I know you can get them uber cheap at your corner Chinese joint, we can too but after I found a squiggly little caterpillar in my soup, I started questioning what else was in my food that I wasn’t finding. And dumplings would be the master of hiding old, limp veggies and I’m pretty sure they don’t use local or organic at our Tex-Mex Chinese spot. Lucky for me, one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, experimented with an Alton Brown recipe and inspired me to do the same. You can see her exact recipe here.

I originally planned this meal for Friday night and even chopped up most of the ingredients that afternoon; but somehow, the idea of making dumplings didn’t appeal to me after a long week. So the bowl of chopped goodies went back into the fridge and Mike and I both forgot about it until Sunday afternoon. I considered throwing it without even a taste, surely it would be a soggy mess, but with nose squinched, I decided to be bold. After all, there was a whole head of Napa cabbage in there! Lo and behold, it was pretty tasty! So onward and upward, I drained some of the excess liquid that had accumulated, mixed in the required egg and set out a cookie sheet lined with foil.

I’m not going to tell you that this recipe is fast or well worth your time. It might not be. But if you’re the type who likes to zone out by knitting or lifting weights or whatever it is that you do, this might be a therapeutic recipe for you. I certainly found a zen like pleasure in the crimping and folding. And yum, the results are pretty tasty, even after two days of being forgotten in the back of the fridge! You can also freeze your leftovers (we have two bulging baggies of dumplings waiting for our next lazy night) and use any leftover wonton wrappers to make a quick dessert. Just fold in some caramelized apple or seasoned fruit, fry, sprinkle with a bit of sugar and serve with ice cream. Just like apple pie but way, way faster.

(Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Alton Brown)
Ingredients:

1 large head of napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 pkg of firm tofu, pressed and chopped
1 egg, beaten
1-2 tsp cilantro, minced
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
25-35 wonton wrappers**

**You should be able to find these in the refrigerated section of your grocery; but if not, try an asian grocery if you have one.

Mix your chopped ingredients into a large bowl, along with the hoisin, sesame oil, beaten egg and soy sauce. Make sure you have a large clear working area, as the dumplings pile up fast. You’ll also want a small glass or bowl of water to wet the edges of the dumplings when you close them. Take your first wonton sheet, put a small pile of filling in the center, wet the edges of the wrapper and fold together. It seems everyone has a different way of crimping, so experiment to find the one that feels right to you. There are also plenty of youtube videos and blogs devoted to the art of dumpling making, feel free to study up on methods before you start! Make sure your work area stays dry as you don’t want your dumplings to get soggy and just keep working away until you’re satisfied with the number of dumplings. Please note that dumplings are traditionally a party or large family activity (as far as I’ve heard) so making them by your lonesome is pretty tiring. Maybe the zen effect I felt was really my fingers going numb?

Next, heat up a large skillet on high with about 1 Tbsp of vegetable or peanut oil. You want the oil hot but not smoking (look for shimmers across the top, when you see those, toss in a tester dumpling). These cook fast, so set up a draining station before you get started. I just use a plate with a few layers of paper towel, but use what you like.  Gently lay the dumplings on their sides (be careful, you don’t want them to tear after all of that work!), let sizzle for 2 minutes and then flip to the other side. 2 more minutes and you’re done. Some recipes recommend a stock or water bath in addition to the sear but I was pooped and it was late. Crispy wontons it was!

I just made a quick dumpling sauce with 2 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp of sesame oil, mixed well and tadah! Although, a few sliced scallions would have made it perfect. If you want to freeze any leftover dumplings, put on a cookie sheet or pan, stick in the freezer and once frozen (I forgot and left them in all night), transfer to zip baggies. I’ll let you know how our frozen ones turn out, till then, good luck and happy dumpling making!