Day: February 5, 2013

Dumplings are important part of the Chinese New Year menu. They are considered lucky because they resemble ancient Ming dynasty coins, silver and gold ingots called yuan bao. Dumplings symbolize wealth and hopes for a profitable future. Some cooks will hide a gold coin in a dumpling. The person who finds the coin will find good fortune in the new year, as long as they don’t bite down or swallow the coin!

Dumplings can be steamed, boiled or pan fried and can be wrapped in various styles. The wrappers are easily found in most supermarkets, usually near the produce section. Wonton wrappers are square and gyoza wrappers are round. I find the thickness of either depends on the manufacturer. Last year, needing a new challenge, I learned how to make my own. The dough is very simple, just flour and water, either cold or very hot, I had better results with the very hot water.  Chinese cooks prefer Gold Medal all purpose bleached flour for dumpling making, its slightly lower gluten content produces the best results. Higher gluten flour produces a less than ideal tough chewy skin.

I like to make my filling first, preferably the day before I am filling the dumplings. Chilling makes it easier to handle and portion between the dumplings. For the dumpling wrapper recipe I chose to weigh my flour for the most accurate results. A cup of flour weighs 4.5 ounces, so 10 ounces is a generous two cups. I made my dough in the food processor, adding the just-boiled water slowly until it was absorbed by the flour. Because of the extremely dry conditions that day, I am certain the dough absorbed a bit more water than what would be typical  Place the dough in a quart bag to let the gluten in the dough relax for at least an hour. Dumpling wrappers are rolled out the same way as the pork bun dough was in this post. After struggling with a standard rolling pin, Joe made me a small one that made the task much easier.

I made two varieties, potstickers and beggars purses. Potstickers are just that, dumplings that are browned on the bottom in a little oil first. Water is added to the pan, a lid is put on the pan and steam finishes them in the second part of the process. Dumplings of any variety can be frozen for future snacking. Just remember to spread the uncooked dumplings out on a lightly greased cookie sheet, making sure the dumplings are not touching. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for several hours. Now the dumplings can be stored in freezer bags until you are ready to use them. Partially thaw before cooking the dumplings.

Dumpling Dough

from Asian Dumplings, author  Andrea Nguyen

Ingredients

• 10 oz (2 cups appx.)  all purpose flour
• 3/4c very hot water

Directions

1. Weigh or measure out your flour and add to food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade.
2. With the machine running, slowly add the water through the feed tube allowing it to be absorbed by the flour until a ball is formed. Do not over process!
3. Place the ball of dough onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.
4. Place the dough ball in a quart-sized bag and seal. Let dough rest for at least an hour
5.  After the rest, pull out the dough and cut it into 4 roughly equal sections. Roll each section into a 1-inch thick log, then cut each log into 9 pieces. Shape each piece into a thick coin or disc. Lightly flour the top and bottom of each disc.
6. I placed my discs between the front and back of a cut up quart sized freezer bag and stamped down with my marble mortar to make a circle.
7. Use a dowel rolling pin to press on just the outer edges of the disc. Roll back and forth once, then rotate the disc. Roll, rotate. Roll, rotate. Add a little flour if necessary to keep it from sticking and tearing.
8. You don’t want to make your wrappers too thin.They need to be thick enough to hold whatever filling you’re going to put in it. The final dumpling skin should be just over 3 inches in diameter. This recipe should make about 36 wrappers. Cover wrappers with plastic until using.

 

 

 Pork and Shrimp Filling for Potstickers

From Fine Cooking #103

Ingredients

• 2 c finely chopped napa cabbage
• 8 oz. ground pork
• 8 oz. peeled, deveined raw shrimp, coarsely chopped
• 3 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
• 1T grated fresh ginger
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 t toasted Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 36 very thin, 3-inch circular, store-bought pot sticker or gyoza wrappers
• 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

Directions

For the filling

1. In a medium bowl, toss the cabbage with 2 teaspoons salt and set aside for 30 minutes to release moisture. Wring out in a clean kitchen towel to extract as much liquid as possible.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage with the pork, shrimp, scallions, garlic, Shaoxing, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir until well mixed. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes and preferably overnight.

To form the dumplings

1. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons of the filling onto a dough wrapper, fold it in half, and make your first pinch at the center of the curved edge and then pleat toward the center on both sides to create a rounded belly. This wider shape allows the dumplings to sit upright in the pan and form a flat surface for browning.
2. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. As you work, arrange the filled dumplings in a single layer without touching on large plates, so they don’t stick together.
3.  Heat 2 Tbs. vegetable oil in a heavy-duty 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working quickly and in batches if necessary (adding more oil for the second batch if needed), arrange the dumplings belly side down in concentric circles starting from the outer edge. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Pour in about 1/2 cup water or enough to come about a third of the way up the sides of the dumplings, bring to a boil, cover, and cook until all of the water has been absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking just until the dumplings are dry and crisp on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes. Loosen the dumplings from the pan with a spatula.
5. Invert the pan over a plate to flip the dumplings, browned side up, onto the plate (or transfer with a spatula). Serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauce.