Les Petits Chefs make potstickers and scallion pancakes with Vanessa Yeung

I couldn’t NOT ask Vanessa Yeung to come and work with the boys this term. She has come to teach the boys TEN times before (that deserves some kind of medal, no?).  She is known as “the chef who makes the awesome dumplings” and is one of the boys’ favourite guest chefs.

For this, her ELEVENTH visit, we went back to “basics” making one of Vanessa’s most popular dishes – ginger chicken potstickers – along with some scallion pancakes. Lots of jobs to keep lots of hands busy!

“Team pancake” got busy with their recipe, making a thick batter…

Meanwhile, the green onions were chopped (fairly) finely…

… and folded into the batter…

This rolls into a more bread-like dough and is cut into even pieces…

(well, even-ish pieces!)

Then rolled out into rounds and rolled like a jelly roll…

Finally the pancakes were ready for frying!

(don’t you love how the new black countertops make everything look so much messier 😉  )

The pancakes are fried to crispy and cut into pieces…

SO good!

Meanwhile, over on “Team Dumpling” the boys prepared the chicken filling…

The boys discovered that the filling ingredients are so much easier to mix up evenly with their hands!

And then Vanessa showed them how to fold the dumplings… Always an *interesting* part of the session!

As with anything like this, it’s hard to get the amount of filling just right. I’m always tempted to over-fill these which then means they are less likely to seal properly. As always, it’s a learning process for everyone!

A couple of the boys were in charge of frying/ steaming these independently with just a little bit of help from Vanessa – was pretty impressed with their “can do” attitude. Honestly, even if it’s going to make a little bit more mess, you really just have to give kids a go in the kitchen – they’ll figure stuff out pretty quickly when they are involved in hands-on learning (with a snack as a reward!).

The afternoon’s spoils?

I can assure you that most of the parents didn’t see one of these. Many of them didn’t even make it past the door of the lab, let alone out of the school! Always a good sign!

Vanessa, we’re SO appreciative of your generosity (and patience!). My programme could not exist without people like you and we’re so grateful.  Read more about the classes Vanessa offers at Aphrodite Cooks.

Read more about Vanessa’s work with the Petits Chefs here:
Vanessa Yeung makes Soi Gau and Ginger Chicken Potstickers with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes Siu Mi and Mango Salad with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes Bison and Pork dumplings and Coconut Tarts with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes Cold Rolls and BBQ pork and chicken crisps with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes potstickers and steamed dumplings with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes steamed buns with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes chicken and shrimp potstickers with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes potstickers and mango salad with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes classic dumplings with Les Petits Chefs
Vanessa Yeung makes basic tomato sauce (and pizzas!) with Les Petits Chefs

Save