When you can't eat out in restaurants, you find yourself craving all sorts of food, and you're left with two options: Missing out on all those flavors and tasty dishes, or making them yourself. Though these dumplings do take hours of work, we make a whole bunch in that time and freeze several batches (fully pre-cooked), so that we can enjoy them the same day, and also for a few meals to come. (Though our daughter would make these dumplings and eat them I am sure, every single day, if we allowed it.)
Ingredients:
NOTE: We divide the chopped carrots and leeks in half using one part for the dumpling filling, and one part for the broth. The half that goes inside the dumplings must be minced very finely, while the half that goes in the soup can be chopped into longer matchsticks. See pictures in slideshow for images of both.)
1 large leek chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
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2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon peeled and freshly grated ginger root
1. 5 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms cut into slivers
3/4 pound of ground pork
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons of low-sodium Tamari or soy sauce
4-6 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock
a small handful of torn fresh cilantro for garnish
To prepare:
Broth:
After you have chopped and prepped your vegetables (explained above), simply simmer your leeks, carrots and shiitake mushrooms in the broth for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through but still retain a bit of crunch.
Dumplings:
Mix together well your finely minced carrots and leek with the garlic cloves, freshly grated ginger root, chives, sesame oil and soy sauce. Season with pepper.
Sautee all this together until meat is browned over medium high heat in a skillet, stirring constantly. (About 6-8 minutes).
Remove from heat and let cool.
Meanwhile setup your dumpling making station. You'll want a small finger bowl of water, a large flat plate or tray (or 2, if you're making this together with someone), and your pile of dumpling wrappers. (We have a hard time finding wrappers without eggs, but they do exist.) You'll also want another plate to place your prepared dumplings on. Use parchment paper as a divider between layers of dumplings if you are storing them to freeze. This prevents any sticking together.
Once meat has cooled, make one dumpling at a time by laying one wrapper in the middle of your plate, taking a small teaspoon of pork filling and placing this in the middle of the wrapper (see images in slideshow for examples).
Next, dip your finger tip in the water bowl and run this along the 4 inside edges of the dumpling wrapper around the filling, wetting well all around. The water acts as the glue and is very important. (But no egg is needed! Hooray!)
Next, fold the dumpling as you wish. At times we get elaborate with the folding but the fastest way we think is to make basic triangle shapes. (See images again for examples).
Once you have made all the dumplings, you can store some in the freezer in layers, in lidded containers, and eat the others right away by simmering for just 2 minutes in your boiling broth. (Note: you can also pan fry your dumplings instead lightly in oil, and / or steam them, for just a couple of minutes for the wrapper dough to cook, if you wish to skip the whole broth job.)
Garnish soup with fresh torn cilantro and enjoy immediately. We hope you'll agree this dish is worth the effort!
Ingredients:
NOTE: We divide the chopped carrots and leeks in half using one part for the dumpling filling, and one part for the broth. The half that goes inside the dumplings must be minced very finely, while the half that goes in the soup can be chopped into longer matchsticks. See pictures in slideshow for images of both.)
1 large leek chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
------------------
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon peeled and freshly grated ginger root
1. 5 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms cut into slivers
3/4 pound of ground pork
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons of low-sodium Tamari or soy sauce
4-6 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock
a small handful of torn fresh cilantro for garnish
To prepare:
Broth:
After you have chopped and prepped your vegetables (explained above), simply simmer your leeks, carrots and shiitake mushrooms in the broth for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through but still retain a bit of crunch.
Dumplings:
Mix together well your finely minced carrots and leek with the garlic cloves, freshly grated ginger root, chives, sesame oil and soy sauce. Season with pepper.
Sautee all this together until meat is browned over medium high heat in a skillet, stirring constantly. (About 6-8 minutes).
Remove from heat and let cool.
Meanwhile setup your dumpling making station. You'll want a small finger bowl of water, a large flat plate or tray (or 2, if you're making this together with someone), and your pile of dumpling wrappers. (We have a hard time finding wrappers without eggs, but they do exist.) You'll also want another plate to place your prepared dumplings on. Use parchment paper as a divider between layers of dumplings if you are storing them to freeze. This prevents any sticking together.
Once meat has cooled, make one dumpling at a time by laying one wrapper in the middle of your plate, taking a small teaspoon of pork filling and placing this in the middle of the wrapper (see images in slideshow for examples).
Next, dip your finger tip in the water bowl and run this along the 4 inside edges of the dumpling wrapper around the filling, wetting well all around. The water acts as the glue and is very important. (But no egg is needed! Hooray!)
Next, fold the dumpling as you wish. At times we get elaborate with the folding but the fastest way we think is to make basic triangle shapes. (See images again for examples).
Once you have made all the dumplings, you can store some in the freezer in layers, in lidded containers, and eat the others right away by simmering for just 2 minutes in your boiling broth. (Note: you can also pan fry your dumplings instead lightly in oil, and / or steam them, for just a couple of minutes for the wrapper dough to cook, if you wish to skip the whole broth job.)
Garnish soup with fresh torn cilantro and enjoy immediately. We hope you'll agree this dish is worth the effort!
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