DISH OF THE WEEK: Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil at CAFÉ CHINA

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

Thanks to the response from my recent Christmas video, I got a request to make dumplings for Christmas Eve this year. That’s right, this year we didn’t go out for Chinese food, I cooked it.

I can give myself a big pat on the back because those dumplings came out spectacularly. It was a lot of work (I even made the dough from scratch) and not something that I’ll be making weekly. But for when I’m craving pork dumplings and am feeling too lazy (that’s most of the time), I can rely on the quality of dumpling choices around the city, like the mouth numbing version at Café China.

While filming that aforementioned Christmas video, we shot many takes of me eating their pork dumplings in chili oil. Sure, it took me a while to get the dialogue right, but I mostly asked for another take so I could get another taste of these dumplings. The tender and chewy potstickers were floating in a pool of bright red chili oil. It’s not as daunting as it looks. The spice comes quick and tickles your tastebuds, but is rounded out by a sweet finish. It’s just enough spice to leave your numbing lips craving more.

While everybody at Christmas dinner enjoyed my dumplings, I’m sort of relieved they weren’t able to compare them to Café China’s. No question whose were better. And I wouldn’t have been so idolized if they had.