Food / 20 January, 2019 / My Baba

Shiitake and Chive Dumplings

(Makes 20–25 Dumplings)
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients

• 225g plain flour
• 130–150ml hot water
• vegetable oil, for frying

The Filling

• 50g rice vermicelli noodles
• a handful of coriander
• 1 spring onion
• a thumb-size piece of ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, soaked and drained
• 200g Chinese chives or garlic shoots
• 5 pak choi leaves
• 1 leaf of Chinese leaf cabbage

The Marinade

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• ½ tablespoon cornflour

The Dipping Sauce

• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons Chinkiang black rice vinegar
• a thumb-size piece of ginger, finely sliced
  Method

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl. Gradually add the water, mixing with a fork to form a dough, then knead it on a lightly dusted surface for 5 minutes until slightly elastic.
2. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1–2mm, then use a 70mm diameter circular cutter to cut out as many pastries as possible. Set the pastries aside on a baking sheet or tray and cover with a tea towel until needed.
3. For the filling, put the noodles in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak for 3 minutes. Drain and dry the noodles on a clean kitchen towel, then finely chop them along with all the other filling ingredients. Put the chopped filling ingredients in a bowl along with the marinade ingredients and mix together well.
4. Combine the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl or ramekin and wrap the dumplings.
   Half-fill a large pot, wok or deep-fryer with vegetable oil and heat to 180°C (350°F), or until the tip of a wooden chopstick or skewer starts to fizz after a second or so in the oil.
5. Carefully add the dumplings in batches of no more than 10 and deep-fry for 3 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the dumplings carefully with a slotted spoon and drain well on a plate covered with kitchen paper. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
6. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each circle of dough. Fold the bottom centre over the filling to form a semicircle and pinch the top tight.
7. Pinch the two corners of the semicircle together leaving two symmetrical ‘Mickey Mouse ear’ shapes between your centre fold and the corner folds.
8. Now pinch the ‘ears’ in towards you to make four layered folds.
9. Tidy up to create a ‘half-moon’ shape and arrange on a plate.

Recipe taken from Chinese Unchopped by Jeremy Pang

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