My First Daring Cooks Challenge -- Dumplings!

Warning: Really really really long post. (but it's worth it)

I'm really excited to be posting about my very first (and the very second ever) Daring Cooks Challenge. Jen from use real butter (a FANTASTIC blog, by the way) hosted this challenge.

The challenge? Dumplings/potstickers!

Warning: I'm gonna post a LOT of pictures. I had a month to do this, so I did it...multiple times ;)

This challenge was fantastic for me, as I'd been planning to make potstickers, but never got around to it. It gave me a kick in the butt, and I'm glad it did. They take a bit of preparation and setup, but if you just spend one day making them, you can have dinners and desserts (oh yes, desserts :P ) for a month! They freeze fantastically.

Anyway, the main point of this challenge was to make the dumpling wrappers by hand, and then choose any filling you want. For my savory dumplings, I went with an almost traditional pork filling, with a few changes you'll see in the recipe.
Let me just say:

They. Were. Fantastic.

I definitely suggest trying these, or your own variation.
The first batch I made, I made potstickers, then I just boiled others for a quick meal. (Boiling is by far the easiest/least involved method)


Anyhoo (that seems to be my favorite word here, eh?), a week or so after I made the pork dumplings, I wanted to try dessert variations. My first choice? Nutella! I also made chocolate filled ones (semi-sweet, milk, and white), and jam filled ones (which you can't eat while they're crispy, unfortunately, or they'll burn your mouth).


Ahhh, dumplings. Cheap to make (a pound of pork cost me $2 at Giant), easy to store, quick to cook. The perfect food for a busy person. Not that I am one, what with being home for the summer and all. And unemployed. (Hire me!!!)

:P

I suppose you want pictures and recipes, huh?

Okay, fine.

Just don't say I never bought you anything. ;)

Ingredients

Not minced well enough >__>

Evolution of my pleating skills! Haha.


Frozen dumplings about to fry


Yummy potstickers

Crunchy bottom


Frozen Jam dumplings

Deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar

Melted peach jelly

Fried nutella dumplings



Dumplings:


My filling:
1 lb of ground pork (lean, fatty, doesn't matter)
4 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of corn starch (if you don't have any, it's okay, don't fret. It's not totally necessary, it just helps bind the filling together a little more)
(everything from here down is minced. So mince it. Mince it good.)
2 cloves of garlic
1 little thing of lemon grass (stalk? is that what's it's called? haha, I don't know)
3 tbsp ginger root
3 stalks (yeah, I think that's the word) of scallions
Half of a carrot, cut into strips (like what happens when you use a veggie peeler on it, those thin layers), and minced.

Mix everything together VERY WELL. Cover and let sit in the fridge until you're ready to use it, within a day.

Dough:
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of warm water
flour for worksurface

Mix everything in a bowl. You'll probably have to add more water...do this slowly, or you'll end up doing what I did the first time: adding more flour. Knead the dough and cover with a damp towel for about 15 minutes. Jen suggests cutting the dough into strips, and then into pieces, but I was too lazy for that, and just pulled off balls of dough. (is it any wonder that my dumplings got smaller and smaller until they were bite sized? :P ) Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. I'm bad at measurement and can't really tell you exactly how thin to make them, but looking at the pictures should help. Place a tablespoon (or less, depending on your wrapper size) of filling right in the middle, and pleat the dumpling closed. Here, on Jen's blog, she has a great picture tutorial for making the pleats (it definitely helped me), so go look there (and then come back!)
I suggest only making one or two wrappers at a time, and filling them once you make them. The first time, I rolled out all of my wrappers, and then they stuck together D:

Boiling:
Boil water. Cook dumplings until they float. (and then like 5 more minutes, if they were frozen)

Steaming: "Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes." (Jen's words, as I didn't steam any of mine)

Potstickers! (the best, in my opinion)
Put the dumplings in a pan with 3 tbsp of vegetable or canola oil. Fry on high heat until the bottoms are golden brown. Then add 1/2 cup of water and cover the pan. Cook them until all of the water has cooked away. Uncover the dumplings and reduce to medium heat. Let them cook for another couple of minutes. EAT THEM. VERILY! :)



Now on to dessert.

The dough's basically the same, except I dissolved some sugar into the water, and only made half of the dough recipe.

Do the rolling and all of that. This is the fun part...choosing your filling! Definitely choose something thick and stable, and with a low water content, if you can help it. Because, when deep frying, all that water inside turns to steam, and wants to escape...quickly. So you might end up with leaky dumplings, which make the oil all gross. So keep that in mind. Anyhoo, heat oil in a pot to 300-350 degrees fahrenheit. Once the oil is up to temperature, use a metal spoon or spider and lower the dumplings (a couple at a time) into the oil. Leave them on the spoon until they start to float. Then, you can add a couple more. Cook them until they're golden brown, and drain on paper towels. Dust with powdered or granulated sugar. Like I said before, if you used a jam or fruity filling, you might wanna let them sit a little bit. They wont be crispy, but they won't burn your mouth, either ;P


Anyway, this was a fantastic challenge, and I think everyone should join the Daring Cooks and the Daring Bakers, to broaden their culinary horizons!
Thanks again to Jen from use real butter for this great challenge :)

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