Pork and Jicama Dumplings

It seems ironic to me that many of these weeks, I have written, "I don't like this week's ingredient."  Because, to be honest, there are very few foods in this world that I don't care for.  I am probably one of the world's least picky eaters.  It just so happens that every single one of my "dislikes" has been compared to this baby's size so far!

And here we are again, this week.  Our baby is the size of a large jicama.  And, ever since being introduced to jicama a year or so ago (a new tex-mex restaurant near us uses jicama in their steamed vegetable side dish), I have not been a fan.  If you're not familiar with it, jicama is a root vegetable that looks somewhat like a turnip, and tastes somewhat like a water chestnut.

Most of the recipes for jicama are slaws of various kinds, which I didn't think MJ and I would enjoy.  So when I found a recipe for Asian-style pork and jicama dumplings, I decided to give it a whirl.  Despite the fact that they were labor-intensive, I enjoyed making them and enjoyed eating them even more.  Fortunately for me, the flavors of all the other ingredients masked the taste of the jicama.

Note: if you try making these, I highly recommend you lightly grease the steamer.  I did not, and the first batch of dumplings stuck horribly and had to be discarded (and by "discarded," I mean "test-eaten").  Also, after I steamed them, I pan-fried them to give the outsides a little crunch.  Yummy!