*** These can be made with store-bought dumpling wrappers as well***
Wrappers:
(Makes approximately 32 medium or 24 large dumplings)
Ingredients:
2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of just boiled water
Directions:
1. Boil 3/4 to 1 cup of water and let cool off for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add flour to a large bowl and make a well in the middle (an indent where the water will go)
3. Use a wooden spoon to stir the flour while adding the water in a steady stream. Try to evenly moisten the flour. Dough will begin to form, but will initially be very lumpy and may look dry. If the dough does not come together easily, add water by the teaspoon.
4. Begin to knead the dough in the bowl until it mostly comes together (it will not be too hot for your hands).
5. Once the dough has mostly come together into a ball, dump it out onto a work surface. Knead the dough and any stray pieces together for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough ball is smooth and a bit elastic. The dough should slowly bounce back when gently pressed with a light impression of your finger remaining.
6. place the dough in a Ziplock bag and let rest for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to two hours at room temperature. There should be a little bit of steam in the bag. This is normal and will help make the dough pliable for folding.
7. Once filling is prepared, take dough out of the bag and cut into approximately 32 even pieces. Keep the dough pieces in the Ziplock bag as you begin to roll out circles to avoid drying.
8. When rolling out the dumpling wrappers, try rolling the dough in your hands until you get a spherical ball, then press down and begin rolling into a flat circle. The edges should be thinner than the center of the circle in order to support the weight of the filling.
Filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup of bean sprouts
6 oz of firm tofu (pressed)
6-10 large scallions, chopped (white and pale green parts, reserve dark green parts for dipping sauce)
1/2 cup of finely chopped sweet onion
4 large cloves of garlic (minced and crushed into a paste)
1 tsp of grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp of dried, granulated ginger
1/2lb of ground pork (the fatty kind if possible) (can also be substituted with ground beef or ground chicken) coarsely chopped to loosen
Salt and Pepper (can use ground black pepper or Chinese white pepper) to taste
3 tbs of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
***** Any additional seasonings can be added (i.e. gochugaru for spice, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, etc.).*****
Directions:
1. Measure out tofu from the block. Place on a plate with a generous layer of paper towels lining the top and bottom of the tofu. Put another plate or flat, waterproof object on top of the tofu, and weigh down with a weigh, book, or other heavy object. Let tofu press for about 2 hours up to overnight. Once pressed, crumble the tofu into small pieces (like the texture of your ground meat)
2. Blanche the bean sprouts in a saucepan of boiling water for about 20 seconds or until they are no longer stiff. Drain them, rinse them with cold water, and then drain them again. Using your hands or a cheese cloth, squeeze out as much water as possible from the beansprouts, and then finely chop them.
3. Place the tofu in a large bowl with scallions, onions, garlic, ginger, and bean sprouts. Stir the ingredients together, mashing everything so that it begins to commingle.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and any additional seasonings. Once combined, mix into the meat and vegetable mixture until evenly distributed. (You can also sauté a small bit of filling in a pan until cooked through to taste for seasonings at this point. Add in any additional seasonings after this taste test if necessary).
5. Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator, bringing the mixture back to room temperature for dumpling assembly.
6. Once dumpling wrappers have been rolled into flat circles, place about a tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Line the edge of the top half of the wrapper with water, then fold the bottom portion over the filling and press together at the top/center of the dumpling. Here, you can either press the whole dumpling closed or add in a pleated design (consult YouTube for guided instructions on the different techniques used to fold dumplings).
7. Once dumplings have been stuffed and folded, Heat up a large pan with a lid with about 2-3 tbs of vegetable oil. Place dumplings in, being careful not to overcrowd the pan and making sure they are not touching each other. Brown 1 or 2 sides of the dumplings for approximately 1 to 2 minutes per side. Once browned, hold the lid close to the skillet and pour in water until about 1/4 inch high in the bottom of the pan. Quickly cover the skillet with the lid to avoid any popping liquid and steam for approximately 8 minutes , then move the lid slightly ajar and steam for about 4 more minutes.
8. Once the water has evaporated and you hear sizzling noises, turn off the heat and let the dumplings sit for another minute or two. Remove them from the pan and serve hot with dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of rice vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned)
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
(Optional)
Scallions
Garlic, minced
Crushed red pepper flakes or gochugaru
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved and serve.
