Sushi!

My wife doesn't like sushi. It's a shame since it means I don't get to eat it very often but at least it means I don't have to share. I decided a while back that I wanted some but I was stymied by not being able to find a rolling mat at the grocery store. The sushi hater finally said, "Why don't you just order one off of Amazon?" Genius. Apparently, they sell nori sheets too.

I like all kinds of sushi but when it comes down to it, it's hard to beat a good California roll.

Only one of my children was brave enough to try a bite and she quickly decided it wasn't for her. My wife, to her credit did eat one, if only to verify that yep, she doesn't like sushi.

But, then again, who would be sad about leftover sushi?

Luckily, I planned for nobody else wanting to eat any and got some pizza too.

Pizza and sushi: not a bad combination, really.

Gyoza Fried Rice

I made gyoza last weekend. It was a happy day. Midway through eating, my stomach started to hurt. So I kept eating until it went away. I made 52 gyoza and froze half so that I could have another happy day sometime in the future. There was, however, one dark cloud in my otherwise perfect gyoza filled day: I ran out of wrappers before the filling was used up. My eyes teared up at the gyoza that would never be made. Never would the filling be warmly nestled in a wrapper, never would it be lovingly caressed by the hot oil that would give it a perfect brown crust. The weight of this culinary crime was almost too much to bear until the dark cloud broke, revealing the silver lining: I could save the filling and use it to make fried rice.

Gyoza Fried Rice:

I had about a cup of leftover filling but any amount will work - fried rice is good like that.

Heat a generous amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan/wok. Don't be shy with the oil since you need enough to fry the rice in as well. Toss in a carrot, half a medium onion, and a few garlic cloves, all finely chopped. When the onions start to brown, add the gyoza filling and break it up into small pieces as it cooks. When the filling is cooked through, I put in a quarter of a chopped head of cabbage. (I had it left over from when I made the gyoza and I though it would add some nice color and texture) Let the cabbage start to wilt and then dump in 4 cups of cooked rice (2 cups uncooked). I seasoned mine with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and ginger (get it, just like gyoza). Let the rice fry, turning occasionally until a crust starts to form on the bottom. Serve immediately and reminisce about the wonderful gyoza of days gone by.