Skill Share Dinner - Chinese Dumplings

Thank you to all who came to such a great evening of dumpling making taught by Lisa Song (with her own recipe!). Note the finished dumpling I'm holding in my hand.

Vegetarian Chinese Dumpling Recipe

Ingredients
** means you probably need to buy from an Asian food store

** shittake mushrooms (usually comes dried)
** dried tiger lily buds

** cloud ear fungus, also known as "black fungus" or wood ears/tree ears
[pictured right: dried version on left, soaked version that's ready to eat on the right. When soaked it expands and becomes soft]

** glass noodles, aka Chinese vermicelli or bean thread noodles (comes packaged as dried)

** dried tofu sticks, aka "fu zhu sticks" (basically it's dried tofu rolled into sheets and scrunched up into logs)

green cabbage
carrots
scrambled eggs
raw egg
** prepared dumpling skins/wrappers (store-bought or homemade). To make your own, combine flour and water into dough. Let sit ~1 hour before using. To prevent having leftover dough or filling, the total volume of the dough should be about equal to total volume of the filling

(To make your own, combine flour and water into dough. Let sit ~1 hour before using. To prevent having leftover dough or filling, the total volume of the dough should be about equal to total volume of the filling).

VOLUMES: it's basically impossible to give exact measurements, but I give some tips in the directions

DIRECTIONS:

24 hours before making dumplings

1. Soak mushrooms and black fungus (to make enough dumplings for 2-4 people: total volume = 1 small bowl after both are soaked through). Cut off the mushroom stalks. Then wash off the dirt.

Several hours before making dumplings

2. Soak tiger lily buds and dried tofu sticks in cold water (or warm water if you do this an hour beforehand).

Just before making dumplings

3. Boil mushrooms and black fungus for 1 minute. Soak in cold water, then drain completely (squeeze out all the water). Boil glass noodles for 1 minute, then place in cold water. Drain once it's cool.

4. Chop/mix the cabbage and carrots in the food processor. Squeeze out the extra water using cheesecloth. Chop/mix everything else (except the raw egg) in the food processor. The total volume should be about equal to the volume of the cabbage/carrot mix.

5. Mix everything together in a large bowl, then beat in raw egg. Add salt, vegetable oil and a dash of sesame oil.

6. Wet the outer edge of the dumpling wrappers before filling. Drop filling in middle of open dumpling wrapper, and fold in half. Look into all the neat ways of folding dumplings!

General tip: try to drain the water out of everything as much as possible. You don't want the filling to end up soupy.

If using meat, get the meat chopped first (before step 3), then beat in raw eggs. Add the other ingredients to this mix and proceed as before.

TO COOK

Boil the dumplings for a few minutes in a pot of water (only for the structurally sound dumplings!). You can also steam or fry them in a little oil. Eat with soy sauce or vinegar.

We enjoyed ours!!!