Tag Archives: dumplings

Asulia at Whole Foods Charles River Plaza

I love living in The Bean. One of the things that I love about Boston is how accessible everything is, including grocery shopping. Off the red line at MGH, Whole Foods Charles River Plaza is one of the best locations to get everything you need.

I’m ecstatic that Asulia’s taro root, kale and chick pea dumplings are now available in the freezer aisle at Charles River Plaza Whole Foods!

When I used to work in the financial district, I would walk to Whole Foods Charles River Plaza at lunch time to pick up lunch and or groceries for my newest kitchen adventure. It was a treat to get out and escape from work and the gym, where I was indoors in a basement doing yoga. A lovely, well-lit studio, but I preferred shopping and lunching at Whole Foods instead!

In the past, when I didn’t know what to do with my vegetable obsession (#vod), I’d go to my happy place — the produce section — for inspiration and dream of a day I could make a career in food. Well, I’m happy and humbled to see it come full circle.

Thank you for your continued support. We have added lots of new stores to the list and we have some fun event coming up. Come say hi!

Get Dumplings at Formaggio Kitchen, South End Boston

Great News!  Starting 11/20/13 11/19/13 Asulia dumplings will be available for sale in the freezer section at Boston’s Formaggio Kitchen South End!

We’re so excited – this is our first store!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, our dumplings make great appetizers to compliment your feast with friends and family. Pair with Comté, our favorite cheese at Formaggio, for a savory treat that will delight your guests.

We’re ecstatic that you will be able to buy our taro root and chickpea dumplings from one of Boston’s most beloved specialty food stores!

More store announcements to come soon.

Crowdfunding Update: Week 2

Our crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo is at almost at 15% of our goal! Please keep spreading the word by forwarding our newsletter, posting, reposting or liking our posts on FaceBook, and tweeting info out to your followers on Twitter. Here are some things you can copy and paste for use. We have until 10/17. Let’s launch Asulia together!

I’m thankful for your support. I read every email, text, and tweet you send along!

In other news, I’m pitching our healthy vegetarian dumplings to stores around Boston. I can’t wait to finalize details and look forward to announcing when you can get your own Asulia dumplings at a store near you! In the interim, you can get dumplings shipped directly to you by supporting our Indiegogo fundraising campaign.

Come Taste Asulia Dumplings in Copley Square 10/5/2013

On 10/5, Asulia will be in Copley Square for the Let’s Talk About Food Festival. Come say hi and sample Asulia’s fusion kale, taro and chickpea dumplings.

Find us under the Whole Foods tent with three other YouthTrade certified companies. The event is free and includes things like chef demos, food sampling, talking about food, and and opportunity to share your own food related stories. See a complete schedule here. I’m excited about this Saturday and can’t wait to see you there!

dumpling debut

Wednesday, 9/18 was the first official public Asulia dumpling tasting held at MIT’s Innovation Series “From Farm to Tablet”.  That morning, I dropped my mom off at the airport at 5am. I’ve done this many times before, but that day felt different. I was extra concerned about her safety as she leaves for a month overseas. I got choked up because, not only does she mean the world to me, but also because I want her to be able to continue to see that her decision to become my mom was not for nothing.

Then, I was nonstop all day. Kinda of surprising huh? A dumpling tasting that lasted an hour and a half took a full day of prep! I had to pick up fresh veggies, coordinate with my graphic designer, pick up the Indiegogo info cards from the printer, buy napkins and a table cloth, pack, eat something, and, oh, shower! There wasn’t an oven on site, so I found a friend that lived close by and borrowed hers. I couldn’t have pulled it off without my crew of 3 amazing ladies.

It was awesome to sample to the Boston and MIT community. Over 100 people stopped by Asulia’s table to try our our chickpea dumplings, kale dumplings, and taro root dumplings. People loved the taste of the fusion dumplings and wanted to hear more about Asulia and my story. They couldn’t believe the average calorie count is only 44 per dumpling. Many can back a 2nd and 3rd time for more dumplings! I loved seeing people’s faces as they bit into the dumplings and hearing their comments. Instant feedback! I can’t wait to do more demos and share my dumplings with more people.
Special thanks to Suzanne Brendle, Sarah Howes, and Taylor Rose for assisting!
Sue Liang, Asulia Foods

Sue Liang of Asulia Foods setting up for the MIT Dumpling Tasting

2 Recent Projects Completed at Asulia

asuliablog-2 recent projects completed at asulia

Asulia Dumpling Packaging

We launched Asulia’s new website! The design process, including packaging design, has been months in the making, and I’m so excited that the design portion is all set now. Two major projects have been completed. Only a million more to go.

This journey so far has been more rewarding than I ever thought it would be, and I know it’s only just the beginning. As an entrepreneur, you really hit the highest of the highs and lows I’m thankful to be able to come through. My days are often challenging on all fronts, from bootstrapping everything to learning new things quickly. Time seems to fly by because of all the work that I need to do. I can’t tell you how often I find it’s suddenly the afternoon and I’m still in my pajamas and haven’t eaten anything. My new goal is to create a standing desk so I can get a work out in no matter what. As I write this post, I’m at a makeshift standing ‘desk’, a stack of storage boxes! On the plus side, I did manage to eat brunch today :)

asuliablog-2 recent projects completed at asulia

Next on the list is getting things lined up for Asulia’s Kickstarter fundraising campaign to go live. Dumpling packaging is finalized, Asulia’s video is back in the editing room, and I’m working on rewards. Sourcing custom-made things for rewards without knowing exact quantities has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. I feel fortunate to have the help and support of my advisors and friends as issues like this come up.

Stay tuned for more on our Kickstarter campaign!

Kale, a look into the leaves and kale smoothie recipe

Kale

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables and I wanted to be sure to use it in my products. That’s why we make kale dumplings.

There’s more to kale than meets the eye. This highly nutrient dense vegetable gives you more bang for the buck than your average green leaves. Let’s break down the numbers. One cup of chopped kale has 33 calories, 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a get this, 684% of vitamin K! Kale is also packed with phytonutrients, flavonoids, copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Move over multi-vitamin, I’d rather eat kale than pop another horse pill. I’m no MD, but I believe that we’re made to eat food and get our nutrients by making use of our chompers.

Kale is versatile. You can put it in anything and everything – including dumplings! I love that Dr. Drew Ramsey loves kale. You could call him a kalexpert. In his new book, 50 Shades of Kale, he shares recipes using kale you probably never thought about, like cocktails! I thought I was using kale in everything, and he outdid me.

It’s possible that kale can make you look better too. Beauty starts from the inside. Bobbi Brown is known for her line of make-up but I came across her coconut kale smoothie and it sounds delish. I can’t wait to try it out!

Here’s my Kalefull Smoothie recipe I use on a regular basis.  When I don’t drink a green smoothie in the morning, I notice  I don’t have as much energy, feel a bit unsatisfied and therefore get hungry more easily.

Sue’s Kale-full Smoothie
1 cup packed, chopped kale
1/2 a banana
1 wedge of lemon
1/2  an apple
1 scoop of original vega or pea protein
1/4 cup mango juice or berries
1 – 1 1/2 cup of water
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp flaxseed

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy! I’m in need of a new blender though. If you have a suggestion on what blender I should pick up, let me know!

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Dumpling Preparations

Dumpling test run - Taro Root Dumpling Filling

Dumpling test run – Taro Root Dumpling Filling

I ran a large-scale test batch run of dumplings earlier in this week. That’s the filling for the Taro Root Dumplings pictured above.

I’ve never cooked a few hundred pounds of dumpling filling before! I found that I needed to adjust my recipes a bit. The dumpling recipes are final now, so next up is working on new nutrition labels.

 

I’m also planning a crowdfunding campaign. I’m self-funded so far, but I will need to raise money.

I had a meeting with Jill Rosenwald about the possibility of co-creating a special line pottery for Asulia’s kickstarter supporters, that you can serve dumplings on. So fun! I love Jill’s work.