Pretzel Dumplings with Mushroom Sauerkraut Gravy

So a stodgy stick to your ribs mushroom dish is exactly what this is, it fills you up and keeps you full. It is originally a vegan recipe, but I unveganised it as my local corner shop doesn't go in for non-dairy milk. However, should you wish to make it vegan again please do! It used up some of my humungous jar of sauerkraut!

Pretzel Dumplings with Mushroom Sauerkraut Gravy (adapted from Vegan Miam)
(Serves 4-5)

For the dumplings
4 medium soft pretzels, chopped into 1 cm chunks
430ml warm milk
1 shallot, chopped
6 tbsp breadcrumbs
5 tbsp whole wheat flour
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

For the gravy
1 tsp oil
½ medium yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
300g mushrooms, sliced
1l vegetable stock
2 tbsp cornflour dissolved in 2 tbsp water
130-195g sauerkraut
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper

Place the pretzel pieces in a large bowl. Add the warm milk to the bowl and stir until all the pieces are submerged. Cover and set aside for 30 mins.

After 30 mins, use a potato masher to mash the pretzel pieces until a little mushier with chunks still remaining. Add the shallots, bread crumbs, flour, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper.

While the pretzel pieces are soaking, start the gravy. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is starting to become translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the stock and stir in the sauerkraut, sage, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Add the cornflour mixture and stir well.

Measure out a scoop of the dumpling mixture. Gently shape into a ball and place into the gravy. Repeat with the remaining dumpling mixture. Simmer for 15 mins. Gently flip over the dumplings and simmer for 5 more mins. Serve.

Chiu Chow Fun Gwor, Pork Steamed Dumplings

This the second of the dumplings that I made at the course we did back in July. When I went to my parents house a couple of weekends ago, we made a whole batch of the pork dumplings for the freezer as they can be cooked from frozen for 10 mins. This is probably one of the most useful courses I have done as we have made dumplings twice since the course and they have worked perfectly both times!

Chiu Chow Fun Gwor, Pork Steamed Dumplings

For the filling
60g minced pork
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salted radish, finely chopped
1 tsp Chinese mushroom, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
pinch white pepper
2 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp cold water

For the dough:

30g wheat starch

20g tapioca flour

20g cornflour

1/2 tsp sugar

pinch salt

60g boiling water

1 tsp vegetable oil

Mix the filling ingredients together.

To make the dough; Put all of the dry ingredients into a small plastic bowl. Weigh out the boiling water into a jug and add it to the dry ingredients, mix rapidly with a spoon for 15-20 secs then cover with a plate for 2 mins to cook the flour.

Add 1 tsp vegetable oil and knead the dough like you do bread for about 5 mins until it forms a soft dough.

Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. Flatten each piece of dough and roll into a 3 in circle, add the filling, fold in half, pleat and seal well. Steam for 8 mins.

Daring Cooks September 2015: Modaks

For the month of September, Rutvika the talented lady behind sizzleanddrizzle.com challenged us to make modaks: a delicate preparation of coconut and jiggery filled in a tender rice flour covering that is later steamed to produce a delicacy that is usually served in the Ganesha festival in India.

So I don't like coconut so I went for a savoury filling for my Modaks. I really enjoyed the flavour of these dumplings but I was a bit rubbish with my shaping, but I loved having a go! My second lot turned out better than the first. I ended up with loads more dough than mixture so I made double filling and used up all the dough and froze the leftovers.

Recipe 2: Steamed vegetable modaks

Servings: Makes 12 steamed vegetable modaks
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Cooling time: to be served hot

Ingredients


For the filling

• 2 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon green chilli paste (or cayenne pepper)
• ½ cup or 50 grams cabbage , finely chopped (I used the purple cabbage which has a milder flavor)
• ½ cup or 50 gms onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup or 35 grams green stalks of spring onions
• ½ cup or 50 grams French beans, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

For the covering / shell

• 1 heaped cup of Basmati rice flour, sifted (310 grams)
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• ¾ cup water (180 m)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 35 grams unsalted butter

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a wok. Add the chilli paste in the oil and let it sizzle for a minute.

Add all the vegetables and stir fry it for a couple of minutes over low heat. Add the salt and sugar. Cover it with a lid and steam the vegetables till just softened, but still crisp.

Add the soy sauce, mix well.

Take it off the heat and let it cool down completely.

To make the covering, sift the rice flour and 1 tablespoon all purpose flour with the smallest sieve twice so that it is very smooth. The all purpose flour is used to make the rice flour more sticky.

In a thick bottomed vessel, take the water and add butter and salt to it. Let it come to a boil.

Once water starts to boil, add the flour mixture all at once. Take it off heat and mix it together with a spoon.

Then put it back on heat and sprinkle 2 tablespoon water. Cover and let it steam for 1 minute over low heat.

Take it off heat and let it stay in a corner covered for 10 minutes, It will get softened.

Once it has considerably cooled down, pulse it in a food processor for a minute, take it out and knead with hands to bring it together to form a smooth dough.

Prepare the steamer. Fill a large vessel with water covering the bottom of the steamer. Place steamer on top and keep it ready. We place the modaks on a banana leaf for steaming, but you can use a plain tea towel instead.

Make 12 equal balls of the dough.

With a little water, flatten each ball into a thin disk with your hands or in a non-electric roti maker, about 4 inches in diameter. Then take it into the palm of your hand. Stuff it with some mixture leaving ½ inch on all sides. Start pinching the corners into petals with the use of your index finger and thumb and middle finger on each side. Make several such petals all around the edge of the disk

Then start getting all the petals together by pressing it closer with your fingers. Seal the top and keep it covered with a damp towel till a few are ready to be steamed.

Immerse each modak in water before placing it in the steamer filled with boiling water. Steam for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with some pickle or ketchup.

Har Gow (Prawn Dumplings)

Whilst on holiday me and my Mum made Chinese dumplings on our own. We made three different sorts at the cookery course but we decided to concentrate on the prawn ones as they were the most simple. They were much more simple to make and a lot less scary than we thought. They were really very easy and I had lots of food fooling about sealing them in different ways and making pretty shapes.

Har Gow (Prawn Dumplings)

(Makes 10)

 

For the filling:

80g raw king prawns, deveined and chopped

1 tsp water chestnuts, finely chopped

ginger, finely chopped

1/3 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornflour

pinch white pepper

 

For the dough:

30g wheat starch

20g tapioca flour

20g cornflour

1/2 tsp sugar

pinch salt

60g boiling water

1 tsp vegetable oil

 

Mix together all the filling ingredients.

 

To make the dough; Put all of the dry ingredients into a small plastic bowl. Weigh out the boiling water into a jug and add it to the dry ingredients, mix rapidly with a spoon for 15-20 secs then cover with a plate for 2 mins to cook the flour.

 

Add 1 tsp vegetable oil and knead the dough like you do bread for about 5 mins until it forms a soft dough.

 

Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. Flatten each piece of dough and roll into a 3 in circle, add the filling, fold in half, pleat and seal well. Steam for 8 mins.