Anderson Edward Charles - The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook

Acknowledgments

Books are, by their nature, a team effort, and I cant express my thanks enough to the team that made this project possible. Without my editor, Angelin Borsics, this book would never have been written; she was the one who convinced me, after visiting Dumpling Galaxy, to share these recipes with the world. She has been a constant source of inspiration over the past year and a half. Im also so grateful to my coauthor, Max Falkowitz, for organizing my thoughts with such wisdom, dedication, and clarity, and for how he pushed me, always gently, in the right direction during tough deadlines. Amy Tischler, my tireless recipe tester, worked countless hours and late nights to help translate my recipes for the home kitchen. Ed Anderson, whose stunning photographs youve seen throughout this book, brought all my favorite dishes to life in such a beautiful way.

A big thanks to the Potter team for all of their hard work, especially Danielle Deschenes for bringing such vision to my books design; Kim Tyner for ensuring every photograph printed beautifully; and Ada Yonenaka for crossing all my ts and dotting all my is.

I dedicate this book to my incredible family: To my husband, Joel, and our dear children, Harry, Jasmine, and Solomon, for their support, love, and patience when work kept me away from them. To my mother, for inspiring me from the very beginning and for sharing all of her wisdom in and out of the kitchen. To my father, for always being someone to look up to, even from afar.

And to my mother-in-law, Jeannette. I only knew her for the last six years of her life, but she was an important role model for me, and I will forever love and admire her as a strong, independent woman.

And, of course, I am grateful to all my customers at Dumpling Galaxy, whose ideas and special requests challenged me to create more original recipes.

Classic Dumplings

PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS

SHANGHAI-STYLE SOUP DUMPLINGS xiao long bao (pronounced shao long bow)are different from the other dumplings youll find in this book. Traditionally, you mix ground pork with a thick pork aspic (made by boiling pork skin, fat, and feet for hours) and wrap it in a thin purse of dough. As the dumplings steam, that aspic melts into a lip-smacking soup that drives dumpling addicts wild.

This approach can make a delicious dumpling, but if youre not careful, it can also turn out heavy and greasy. Thats why I prefer to make my aspic with powdered gelatin, which, after an overnight rest in the refrigerator, will set into a perfect gel without the hours of boiling and straining of the traditional methodand with far less fat. If youve had only ultra-fatty soup dumplings before, you may be shocked at how light and clean these are, while still packed with flavor. And yes, thats the correct amount of ginger: you want it to shout its way out of the dumpling.

MAKES 24 DUMPLINGS

DUMPLING FILLING

5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups unflavored powdered gelatin, about 32 -ounce envelopes

5 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 cup)

4 scallions, cut into -inch pieces, white and green parts

1 pound ground pork

2 tablespoons sherry cooking wine

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

teaspoon toasted sesame oil

8 large cabbage leaves, or perforated sheets of parchment paper, for lining the steamers

DIPPING SAUCE

2 tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 4-inch piece of ginger, peeled and julienned

PREPARE THE FILLING the night before: Bring a large pot with 14 cups of water to a boil and stir in 1 teaspoon of the sugar and teaspoon of the salt. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the gelatin until completely dissolved, then simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes until the liquid has thickened like a rich stock. Remove from the heat, transfer the liquid to a bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, in a blender, small food processor, or mortar, combine the ginger, scallions, and 2 tablespoons of water and puree (or mash with a pestle) until the mixture becomes a paste.

In a medium bowl, use your hands to combine the pork, ginger-scallion paste, wine, remaining 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, remaining teaspoon of salt, the pepper, and sesame oil, and fold it together for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is very well blended and all liquid is fully absorbed into the meat. Finely chop the gel and use your hands to gently fold it into the filling until well combined.

Fill a large pot with 2 inches of water; a bamboo steamer should fit snugly on top of the pot. Bring the water to a simmer and line 2 steamers with the cabbage leaves.

Pick up one dumpling wrapper and lightly tug around the edges to stretch it out slightly; place it in the palm of your nondominant hand. With your dominant hand, use a fork to add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling to the center of the wrapper, then lightly pat down the filling with the fork to get rid of any air bubbles.

Place the thumb of your nondominant hand on the filling to secure it in place. Pinch an edge of the wrapper between your other thumb and index finger and start pleating the edge of the wrapper up and around the filling, rotating the dumpling as you pleat the wrapper while pressing the filling into place (see ). As you connect the two ends of the dumpling together, lightly twist the topknot to get rid of any air bubbles, then pinch it shut. Inspect the dumpling for any holes where the filling could leak out and pinch them shut. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers.

MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Divide into small dishes and top with julienned ginger.

COOK THE DUMPLINGS: Gently place 6 dumplings, spaced 1 inch apart, in each steamer so the topknots are facing up. Stack the steamers on top of each other on top of the pot, cover the top steamer, and steam the dumplings for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the wrappers lose their white sheen and turn slightly translucent. Remove from the heat, uncover the steamers, and serve immediately. Repeat with any remaining dumplings.

TIP Eating soup dumplings is a skill all its own. Since they have such thin skins, its easy to rupture them en route from the steamer to your mouth, spilling soup everywhere. So to eat them, carefully pick up the dumpling by its topknot with your chopsticks and rest it in a wide spoon. Take a nibble out of the side to slurp up the broth and release the heat, then eat the dumpling. Soup dumplings are typically served with black vinegar and slivered ginger. Nibble an opening in the dumpling and add a few drops of the vinegar right inside.