Samples provided for review. This post contains an Amazon Associates link.

Ever read a book that changes your life?

I did, and mine was about dumplings.

The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken is a memoir by food writer Laura Schenone, who decides one Christmas to make an authentic family ravioli recipe. When she finds an ingredient on her grandmother’s recipe card that seems out of place — where in northern Italy would you find Philadelphia cream cheese? — she begins a search that makes her learn more about dumplings, Italian cooking, and her own family than she ever thought possible. It’s a really well-written food history that’s also a family history, that’s stayed with me for several years..

There’s one passage in particular where she talks about all the countries that have their own dumplings, and how universally loved they are: no matter what country you’re in, they taste like home, and like love. After all, dumplings are tricky to make, and take time and care to prepare. Dumplings are a special-occasion food.

Having lived in Ukraine and South Korea, I have tried many different kinds of dumplings, each delicious in their own way. When Bibigo offered to send me samples of their dumplings — ready-made Korean food for a Western audience — I wanted to see how their potstickers compared with the mandu I remembered from street vendors in Korea.

Unlike the dumplings I had in Korea — which were usually filled with things like kimchi, rice noodles, meat, ginger, and green onions — these were adapted to Western tastes. They come in Pork and Vegetable, Chicken and Vegetable, Chicken and Cilantro, and BBQ Chicken flavors.

Despite the difference in fillings, seeing the charming little dumpling shapes took me back nearly a decade, to my travels through Asia.

The potstickers and wontons are fully cooked, can be found in the frozen food section of select supermarkets, and are ridiculously easy to prepare: just microwave, boil, or fry them for less than 10 minutes. Here are some potstickers I microwaved for a quick lunch, with a side of dipping sauce.

If you want to get a bit more greens with your dumplings, try adding chopped scallions, along with Sriracha and oyster sauce, for additional flavor. You could also serve them with a side of fried garlic and bok choy in soy sauce, to get your vegetables.

However you prepare them, Bibigo wontons and potstickers are delicious, filling, and easy to cook — all the taste of a special treat, without all the fuss and hard work. I highly recommend them!

Look for Bibigo products in select supermarkets — and at your local Asian market. You can also follow them on Facebook and YouTube!

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Catherine

Catherine has been blogging since the 1990s, and has cooked in kitchens on 3 continents. She loves incorporating ingredients from her travels across the US and world... with varying degrees of success. Join her as she makes messes in the kitchen and tries to clean them up.

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