In the Kitchen with Lori Keller and Asian Dumplings

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She had me at dumplings.  

When my friend Lori said she made from scratch dumplings for Chinese New Years I was both impressed and wishing for an invite to her kitchen.  I LOVE DUMPLINGS.  I also know that dumplings are a labor of love.   The thought of making them alone is a daunting task but in the company of a good friend, well, it sounds like a good time. 

Using the recipes of Andrea Nguyen and using her book Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More as our guide, last Sunday pre Supersbowl, Lori and I dove into the world of Asian dumplings. 

We made two types of dumplings, wrappers from scratch and a dipping sauce.  It was a lot of work but totally worth it.  

Print

Asian Dumplings

adapted from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Pork Dumplings

• 12 ounces napa cabbage leaves finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup green onions white and green parts, sliced thin
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper or freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 pounds dumpling wrapper recipe

Vegetable Dumplings

• 4 cups lightly packed finely chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup large dried shiitake mushrooms reconstituted and liquid reserved, stemmed, and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup carrot finely diced
• 3 ounces spicy brown pressed tofu finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions white and green parts,sliced thinly

Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Chinkiang
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1 to 3 teaspoons chile oil
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic

Dumpling Wrapper (makes 1 pound)

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup boiled water

Instructions

Pork Filling

1. Dice cabbage finely. In a large bowl, place cabbage and sprinkle with the salt. Let cabbage sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze cabbage and remove excess moisture.
2. Add ginger, onions, pork, pepper, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. Mix until well combined. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to let ingredients meld.

Spinach Tofu Filling

1. In large bowl, wilt spinach by covering spinach with boiling hot water (about 30 seconds), drain, rinse with cold water. Drain cold water and squeeze to remove moisture.
2. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, white pepper, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
3. In a wok or large pan, heat canola oil over medium heat. Add the ginger cook for 30 seconds, Add the spinach, carrot, scallions, mushrooms, and pressed tofu. Add flavoring sauce.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until carrots are tender.
5. Transfer to a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes to let flavors meld.
6. To cook, s
7. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce, either in a communal bowl with a spoon or portioned into individual bowls or dipping sauce dishes. As with all jiǎozi, it is easiest to eat these with chopsticks in one hand and soupspoon or rice bowl in the other, angling the bowl or spoon to catch any drips.

Wrappers

1. Put flour in a a food processor,.
2. With the machine running, add water steadily though feed tube then stop machine. The dough should look rough and feel soft but firm enough to hold its shape when pinched.
3. Add water by the teaspoon or flour by the tablespoon to reach correct consistency then run the machine for another 5 to 10 seconds.
4. Lightly flour a work surface then transfer the dough and any crumbs.
5. Knead the dough with the heel of your hand for about 30 seconds.
6. The dough should be nearly smooth and somewhat elastic; when pressed the dough should slowly bounce back, with a light impression of your finger remaining.
7. Place the dough in a zip-top plastic bag, remove any air and seal tightly.
8. Set aside to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the plastic bag and become earlobe soft.
9. Roll the dough and cut into 16-22 equal part.
10. Roll dumpling into a small circle, do not roll the center and keep it thicker than the edges.

Dumpling Assembly

1. In one wrapper, add about 2 teaspoons of filling to the center of the wrapper. Bring up the bottom side of the wrapper, fold up and press to shape into a half-moon shape. Fold and pinch edges to make a ribbon. Place on baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap or dry towel as you make each dumpling. Make sure that the dumplings do not touch each other on the sheet.
2. Cook immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to several hours.

Steam Cooking

1. In a bamboo steamer, place dumplings on racks over boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes, or until slightly puffed and somewhat translucent. Remove from trays.

Fry Cooking

1. Heat a frying pan on high heat until smoking. Add 3-4 tablespoons of sesame oil (about 1/8 of inch of oil should cove the pan). Heat oil and turn the temperate to medium.
2. Add dumplings and cook on each side and bottom for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until lightly golden brown. Dumplings will burn quickly, so watch them closely.

Dipping Sauce

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined.

Not only were the dumplings interesting to make, so was talking with Lori.  

A bit about Lori…

When cooking together our conversation topics ranged from our exercise goals for 2016 to what the heck is going on in The Leftovers.  Do you watch the Leftovers?  What are your theories? (leave them in the comments..so we can discuss).   I had a great time cooking and talking with Lori.  Now lets talk about the Leftovers (dumplings and the TV show).