The next time I think of doing something, it certainly would be a good idea to think again before I get on with it.
You see, there was a little bit of some pian sip (our wanton-like meat dumpling) skin…
…sitting in the freezer and that morning, I thought I would use them to make some pian sip soup for breakfast. Yes, we can buy the skin from the market – we do not need to make out own.
To start off, I had to wrap the dumplings and to do that, I put on a skin a little bit of minced meat…
…to which I had added a pinch of salt and mixed thoroughly and then I folded the skin into a triangle…
Having done that, I rolled the triangle around my thumb like this…
…and that would be one dumpling done. I do not know why it is done like this but I have seen the people at the stalls doing it this way so I just followed. I remember in the old days, they would just roll up the skin below the meat filling to sort of seal it up like this…
I guess it does not really matter whichever way we choose to do it.
In the meantime, I had to cook the soup and for that, I just boiled some water, threw in two or three cloves of garlic, peeled and a few minced meat balls. What I know is at the shops, they would boil some pork bones for the stock to make the soup and they would keep adding water the whole morning/day through so after sometime, it would be so diluted that what you would be getting would be nothing more than water with fragrant oil (lard), chio cheng (light soy sauce) and msg added. I did not have any light soy sauce in the house so I added a spoonful or two of fish sauce and a pinch of chicken stock cube to make up for the lack of ingredients in the soup.
I also had to prepare the garnishing so I peeled a shallot, cut it into thin slices and fried it in a little bit of oil in a pan till golden brown. I also got some spring onion growing in my garden and chopped them finely…
…and I was ready to roll!
Then I boiled some water to cook the dumplings. I did not want to just throw them into the clear soup in case the flour on the skin would make it cloudy and render it less palatable. Once the skin turned translucent, no longer white…
…they were done!
I drained them well, put them in a bowl and poured in the soup and garnished with the aforementioned fried shallot and chopped spring onion for the added fragrance and taste and served…
Yes, I would say it was very nice, as good as any outside…
…or perhaps even better and the added bonus would be the fact that there was no oil/lard added and no msg other than the bit that was probably in the fish sauce and the chicken stock cube.
However, considering all the work that I had to go through just to dish out a bowl for breakfast, I would think it would be a better idea just to go out to one of the nearby coffee shops and have one…
…there for only RM2.50 at some places, RM2.80 at others.
No, I did not use all the skin and I just put the rest back into the freezer – maybe my missus would want to use it one fine day for whatever purpose she had bought them for but one thing’s for sure, I definitely would think again should I ever feel like cooking my own pian sip another time…and decide otherwise.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Looks simple and sounds simple but the preparation is not π
Most definitely not. Now I think I would appreciate that bowl of simple-looking goodness a lot more. At some stalls here, I saw them rolling the skin they had bought for use – so as to make each one thinner, more translucent and nicer when cooked. One by one! That’s a whole lot of work, really.
It looks time consuming to prepare. I heard about what is happening in France but I don’t bother mentioning it on my blog because it is everywhere, and I try to keep my blog happy and positive to give people something positive to think of. My heart does, of course, go out to anyone and everyone who is suffering.
Of course you have – it’s all over the news, on tv, Facebook or like you said, everywhere…even here. Me too, so many unhappy things going on but I never blog about them…but some may crop up in the comments at times. That’s ok with me but I would delete any aggressively over-sensitive ones that touch on religion, politics and the like. I would prefer to steer clear of those.
Yes, this took so much time that I made up my mind right away that I would never bother to cook my own again. All my cooking – simple, easy, fast…and nice. I’m basically very lazy.
It’s so much better doing it yourself – you know exactly what’s inside.
We do know what’s in the ones outside – nothing much, just a very very thin layer of minced meat with salt and msg added. It is the skin that is the main attraction and there are places where you can see somebody sitting by the side rolling it one by one till very thin and applying the meat glaze a bit before wrapping it up. The best ones would be so thin you can slurp everything down, translucent and not white, nothing to bite and chew.
My cousin in Melbourne would buy a lot back and keep in the freezer to cook for the family, and they all love it! She says she has used the frozen wanton skin and no, they did not think it was good. Those are usually firmer and more chewy, more yellowish probably from egg added and the alkaline stuff they use in yellow noodles for the texture.
As for the soup, outside, they use bone stock and add that to shallot oil/lard, light soy sauce and msg…and the dumplings, boiled, with a sprinkling of fried shallots and spring onion. It is the msg that puts me off as they do add a lot at some places (would have to tell them to cut down on it or not add any at all) plus the bone stock may be too diluted, depending on the time of day. But for less than AUD1.00 and minus all that work involved, I see no cause for complaint.
Very well done. I’m sure the fillings will be more generous than what you’ll get from the shops.
Yes, I did add a bit more but when it comes to pian sip, what draws the line between the boys and the men would be the quality of the skin, not supposed to have a lot of meat inside, unlike wanton. Fo rme, the amount of msg they add is also a deciding factor – if there is an overdose, I would never want to go and eat ever again.
Your pian sip was nicely done. Yes, I would go out & have a bowl instead of taking all the trouble to prepare, but on the other hand, homemade is always healthier. I have never seen pian sip rolled around the thumb like that.
Me too, just saw them doing this quite recently. Dunno whether they did not know how to do it right or maybe it is easier to cook this way – the twisted part may not be well-cooked and turn out hard. That’s my guess. Indeed, mine’s healthier – no added msg, no oil/lard.
AW, this is really a talent of you and oh may man, this is really a hard one to prepare, ever really tasted one but i see that thinner is better here—-that’s an effort to prepare though! I wish im there to taste those!
Yes, you can help roll the skin to make it thinner. π π π Most welcome to hop over anytime, you can taste the nice ones we have around here – there are a few.
I loves pian sip, i don’t think i will be hardworking to do it as i am very lazy…
I’m like you. Let’s just say this was a case of once bitten, twice shy… Never again! π
Oh, that looks yummy. That’s what I do sometimes at home too. I search the fridge for something to cook. π
I do that to try and clear things that have been in it for a long time. Would be such a waste to just throw away. π
for someone like me who can’t prepare food or cook, i’d have to buy this from the shops … but i like to think there’s a certain rewarding pleasure when you can consume the results of your own effort and creativity π
Usually yes…but this one, I was kind of tired after it all. Maybe I did not sleep too well the night before so even though what turned out in the end was great, I did not feel I would want to do it again. Would opt for something a little easier…and maybe even nicer like what’s coming in tomorrow’s post. π
I never made pian sip before at home!! Haha. I know. Look like so much work but it would be tastier than eating outside. π
Healthier too but there are other things that are easier to cook and just as nice or maybe even nicer. Not worth the trouble, can easily get outside here…and so cheap some more. Maybe for people living overseas, they do not have a choice. π
That does look like quite a bit of work. Though homemade is best, I too sometimes prefer to “outsource” hah..hah…
See my reply to roseliew. Maybe if there are a few people – get together to wrap and cook, make a big pot of soup, piansip party…and later, all can sit down and enjoy…then maybe that would be nicer, enjoy doing it together. But to go through all that alone, I am simply too lazy to do it all again.
They certainly are tempting!! I wouldnt mind having a big bowl now… Hahaaaaa…. The piansip skin looks different from our wanton skin over here,.. We can also get them from the grocery stores….
Not the same but I would think wanton skins are better for deep frying with lots of meat inside. Can make sweet and sour deep-fried wantons.
wow! They definitely looks like straight from the restaurants or better! Tapau one bowl for me pls! haha
Thanks for the compliment! For one thing, it is much healthier, not so oily and no added msg…and it does taste nicer than at many places here.
Your homemade piansip looks so so good, I can eat 30 pieces, really! For soups and broths, I always use my leftover soup. Will boil a big pot, then keep some to put in the fridge to use for later – to cook noodles for the kids, etc.. And I always marinate my minced pork with only 2 things – pepper and soy sauce.. Nice..
Can’t use soy sauce for this, not the dark one, that is. The colour would ruin it!
Now, that is a great idea, cooking the soup and keeping it in the fridge for use as and when necessary – will not need to go through all the hassle whenever one needs it…but I have this thing about things sitting in the fridge for a long time. You can imagine me cooking noodles and whatever else every day just so I could use up everything as soon as possible.
I love making this with the daughter, she makes the wontons perfectly everytime.
My girl’s good too, very dainty fingers – not me, all shapes and sizes but never mind, as long as it tastes good. π