Dumplings - a work in progress

[redsnake05]

So, it's autumn here where I live, and a Snake's thoughts turn to carbohydrates. I had the urge to make dumplings, so I kind of half-invented dumplings cooked potsticker style but with a vaguely Eastern European-ish flavour. Precise, I know.

This recipe is vegetarian, and vegan if made with soy (or nut etc) milk and oil


First, I made my filling:
1 Tbs butter or oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped green beans (but practically any green vege would do, chopped up small)
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp paprika
soy sauce or salt to taste, chopped spring onion if desired

Saute the garlic over low heat, add the paprika and stir well. Heat must be low or the paprika will burn. Add mushrooms and beans and cook for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomato and cook until most of the tomato liquid has evaporated and the beans and mushrooms are cooked. Add salt or soy sauce to taste, and chopped spring onion. Divide into five portions and leave to cool

Then I made the dumplings. This made five dumplings that fit on my palm:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk (I used soy)
1 1/2 Tbs butter
Sift flour and baking soda together and make a well in the centre. Melt together the butter and milk and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed. Roll or pat out into five circles (okay, mine were more like oblongs, but who cares?). Put one portion of filling into the middle (adjust the amount of filling to suit your dumpling sizes - any left over veges will find a home in something) and fold up. I am not great at folding (see question below)

Then I cooked them:
1 Tbs oil
2/3 cup water mixed with a little tomato paste and a splash of balsamic vinegar
Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, heavy bottomed pot and place the dumplings in, preferably not overlapping. Add water/tomato/vinegar mix, cover and leave to simmer for ten minutes. I ended up with a little too much liquid in mine, so they weren't really stickery on the bottoms, but still delicious.

Now, the questions. I am sure many of you have experience with dumplings, while I am very much a beginner. Tell me, what is a good way to wrap up your fillings so that there is not a huge wodge of dumpling on the top, and also so they don't fall apart. I kind of wrapped mine up like an origami envelope, but I feel I am missing something. Second, we do not routinely eat dumplings where I live, but I love and adore them. What are some other inventive ways of filling and cooking them? (I'm vegetarian, but feel free to include your favourite meat recipes, I will still read them with interest)

Comments

[stripped]

We make our dumplings with wonton wrappers from the store. I like them because the thin skin means that I can eat a few of them (I'm pre-diabetic and diet controlled, so my carb intake is severely inhibited). We always end up with extra skins after we make dumplings, and we put a dollop of peanut butter and three dark chocolate chips in, then seal and pan fry them.

The way we seal our dumplings is to fold them into a half circle, then crimp the top half of the circle while pressing to the bottom half (water around the edges to help seal it up). It's a fairly traditional way, at least here.

Our favorite vegetarian filling is hard to define as a recipe; we make it up as we go along. Basic ingredients are shredded carrot, finely chiffonaded bok choy, fresh ginger, squooshed garlic, enoki mushrooms... all stir fried with soy sauce to taste at the end. Sometimes a little chili oil if I'm not making them for my friend who can't eat spicy foods.

[redsnake05]

I have made these kinds of dumplings with the thin square wrappers too, and they are delicious. I used to even be able to do the Chinese folds to seal it at the top, but I haven't done it for a while. You have inspired me to find some wrappers sometime very soon and spend some time with them. I love made-up-as-you-go-along fillings.

[troisroyaumes]

This cookbook has a number of different techniques on wrapping dumplings.

[redsnake05]

Thank you! I will see if I can find it at the local library, or interloan it.

[explorer0713]

I was going to mention a different dumpling-themed cookbook:

The Dumpling - A Seasonal Guide by Wai Hon Chu & Connie Lovatt
Published by HarperCollins

900+ pages of everything anyone could possibly dream up about dumplings, covering multiple cuisine types.

[redsnake05]

900+ pages of dumplings sounds like heaven. Thanks for the rec.

[existence]

Wrapping temperature filling does mean a lot, I've found: whatever you're using, I find it helps to keep it on the cool side while you're making up the dumplings.

[redsnake05]

Yes, I imagine it's a little like pastry in that respect, and would hold together better when a little stiff and chilly and with a cool filling. Thank you!

[via_ostiense]

I second the recommendation of Andrea Nguyen's book; my friends and I had a dumpling-making party recently and the results were delicious! The pineapple dumpling/tart recipe is particularly good. The companion site for the book has how-to posts and videos.

As for filling dumplings, it helps to use less filling than you think you'll need. Most recipes call for 1 to 1.5 tsp of filling, which looks pathetically little when you scoop it out and plop it into the wrapper, but it ends up being just right when you cook it, and it makes the wrapper easier to seal.

[redsnake05]

A dumpling-making party sounds fantastic. It has all the best party qualities, and there is delicious food built in. What more could you want? Thanks for the link, that book does look good and I am sure the companion site will be awesome too

[silverflight8]

Um, the way my family does it is to buy the wrappers - but you can also make them with hot water and flour. (I've never learned the quantities; it's something like "a few cups of flour and sufficient water". :P) Then you make the wrappers thin by rolling them out in small circles (the hot water keeps them from shrinking inwards), a little bit smaller than a mug would be, I guess. Then put the filling in the middle, in sort of a round shape, and moisten the edges with water (just dip a finger in water). Fold it in half so it's in a D shape, squeeze the edges together, and then just be careful when you boil them. Since they're so time consuming sometimes they're just frozen, and then taken out when you want to eat them.

...I don't think you and I cook dumplings the same way; I boil them in plain hot water. And I don't cook the filling inside before cooking them. I eat my dumplings with possibly way too much soy sauce and vinegar. :P

[redsnake05]

I have never made thin dumpling wrappers, though I have used them. I am impressed. With thin wrappers, I don't cook the fillings either, but thick dumplings need it, I think. Soy sauce and vinegar make dumplings awesome!

[zarhooie]

When I make filled dumplings, I use a Ravioli Form because they turn out uniform, and tend to be a lot easier.

[redsnake05]

Oooh, how sneaky and clever. They would look so perfect coming out of that.

[zarhooie]

I've got one like that, with the metal instead of the plastic. It costs a bit more, but it won't break or warp after use.