Dumplings
Submitted by Fengxiao
Behind the Dish
Fengxiao’s memories of dumplings go back as far as she can remember. In Heng Shui, China, where she grew up, dumplings were something to look forward to for festivals like Chinese New Year, the New Moon Festival and the Early Spring Festival.
Holidays brought days off from work and this meant that everyone could pitch in and make dumplings. Everybody had work to do. Fengxiao’s Mom and her sister washed and chopped the vegetables. Fengxiao rolled out the dough to make the dumpling wrappers because she was the fastest at doing this. Her Mom and sister put the filling in the wrappers, and finally, her Dad first boiled the dumplings in a heavy pot and then stir-fried them.
For the dipping sauce, Fengxiao’s family used the customary Chinese dark vinegar mixed with just a few drops of sesame oil – far more fragrant, she finds, than if more is used.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the dumpling filling:
6 dried Shitake mushrooms, found in Asian markets
5 – 6 dried black “Wood Ear” fungus, small size, found in Asian markets
About ½ cup of shredded carrots
1/4th of a section of a Chinese (Napa) cabbage, shredded
About 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
1 small leek, white and most of the green part, carefully washed and then chopped
½ teaspoon of sesame oil
3 Tablespoons avocado oil, processed for high temperature cooking
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 Szechuan peppercorns
Directions
Preparation of the filling:
In separate bowls: Soak the Shitake mushrooms in one bowl and soak the “Wood Ear” fungus in another bowl. DO NOT SOAK MORE than one hour. Remove the Shitake mushrooms and the “Wood Ear” from the bowls of water, rinse them and drain thoroughly.
In a blender, blend each of the following ingredients separately and then put aside: the Shitake mushrooms, the “Wood Ear” fungus, and finally, the carrots.
Preparing for the stir fry:
To flavor the wok: Warm avocado oil in a wok. Put in the 6 Szechuan peppercorns and then take them out when they turn dark.
Add in the chopped leeks and continue stirring until they turn slightly brown.
Add Shitake mushrooms in the wok and cook until they give out oil.
Add in a teaspoon of soy sauce.
Add “’Wood Ear” fungus and cook for one minute. Add sesame oil and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
Add carrots and cook until they are no longer moist.
Take the wok off the heat. Then add sesame oil and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
While the stir fry is cooling off, chop the quarter portion of the cabbage into small pieces and grind it fine in the blender. Squeeze out any liquid from the cabbage and add it to the stir fry mixture.
The mixture is now ready for the wrappers.
Follow along with Fengxiao’s step-by-step instructions in this video!