The beauty of Korean Dumplings are their simplicity and ingredient flexibility. I never really measure my ingredients. In a pinch, you can use the storebought wrappers (the round ones that come frozen or refridgerated from any Asian market, or even the square ones from the grocery, and use a cookie cutter to make them round). Also, find a good (short) movie and clear a space in front of your TV. Although I can roll these in about 20 minutes when I make them from scratch and less time using storebought wrappers, I like taking my time and doing it while watching a good movie. This time, I watched The Kingdom, which was surprisingly good for a post 9-11 kind of movie. I probably made about 60 dumplings from this recipe (or 10 servings), but these freeze fantastically well and are super convenient. These are also superbly nutritious, grading A for nutition with just 159 calories for 6 dumplings, 3.6g fat (1.1 saturated), 76mg cholesterol, 63mg sodium, 2.2g dietary fiber, 11.3g protein, 2% vitamin A, 2% calcium, and 11% iron.
First, these ingredients are an approximation and can be changed to accomodate any taste. I took 1/2 pound of ground lamb (ground in the store which reduces exposure to air and bacteria -- you can use ground turkey, ground veal, ground pork -- if you use ground beef, get the grass fed stuff, and try to get something with a decent amount of fat for peak juiciness), one bunch of scallions finely chopped, two fresh shitake mushroom tops, a chunk of ginger the size of my thumb minced, 3 big garlic cloves minced, about 1.5 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil and cracked pepper. Sometimes, I also throw in some rice wine vinegar for turkey dumplings to help as a tenderizer, or chile pepper if I'm craving spicy, or some shaved carrot for added sweetness which works well with with ground pork. Mix all of your filling stuff together and stick it in the fridge covered to let the flavors mingle (also, the mushrooms will release some liquid so it will let that liquid drain to the bottom). No added salt is needed as the oyster sauce has all the sodium you need.
Then make your dumpling dough. This is a basic egg dough. I used 3 eggs, both white and yolk (traditionally, this is done just with the yolk, but for health reasons, I use both -- eliminating the yolk however, is not recommended as the dough consistency never seems to be quite right -- you could take out one of the yolks and probably be fine), beaten together. Incorporate about 1 cup of spelt flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour. If you want thinner dumpling dough (that is to be able to roll it thinner), add a tsp of gluten to help create more elasticity. I like to have a little substance on mine and can still get it think enough without having to add the gluten. Knead the dough until you get a nice, heavy, and slightly stick dough ball (it will feel sticky, but won't really stick to your hands). You may or may not use all the flour, and you may need to add extra. I like to knead mine for about five minutes.
Then, set up an operation -- little bowl of water for sealing if you use the storebought wrappers, the homemade dough does not need it, a wood board or flat surface for rolling out the dough for homemade wrappers, saran wrap, and a cookie tray with corn meal dusted down. Take a piece of dough the size of one of those big gumballs (or a big marble) and stick it between two pieces of saran wrap (I use this method because the dough is slightly sticky, and I hate adding more flour if I don't need to). Make sure to keep your dough ball covered so it doesn't dry out. Then roll out a circle about 3" - 4" in diameter. Put a small scoop, maybe a tsp, of filling in the center. For your first few, be sparse on the filling. It takes skill to close up the ones that have too much and most people over stuff their dumplings to the point they explode when cooked.
The picture probably is too much filling for an amateur, but I'm an old pro so I get to have bigger fillings. Then fold the circle in half and pinch the edges together to create a tight seal. Then you want to do an accordian fold around the edges so they stay together while cooking. Repeat 60 times. With the storebought wrappers, you have to be careful with leaving them out too long because the wrapper may get soggy. With the homemade ones, letting the dumpling dough airdry after they are assembled is fine since this is a heartier wrapper.
Once you are done with the tray...
Stick the whole tray, uncovered, in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes, or until the dough starts to set and the dough does not feel moist to the touch. After that time, you can throw all of these babies in a ziplock freezer bag for later cooking. When you cook them later on, bring a pot of water to boil and plop 5 or 6 of the dumplings in there. Don't do too many or it cools the water too much. Boil until they float, and then let it go another minute or so. I like to cook these up for work in a nice broth and throw in some uncooked greens and scallions and tofu. Reheating the soup in the microwave at work will cook the greens and tofu perfectly and reheat your already cooked dumplings. Otherwise, just serve them as boiled dumplings, with a sauce of tamari, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, scallion, and hot chili oil or a big squirt of siracha.
[Update 4/18/08: So I made some of these bad boys last night to take to work today, and they were fantastic. These take a little longer to cook, I would give them 2 minutes after they start floating if you use the homemade wrappers with a whole grain flour. I just threw a little soysauce on them after I put them in the tupperware still warm and popped the top on. This was my first time using whole grain wrappers, and I really liked them a lot. The wrappers were thicker and chewier than I was used to, but were perfect with the heartiness of the lamb filling. They also stand up to reheating better and don't fall apart as easily either. I probably wouldn't use these wrappers if making vegetarian or seafood dumplings as they would probably be too heavy. Lamb made for a perfect filling because of the relatively high fat content. These wrappers, if sealed properly, keep all of those juices inside and these buggers explode deliciousness when you eat them.]
Carrot Apple Muffins are one of my snack staples to keep me away from our gross vending machine, which is filled with donuts, Doritos, and baked Lays. There is nothing I would consider food in it. I make these in mini-muffin tins and freeze them. The best part is that you just throw one or two in your lunch bag and they are defrosted by the time you eat them during the day. These are awesomely moist with no oil (although I do use some oil from a pressurized oil sprayer to grease the muffin tins), not too sweet, and packed with nutrients. This is the only baked good I've done so far that is rated a straight A for nutrition. This recipe makes 12 mini-muffins, each coming in at just over 100 calories, with 4.5g fat (.5g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 125mg sodium, 3.2g dietary fiber, 7.5g sugars, 3g protein, 15% vitamin A, 1% vitamin C, 4% calcium, and 5% iron.
Mix together:
3/8 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup raw cane sugar (or I sub half with honey sometimes)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded granny smith apple
1/4 cup chopped dates (or other dry fruit)
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 egg white
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, let sit in pan for about 5-10 minutes after coming out and then cool on wire rack.
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