger together in your hand to squeeze out the juice and then throw away the root
- On a cutting board dice the green onion and set aside
- Then chop the head of cabbage in half
- Wrap the cabbage in plastic wrap and place in the microwave on high for 3 minutes
- In a food processor add the green onions, the heated cabbage, the shitake mushrooms, 3 Tablespoons of ginger juice, and a 1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce, and the ground pork.
- Mix together on medium high.
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| Don't worry, it is supposed to look like mush. |
- Take the gyoza dough and spread them out on a clean, flat surface. There should be about 50 wrappers per package.
- Then fill a small bowl of water and place next to the wrappers.
- Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture and place in the middle of each wrapper.
- To fold the gyoza, dip your finger in the water and make a rim of water around the dough.
- Then pick up the dough and make a crescent moon by only squeezing together the middle of the flat edges
- Fold the dough twice to create two waves on one end of the gyoza.
- Then on the other end fold the dough three times to make three waves.
- In a medium frying pan add a tablespoon of olive oil and heat on medium high.
- Add the gyoza and pan fry for only a minute or so before the bottoms are golden brown.
- Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and then cover. Turn the heat to low and let steam until all of the water is gone.
- Pour a desired amount of soy sauce and some hot chili oil onto the gyoza and eat hot.
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