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BOUNTIFUL -- The request for Chinese cooking lessons was simple: "After adopting our daughter Olivia from China in 2001, our family has tried to learn more about Chinese culture," Susan Hunt wrote. "We love to celebrate Chinese holidays, but we have to get takeout food because I don't know how to cook any Chinese dishes. I would love to join an expert in Chinese cooking to learn recipes that I can cook to make our Chinese celebrations more meaningful."
We asked Meiling Dawson if she would be the expert. Self-taught and with a good start from her mother in Taiwan, Dawson gives cooking lessons in the kitchen of Ace Hardware's Bountiful store and at Orson H. Gygi in South Salt Lake.
The reply was gracious. Although Meiling Dawson's eldest daughter's wedding was imminent, she said a cooking lesson would be her pleasure.
"Chinese food means a sharp knife and a lot of chopping, then cooking with hot oil," she mused, thinking about Olivia in the kitchen.
"But I will show Susan how to make things that will be fun for Olivia to do."
So on a recent morning, with saved wedding flowers and gifts in the foyer, Meiling's visiting parents from Taiwan, Hai-Tong Chen and Chuan-Yew Lin Chen, sitting in the living room, and Sterling Dawson getting sons Bryan, 13, and Danny, 11, off to golf class, Olivia and her mother arrived for their cooking lesson.
"We are going to start with pot stickers 'gyoza"," Dawson said as Hunt and Olivia settled on stools in front of the kitchen island.
Dawson had made a head start with the Napa cabbage leaves, green onion and ground pork mixed in a bowl.
"Everything must be fresh in Chinese cooking," Dawson began. She had been to the store early that morning to have the butcher grind a fresh pork roast. Her mother, sitting at the kitchen table, nodded in approval. Dawson continued.
"I love Napa cabbage. I use only the leaves; the middle is too crunchy," she said, demonstrating the chopping action. Then she smacked a garlic clove with the side of her knife.
"I have a garlic press, so many gadgets, but I am comfortable using my knife. Less things to wash. My best tools are my hands," and she used them to add sesame oil (Dawson likes Kadoya) and soy sauce (she prefers Kikkoman) to the mix.
Then it was the Hunts' turn.
Taking a package of room-temperature pot-sticker wrappers, Dawson deftly showed mother and daughter how to place filling in the center of the wrapper, fold it in half and use cold water before pinching it together.
"Very important to make sure it is tight or the filling will fall out," she told Olivia, showing Hunt a little fancy folding.
Olivia was focused. First she took a wrapper, then a tablespoon of filling. Wetting her fingers in a bowl of cold water, she dampened the edges of the wrapper and pressed them together.
"Looking good. I like it," Dawson said to Olivia. To Hunt, she said, "Your daughter is very patient. I think that is part of Chinese character."
When 15 wrappers were filled, Dawson put the gyoza in a heated, slightly oiled, nonstick frying pan to brown the bottoms. She lifted one or two to check the color until she was satisfied.
"Now they are browned on the bottom, we are going to steam them," she said. Holding the frying pan lid in one hand, she poured about a half-cup of water into the pan and quickly covered it with the lid.
While the pot stickers cooked, Olivia and Hunt kept on filling wrappers. Dawson made dipping sauce with soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, water and chopped green onion. (See recipes.)
"Pot stickers are very old in China," she mused. "In the very old days, for a celebration, they used to stick a small gold nugget in one. If your pot sticker had the nugget, it meant good luck."
Each plate on the kitchen table was set with chopsticks and fork and had a separate dish for dipping sauce.
Olivia gave the chopsticks a try. Then she resorted to her fingers.
"I think she likes them," Dawson said to Hunt, savoring Olivia's delight with the gyoza.
Hunt and Dawson traded stories.
"My husband and I have three children. Our two girls are adopted; the eldest was born in San Diego and Olivia was born in China. They are nine months apart. Our biological son is 2 1/2," Hunt said. A lawyer, as is her husband, she added things are never dull at their house.
"But it is wonderful to be able to do something special with each one," she said.
Dawson, born in Taiwan, met her husband there. They married when he was in the military. When they moved to the states, he was stationed in several places.
"I love it here in Bountiful. My sisters live in the San Francisco Bay Area. When our parents come from Taiwan, they stay longer in California than here and I go to visit everyone," Dawson said.
With the pot stickers finished, the next course was shrimp lo mein.
Dawson had purchased raw medium peeled shrimp along with ground pork and put them in a marinade of cornstarch and cooking wine. She also had cooked a package of dried linguine noodles.
"You can use Chinese egg noodles or dry white noodles, but I love 'Italian" linguine. I like Asian stores, like the Great China Market, but I also try to buy things for my cooking classes that don't require people going to Salt Lake to shop."
Dawson explained the importance of having ingredients ready before you start cooking.
"I slice onions in half circles and put them on a plate next to shredded carrots and bean sprouts. I cook the shrimp until they change color and put them aside. I cook carrots and onions in chicken broth, then put everything, including noodles, together and add sauce," she said, pouring a little soy sauce into the nonstick wok. She put her hand about three inches over the wok to see if it was hot.
"I have a lot of woks. This is best because instead of 'handles" on each side, one side has a long handle . . . makes it easier to stir."
Dawson added a little oyster sauce to the pot, then a little more soy sauce.
"I have exact recipes for my students. When I cook at home, I don't measure," she said.
The shrimp lo mein was approved by all.
And then there was ham fried rice.
"Rice should be made and refrigerated for several hours or overnight if you are going to fry it," Dawson said.
Using the wok, she scrambled eggs and put them aside. Then she cooked onion in hot oil, then added cubed cooked ham, thawed frozen peas and carrots, and then added the cold rice and bean sprouts, topped off with the scrambled eggs.
Olivia dove in; Hunt laughed; Dawson beamed.
"This is my family's favorite," she said.
Contact Judy Magid at magid@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">magid@sltrib.com or 801-257-8608. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@ sltrib.com.
Chinese cooking tips
All ingredients must be fresh
A good quality sharp knife is essential.
Rice needs to sit a day before frying.
Entertaining? Call a Chinese restaurant for rice to go.
Look for a heavy non-stick wok with a long handle.
Put cold oil in a hot pan.
Food should be colorful and pleasing to the eye.
Experts and learners wanted
The Tribune Food section is looking for more learners and experts for its Rent-an-Expert series. We especially need experts willing to teach the cuisines of Japan, Mexico and Poland and those interested in learning more about Chinese, Hawaiian and Southern cooking. We will share your experiences in an upcoming story.
To participate, write a brief description of why you should be chosen and e-mail it to food@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">food@sltrib.com or mail it to The Salt Lake Tribune Food section, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84101.