Dumplings - a work in progress
Apr. 4th, 2011 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redsnake05 in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
omnomnomSo, 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)
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)