National Dumpling Day!
This is a PSA to love yourself like you love dumplings because dumplings are wonderful.
Except for you, Steve. You're not allowed to love dumplings anymore. Not after last time.
YAY DUMPLINGS!
I can't write a book without dumplings
Can you really blame me? They're delicious. Pan-fried, deep-fried, boiled — there's no wrong way to eat them. Well, actually, there are several wrong ways to eat them, but I'm not getting into that.
One of the best compliments I get from my readers is that they’re hungry after reading my books. Hungry for more adventures? YES. But also hungry for some of the food I describe in my pages.
I mean, here’s a taste from the upcoming 4th book in the Tales of the Swordsman series:
The food was very good.
Li Ming felt the first traces of a smile stretch across his face as he took a second bite of the dumpling. A sharp note of ginger. The tang of the dipping vinegar. The dumpling skin’s crispy tenderness. The hot grease of the fried pork.
He closed his eyes to enjoy the moment, feeling the flavor erupt in his mouth and let out a low grunt of satisfaction. When he opened his eyes again he found the others were staring at him—Tao Jun with a big idiotic grin, and Luoying with an amused smile.
He scowled.
Dumplings are the star of every scene. My very first book, the very first scene, featured dumplings:
“Are you going to eat all those?” she said, eyeing the four remaining dumplings on his plate. “I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Yes,” he said, reaching for another dumpling.
But before his chopsticks reached the plate, the girl made her move. In a motion that was more surprising than swift, she snatched a dumpling from the plate and popped it into her mouth. The shrill laughter of a woman flirting with a merchant cut across the restaurant as though mocking the swordsman.
“Ok, you’re just a kid, so you may not know this: it’s a dangerous thing to come between a man and his dumplings,” Li Ming warned. “I wouldn’t—”
She grinned at him and snatched two more dumplings and shoved them into her mouth.
“What…what…” Li Ming sputtered. “You…you’re paying for more dumplings, you brat!”
The girl, mouth full of dumplings, struggled to chew. Her eyes shone with impish delight.
Here’s to many more adventures featuring my dumpling friends. :)
BONUS:
Here’s a couple of links to great dumpling recipes.
Souped Up Recipes is a fantastic Youtube Channel.
