Dumpling soup extravaganza

Alright soup lovers, sorry for such a long delay between soup blog entries. Social work school is really kicking our asses. But have no fear, we have not forgotten the therapeutic value of soup and friendship!

While Dara and I have bonded through our love of soup, there’s another tasty food item that comes a close second in our hearts: dumplings! Or ‘dumpers,’ as Dara affectionately refers to them. There is no finer soup experience than combining the love of both into an Asian-inspired dumpling soup extravaganza. We used a miso paste base for the soup, then plopped our exquisite veggie dumpers into the broth after we steamed them. Dumpling soup, food of the goddesses…

Dumpling dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4-1 cup boiled water

Put flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Stir the flour while you add the water in a steady stream. Keep mixing until you have a shaggy dough.

Knead the dough to bring it together into one large ball.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead it for a couple of minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Seal the dough in a zip-lock

plastic bag and let it rest for up to 2 hours.

After the rest, pull out the dough and cut it into 4 roughly equal sections. Roll each section into a 1-inch thick log, then cut each log into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a thick coin or disc. Lightly flour the top and bottom of each disc.

Holding the flattened disc gently, use a dowel rolling pin to press on just the outer edges of the disc. Roll back and forth once, then rotate the disc. Roll, rotate. Roll, rotate. Add a little flour if necessary to keep it from sticking and tearing.

You don’t want to make it too thin. It has to be thick enough to hold whatever filling you’re going to put in it. The final dumpling skin should be just over 3 inches in diameter.

We got this dumpling dough recipe from http://www.houseofannie.com/make-dumpling-skins-from-scratch/

After you’ve rolled out your dumpling dough, let your soup base brew for a bit.

Miso soup:

3 sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

minced ginger

water

miso paste

Heat some canola or peanut oil in a soup pot, then add your sliced carrot and ginger. Saute for a five minutes, then add the scallions and mushroom. Heat these together for a few more minutes, then add water. We suggest about 6-8 cups, depending on how much miso paste you want to add. We ended up using about 6 tbsp of miso paste, but if you’re nervous about it being too strong, start with a couple of tbsp and gradually add more until the soup tastes flavorful to you.

Dumpling filling:

1 chopped red onion

1 cup chopped green or white cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup chopped shiitake mushroom

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

rice vinegar to taste

soy sauce to taste

tiny pinch cayenne pepper

While soup is simmering on low heat, you can prepare your dumpling filling. Put about 2 tbsp oil (we used peanut) in a wok or large frying pan. Stir in all the chopped vegetables except for the cilantro. Saute on medium high heat until vegetables are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add sesame oil, rice vinegar (we used about 2 tsp), soy sauce, white pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Time to stuff!

Place about a teaspoon of the vegetable mixture in the center of a dumpling skin. Wet the rim of the dumpling skin with a little water – this will help the dough stick and stay closed. Fold dumpling in half and pinch edges together. Voila! For a more fancy look, you can flute the dumpling edges, or fold the ends towards the middle like a fortune cookie.

Time to steam!

There are a couple of methods you can use for steaming your dumpers. If you don’t have a bamboo steamer, you can lightly fry your dumpers in a frying pan for a couple of minutes until bottoms are brown, then add about ¼ cup water, covering and steaming until transparent and water has evaporated.

We used the bamboo steamer, which was much simpler than we thought it would be. Just line the steamer with cabbage leaves, then place in a wok or large pan. Pour water into the pan, about a third of the way up the steamer. Place your dumplings gently in the steamer and cover. Bring the water to a boil, allowing the steam to cook the dumplings through, about 5 minutes. Mm hmm mm! Drop them in your soup.

Watch them float in delight. Then eat it all up.