dumplings
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1.25 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
cornstarch (for dusting the work surface)
small bowl of water (for sealing the dumplings)
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup finely sliced cabbage (savoy, napa, or even brussel sprouts)
2 finley sliced green onions
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp vinegar (rice wine vinegar if you have it)
black pepper (to taste, but don't over do it)
first, put the flour and salt in a bowl. the sugar and salt are optional because everyone has their own tastes. i prefer my dumpling skins less sweet so i add salt. if you like it more sweet add the sugar. the flour and water combination on it's own is slightly bland with a hint of sweetness. so add salt or sugar to your taste.
okay. flour and salt in a bowl. with a spoon and working quickly, pour the boiling water over the flour. mix until it's a big lump. it will look scary. dump it out onto the counter top and begin to knead the dough. do be careful as the dough will be hot from the boiling water. knead until it is smooth and only just warm. roll the dough into a uniformly thick log. with this amount of flour you should be able to cut the dough into roughly 18-20 pieces. roll the pieces into balls. lightly dust your work surface. put a dough ball on the surface and lightly dust the ball. take a flat bottomed pot or pan (or tortilla press if you have one) and with a gentle and even pressure, smoosh the dough ball. continue this procedure and stack all the wrappers on a plate. the starch should keep them from sticking.
next mix the pork with all the other junk. take a dumpling skin in your non-dominant hand. place a teaspoon sized lump of the pork filling and place it in the center of the skin. brush a thin amount of water onto just over half of the dumpling skin (i use my fingers) be sure it's a thin layer of water and not sopping wet. also i put the water on the side that is closest to my body because it's easier to close it up that way. now comes the hard part. there are loads of ways to fold these. i suggest googling "folding dumplings" to get some fancy ideas. it's too dificult to explain without pictures. so you can just fold the dumplings in half and pinch the ends closed. or fold in half and use a fork to seal the edges. i generally pleat my edges. it's the same way you'd pleat fabric. in any case. seal the dumplings.
when that's all done heat up a non stick pan over medium heat. add about a tablespoon or two of plain oil. when the oil is hot but not smoking, put your dumplings in. leave them alone. don't flip them over. just let them brown on the one side. when they are just turning golden, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover. leave the heat on medium until there is steam bursting out the sides. then reduce flame to low. i generally let them steam until the water is gone and i can hear the dumplings sizzling again. during this time i usually mix a dipping sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbs vinegar
1 green onion top sliced fine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp water
1 tsp hot sauce (i use rooster sauce. it's asian. it has a rooster on the front. it's like the asian versian of ketchup. i put it on everything)
1 to 2 tsp of sesame oil
take the dumplings out of the pan and enjoy. they are crazy hot out of the pan. and depending on how lean the pork you are using they can drip scalding hot juice on you. oh and if you don't like pork you can use chicken. or you could use ground shrimp. or even a soy paste meat product thingy.
and there you go. dumplings!
oh and i said two recipes didn't i. so for the second. you will probably have leftover dumpling filling. i use this to make rice porridge. in thailand it's called jhok. it's a breakfast thing usually made from leftover boiled rice. it's not just a thai thing. all the asian cultures have their own variation. in it's simplest form it's rice boiled with chicken stock (or veggie stock). when i make mine this is what i use:
1/2 cup white rice (any ole type)
1/2 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup celery chopped
1 tbs grated ginger
2 green onions sliced
water or veggie stock (this is hard to measure. you'll need at least 4 cups. but it depends on how thick you like your soup AND how long you cook it)
any leftover dumpling filling
2 tbs fish sauce (or more to taste)
basically you chuck everything into a pot and set it to boil. once it's boiling let it simmer until the rice just falls apart. i prefer my jhok to be the thickness of a thin oatmeal or clam chowder. after everything is cooked and soft (for me this takes about an hour) i ladle out a bowl ful and garnish with lots of fun asian things:
fried garlic - garlic is grated finely and gently fried in plain oil until golden brown. my mom had a jar of this always full and at the ready by the side of the stove. we put it in all our soups. the oil is nutty and mellow and the garlic is so crunchy and just punches you in the tastebuds.
sliced celery tops and green onions.
a salted duck egg - don't make a face at me. it's delish. if you don't have any of these then you can use a regular raw egg. the soup mostly cooks the egg, so if you can't have raw eggs then don't use one (or use a pasturized one).
rooster sauce - also know as sriracha. you can use sambal olek if you have it. i prefer sriracha.
pickled chilies - i sliced all my thai chilies and chucked them in a jar and covered them with vinegar. i keep them in the fridge. i use this with the sriracha because i love the tang of vinegar.
finely sliced ginger and white pepper are also nice to put in your soup.
and that's it. when i made this last weekend i made so much i was able to have a bowl of it for breaky every day this past week. i have never been so happy to wake up in the morning.
mmmmm.
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