This recipe has not been with me long.
By that, I mean, it's only been in my cooking repertoire for the last four years or so.
And by that, I mean, I've only made versions thereof ... OK, this was the third, or maybe fourth time that I've bothered to make it.
"Why?" you ask?
"Bitch, you seem to be pretty competant in the kitchen. What's with the fact that you've stumbled upon a concept of deliciousness, only to execute it so infrequently?"
I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. Or give you the recipe.
OK, OK. I must admit, on this, the third or fourth attempt I've made at making a vegan(ish) Asian(ish) dumpling soup, things were a lot easier... not due to experience, but because I accidentally picked up the "wrong" dumpling wrappers at our local Woolworths. "Wrong" in that they weren't the type I'd used before... and quotation-marked because this slip of the hand resulted in a dumpling-making experience which was positively...zen.
Now, I don't doubt that there'll be cynics out there who doubt that a single mispurchase could possibly, in ANY way, shape or form be responsible for transforming a previously mind-breaking dish into a pleasure to make. For them, I recommend choosing standard dumpling / wonton wrappers in the cold-foods section of their supermarket, and following the recipe as follows. I will not be held responsible for the ensuing chaos and possible mental-slash-physical breakdown.
For the rest of us, I absolutely and wholeheartedly recommend using something labelled as "Shanghai Dumpling Wrappers" or approximation thereof. Basically, the "pastry" is thicker, and flour coated. This makes for a malleable, sturdy, and generally more forgiving wrapper - and cuts the prep time for this dish down from more than an hour to around fifteen minutes.
I also discovered on this latest round of Bitch vs. Butterfingers (i.e. my artistic vision battling my lack of coordination) that boiling the dumplings in the soup stock rather than steaming them can save on the heartbreak resulting from your beautifully constructed morsels ripping apart when you try to remove them from the bamboo steamer. Just make sure you squeeze the tops together really well and they'll hold together in a rollicking boil just fine.
I first made this dish as a newly un-vegan-ed piscetarian. For the meat-eaters out there... suck it up. Naaahhh, if you really want you could use about 200g of chicken mince (or pork, if that's your thing) in place of the tofu - although this is pretty "meaty", especially if you go with adding some fish sauce to the veggie mix. You could even use a vegetarian (e.g. Massel) beef stock powder to amp up the soup a bit, thus pleasing everyone at your table. Whichever way you take it, this dumpling soup is sure to be a hit, especially when you tell all and sundry that you made the tasty little bastards yourself.
Dumplings
1 packet of approx. 40 "Shanghai Dumpling Wrappers"
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
250g silken tofu
1 medium sized mushroom, finely diced
2 eggs OR 100g firm tofu, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons coriander, finely chopped
2 chillies, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic chilli sauce
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (optional: omit for vegan version)
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 medium potato, peeled and grated
Soup
Five thin slices fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2L vegetable stock (use whichever sort you prefer)
Soy sauce to taste
2 cups assorted chopped Asianish veggies (I used 1 bok choy, 1/4 red capsicum, and about 10 green beans topped n' tailed then halved)
Method
1. Place the vegetable oil in a wok on the stove and heat over a medium flame. Add the carrot and potato and stir fry for a minute or two. Add the silken tofu (and the firm tofu if you're using it), mushroom, spring onion, coriander, garlic and chilli and stir fry for another two minutes. Add the soy sauce, garlic chilli sauce (and fish sauce if you're using it) and mix well. Add the eggs if you're using them, mix through and allow to just set, then remove the wok from the stove and allow to cool.
2. Once the filling has cooled, the fun begins! Take a dumpling wrapper and place a small amount (say between one and two teaspoons) of filling into the centre of the wrapper. Fold the sides in, then squeeze the top together firmly to seal. Set aside. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
(Can be prepared ahead up until this stage - cover with glad wrap and refrigerate until required).
3. Place the vegetable stock in a large saucepan and add the ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce to taste. Bring to the boil.
4. Place six dumplings into the boiling stock and stir momentarily. Allow the dumplings to cook for about a minute and a half (if you cook them for too long, the wrappers will disintegrate, and you'll be left with gruel rather than the impressive-looking short soup you were hoping for). Remove from the stock with a slotted spoon and set aside. Repeat with remaining dumplings.
5. Drop the veggies into the stock and cook for about a minute - you want them to be brightly coloured and still a bit crisp!
6. Divide the dumplings between serving bowls (three or four depending on how hungry your flock is) and ladle over the stock and veggies. Serve with more freshly chopped coriander, spring onion and chilli if desired.
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