A parent can’t win the dinner game. When I was a child, I would ask my dad if we could eat out at a restaurant. He would often answer, “Sure! At restaurant Chez Spendlove,” in a sultry French accent. Well, Spendlove is our family name. If I complained, he would say, “You’re welcome to eat somewhere else.”
On a good day my kids are asking me if we can eat out. Other days, they ask me what we’re eating, and when I tell them, they make faces and say they want something else. On the worst days they want microwaved nachos.
I haven’t figured out why my kids are dead set against whatever it is I’ve planned for the table that evening. For the most part, everyone around here eats pretty well. They know, or they should know, that I have great taste. I’m not taking orders, and I’m not asking for their advice. Why do they get a say when it’s me who’s doing all the work? The privileges of parenthood are many.
Now that I’m grown up, I know the value of having someone in charge with better taste than me. There’s a Thai place I love where customers aren’t really allowed to choose what they eat. The menu is there for show. The chef comes out and talks to diners and brings whatever he wants them to eat. It’s always delicious.
Some people can’t handle that place. They want pad Thai. If that’s what they want, they’re welcome to eat somewhere else.
On the subject of Thai, I was channeling Thai food and Japanese food simultaneously when I made this recipe. After a recent meal of larb, a Thai pork stir-fry somehow classified as a salad, I thought about gyoza, the Japanese dumplings, which are too much hassle for a weeknight meal. I mixed the two concepts for this simple and satisfying dish.
I even made this recipe as a meatball, which got eaten up quickly at my house. Two out of three kids would give me a high rating on Yelp — the other still wonders why the special is always “Chef’s Choice.”
Gyoza Stir Fry
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 cups finely sliced won bok
- 4 green onions, finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or avocado oil
- Thinly sliced red pepper (optional)
In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except oils. Use hands to lightly mix so flavors are well incorporated with pork.
On medium-high, heat pan with the oils. When pan is very hot, add pork mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up meat.
Once meat loses most of its pink color and some of the water from the won bok has evaporated, turn heat to high and let pan sit undisturbed until there is some browning on the meat. Resist the urge to stir it! The cabbage will give up the last of its water, and it will sizzle in the fat of the pan. This takes a few minutes.
When pork is golden brown, remove from pan and eat with rice or wrapped in lettuce, Thai style. Add red pepper if desired. (I also enjoy this with a fried egg for breakfast.) Serves 3 to 4.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 4 servings and not including the optional fried egg): 400 calories, 33 g total fat, 10 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 21 g protein
Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
