SENIOR PROJECT 2019
EIGHT VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS
Taken from Helen You's cookbook: The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook
You can discover more of her delicious dumpling recipes by clicking: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EQ2S2VG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup of finely chopped napa cabbage / washed and dried
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels / thawed
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped canned bamboo shoots
1/4 cup finely chopped bok choy / white and green parts
1/2 stalk celery / finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped wood ear mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli / florets and stems
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
RECIPE
1. Wrap the cabbage, corn, carrots, and bamboo shoots in a clean cheesecloth or tea towel and squeeze to wring out excess moisture. In a medium bowl, use your hands to combine the bok choy, celery, mushrooms, broccoli, sesame oil, salt, and pepper, and mix until well blended. Gently fold in the cabbage, corn, carrots, and bamboo shoots, and mix until fully incorporated.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, make the dumplings as instructed: holding a wrapper in your palm, use a fork to add about 1 tablespoon of the filling to the center of the wrapper, then lightly pat down the filling with the fork to get rid of any air bubbles.
3. Fold the dumpling into the round yuan bao shape, lightly squeezing the dumpling to push out any air bubbles. Inspect the dumpling for any holes and pinch them shut. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers.
4. Working in batches, add the dumplings to the pot, 6 at a time. Boil for 2 minutes on high, then reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for 1 minute, then reduce the heat again to medium and cook for 2 more minutes. The dumplings are ready a minute or so after they rise to the surface; their skins will turn puffy. Using a slotted spoon, gently transfer the dumplings to a plate and serve immediately. Bring the water back to a boil over high heat and repeat with the remaining dumplings.
WRAPPERS
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 egg white
RECIPE
1. Mix the dough. For boiled and panfried dumplings: Add the flour to a wide mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Stir in the water and egg white with your fingers. The flour will look shaggy, like biscuit dough; as the dough comes together, run an open palm around the edge of the bowl and fold the flour into the center, spinning the bowl with your other hand as you go, until it all forms a rough clump. It's fine if there are still pockets of dry flour. For steamed dumplings: Add 2/3 cup of the flour to a wide mixing bowl, then stir in the boiling water with chopsticks or a wooden spoon. Mix until the dough forms an elastic, slightly translucent ball. Fold in the remaining flour with your hands, as instructed above, until the dough forms a rough clump.
2. Knead the dough. Coat your work surface with a fine dusting of flour and turn the dough out of the bowl. Dust your hands with flour and shape the dough into a fat log about the width of your hand. Knead the dough by pulsing your hands and wrists into the log and rolling it forward. Then roll it back and push again. Repeat a few times until the log moves easily, adding more flour if it sticks, then spin the log 90 degrees, shape it into a horizontal log again, and knead a few more times, adding more flour if necessary. Use no more flour than you need to keep the dough from drying out.
As you knead, the dough will get firmer and tougher with a texture reminiscent of a gummy bear. It's ready when it's smooth to the tough like the surface of a pearl, not tacky, with no cracks or pockets of dry flour. There may be some lumps. Put the dough back in your work bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Let it sleep for 15-30 minutes. While it relaxes, you can prepare your filling.
3, Knead again. Dust your work surface with a little more flour, then knead it as before. Work out all those lumps; after kneading about then times you should have satin-smooth dough that forms a clean ball you can easily push into, like the gel of a shoe insert.
4. Portion the dough. Form your dough into a log, dust a dough scraper with a little flour, and cut the dough into four equal sections. Roll each section into a log and chop it into six pieces for a total of twenty-four balls of dough, each about an inch in diameter. Toss the balls with a light coating of flour and cover with a lightly moistened towel.
5. Roll the dough into wrappers. Gently smash the balls of dough into flat disks, then lightly roll an Asian0style rolling pin across them to flatten them out a bit more. Hold one disk by its edge and firmly but gently roll your pin from the disk's edge to its center. Roll the same edge a few more times, using more pressure at the edge than at the center. Use your other hand to turn the dough disk and reveal a new edge of the disk; roll again. Continue until all edges are rolled out and the wrapper is about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.