Cooking with Chef Jo: Dumplings

 Happy birthday, Daddy!

Say the word dumplings and people have different pictures in their mind of what you are talking about. If you grew up in the Great Plains area, you'll mentally picture fluffy clouds of steamed dough pictured to the left. Big, hearty biscuit like dumpling.

Here in the south dumplings are rolled flat. Cooks pride themselves on rolling the dough as thin as possible. They look like noodles. In fact, there's an egg pasta called dumplings called "dumplings" in the noodle section in the grocery store. Rather than me putting in some serious elbow calisthenics, or breaking out the pasta machine, I just buy them frozen. When you're a one-handed chef, I take the easy route when making these southern  style  dumplings.

And yet, pulling from my Asian heritage, there are two more dumpling recipes that I can pull from in my culinary repertoire. There's even wontons although this considered a noodle. One's a meat, bean, or vegetable filled dough ball you may know as a steamed dish in Dim Sun. Or the other, pot-stickers. From my German side there's Spatzle.  I think every country has their version of a dumplings to go into soups, stews, or a side dish as to stretch your food dollar and fill the belly.

So when it came down to picking one recipe for this blog, I had a hard time choosing. What do make most often? No help there, it depends on what I'm cooking. Something unusual to share? Then, I run into ingredients you might not have readily available. I ultimately decided on an off the wall fusion (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, American) recipe. It's way out there, but as usual, I'll offer substitutions and alternatives. It's a recipe I'm making this week in fact. This recipe is labor intensive but well worth it. You can use pork, chicken, turkey, or simply make it *vegetarian if you prefer

Deluxe Rabbit Gyoza in Soup
Serves 6-8 dependent on serving size
with leftover gyoza for freezer :o)





1/2 lb ground rabbit meat, ground
1 cup rabbit meat, roasted with salt and pepper
6 green onion, sliced thin reserve 3 stalks
1 carrot, large
2-3 large cabbage leaves, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 eggs
6 large  button mushrooms, finely chopped ( I usually use shitake and crimines)
1/2 block tofu, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 pint *kimchi, can use 1 cup chopped cabbage with 1 Tbs ground pepper flakes
1/4 c bamboo shoots, daikon, or white radish
1 qt and 1 pint broth  (rabbit, chicken, or vegetable)
1 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
Gyoza wrappers, or make your own recipe to follow to make 40 wrappers

As I said, this recipe is labor intensive, but comes together quick for service.

Gyoza Filling

•  Put raw, ground rabbit meat in a bowl.
• Add 1/2 carrot, grated
• Add 3 stalks green onions, finely chopped
• Add chopped cabbage
• Add 1/8 cups bamboo shoots, finely chopped
• Add 3 button mushrooms, finely chopped
• Add 1 clove garlic, minced
• Add pinch of salt & pepper
• Mix well cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Gyoza Wrappers
2 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup + 2 Tbs water boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
Non GMO corn starch

• Mix salt into boiled water, stir until salt is dissolved
• Add water to flour
• Mix until forms a ball
• Knead 5 minutes.  Wrap in *plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Cut dough in half, wrap half in *plastic wrap while working the other half.
• Roll dough out thin on corn starch covered surface to keep from sticking. This sheet of dough is almost 1/16" thin. If you can see your hand through it, it's thin enough. Divide if space is limited. Cover with *plastic wrap so the wrappers do not dry out too quickly.
• Cut circles in the rolled dough. A 3" biscuit cutter works well. I use a regular mouth canning ring.

Or, use store bought wonton wrappers. Roll the wonton wrappers until 1/2 the regular thickness. You will be able to cut as above. If Gyoza wrappers are not available. :o)

* I use plastic wrap, but if you are a zero waste household... use a piece of dampened parchment paper (it can be washed and reused again later) or a dampened tea towel works well.

Making Gyozas

Place a scant Tbs of filling onto the center of the wrapper.Dip finger in water and trace around 1/2" edge of wrapper. Fold wrapper almost in half. Pleat one side and press into other side. Press together to seal in filling. Stand gyoza up flattening bottom Pleated side up. Figure 2-4 gyoza for each serving of soup. Place additional gyoza on parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze for one hour. Vacuum seal for later enjoyment as an appetizers or for more soup.

Folding gyoza. Not me obviously. Googled image.

Take the gyoza meant for the soup and place them in a skillet brushed with oil. Cook until bottoms are golden brown. Add 1 cup of water to the pan and cover. Steam 3 minutes. Set aside. Cook frozen and thawed leftover gyoza the same way later and serve with my Thai sweet chili dipping sauce.

The Soup Base

•  Slice mushrooms
• Fine julienne (1/8" in diameter) carrots, bamboo shoots, and green onions about 2" pieces.
• Roast rabbit meat and julienne and cut into 2" pieces. *Keep warm.
• One at a time and stir fry vegetables with scant tsp oil until carrots, green onions, mushrooms and bamboo shoots are tender.  Set aside and *keep warm.
• Lightly fry tofu squares until all sides are set and slightly golden. Set aside and *keep warm
• Soft boil 3-4 eggs and peel.
• Add 1 cup of broth in the skillet where you stir fried the vegetables, deglazing it to pick up all those yummy flavors. 
• Add to broth. 
• Add broth, garlic, meat, sugar, kimchi, and soy sauce to a pot.
• Add gyoza 
• Bring to a boil. 
• Whisk 3-4 eggs
• Gently stir in eggs in a thin stream. Being careful not to break the gyoza. The eggs will thicken the soup and put fine pieces of egg throughout the soup.
• Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Service
 Ladle broth into bowls. Add gyoza 2-4 to each bowl. Divide and clump each vegetable on top of the broth as shown. Slice egg. Place half an egg on top of each bowl allowing some yolk to run into soup. This is a beautiful presentation that's wasted and may be too spicy on young children.

Notes

* vegetarian that allows eggs or substitute flax eggs. You will use 6 scrambled eggs or 1/2 a block of crumbled tofu in in place of the meat in gyoza filling.

* Keep warm- Place each ingredient except for gyoza in small bowls covered with *plastic wrap. Microwave and reheat for 30 seconds before service.

* Kimchi- can be store bought for milder taste, or make your own.

BONUS! Just FF through the peach salsa (unless you want that recipe too :o)) to get to my Thai Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce.

Enjoy!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Jo