Crispy Bottomed Steamed Dumplings Food

CRISPY-BOTTOMED STEAMED DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Quarter the squash, deseed and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then roast on a tray for 1 hour, or until soft and golden. Leave to cool.
• Peel the garlic and 2cm of the ginger, then whiz in a food processor with the broccoli, miso and vinegar until fine. Pulse in the squash, then season to taste.
• One by one, lightly wet the edges of the wonton wrappers with your finger, add 1 heaped teaspoon of filling to the middle of each, and pinch together to seal (don't stress if they tear every now and again), placing them in a large oiled nonstick frying pan as you go.
• Put the pan over a high heat, then pour over 150ml of water and cover. Let it steam until the water has completely evaporated, then uncover and allow to fry, removing as soon as the bottoms are golden and crisp.
• Meanwhile, peel the remaining ginger, finely grate with the chilli, and place in a small dipping bowl. Trim and finely shred the spring onions, toast the sesame seeds, then serve with soy, mustard and lime wedges.

PAN-FRIED DUMPLINGS WITH CRISPY LATTICE

Steps:

• For the filling: Combine the pork, Napa cabbage, garlic chives, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, wine, toasted sesame oil and salt in a medium bowl and mix well.
• For the dumplings: Spoon about 1/2 ounce of filling on a wrapper and wet the edge with some water. Fold the wrapper in half into a half-moon and seal the edge. Pleat the edge and sit the dumpling with the folds standing up. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
• Preheat a nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add a little canola oil and arrange 6 to 8 of the dumplings bottoms-down in a nice star pattern or circle. Sear the dumplings for 30 to 45 seconds to brown the bottoms. Add 4 tablespoons water, cover with a lid and cook until the pan is dry, about 3 minutes. Drizzle in a little sesame oil and turn the heat up to medium high to brown the bottoms again (keep the lid off but watch so the dumplings do not burn).
• Squirt a few tablespoons of the Lattice Mix around the dumplings. Cover the pan for 45 seconds. Remove the lid and cook until the lattice mix is crispy and golden brown. Remove the dumplings with a thin large spatula and flip them over in one piece onto a plate to reveal the golden-brown bottom. Repeat with the remaining dumplings and Lattice Mix. Serve with the soy-ginger-vinegar Dipping Sauce.
• Mix the cornstarch and water in a squeeze bottle.
• Combine the soy sauce, vinegar and ginger in a small bowl.

DUMPLINGS WITH A CRISPY SKIRT

Steps:

• Soak the mushrooms in a medium bowl with 3 cups cool water. Stir to moisten the entire surface of the mushrooms. Set aside at room temperature for at least 3 hours and up to 4 hours.
• When the mushrooms are nearly rehydrated, toss the cabbage with 1 tablespoon salt in a medium bowl and let sit until liquid pools at the bottom, about 15 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as possible from the cabbage in between two hands and transfer the cabbage to a large bowl. Add the pork, 1/2 cup of the mushroom soaking water, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix only in one direction using chopsticks until the pork-and-cabbage mixture starts to become sticky. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the neutral oil until evenly mixed.
• Remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the pork filling. Stir until combined.
• Set up a dumpling wrapping station with the following: a small bowl of cold water for sealing, the pork-and-cabbage filling, gyoza wrappers kept in the package and a large plate or baking sheet lined with plastic wrap to prevent the dumplings from sticking.
• Place one gyoza wrapper in your palm, add 1 tablespoon of the filling to the center, then lightly dab the perimeter of the wrapper with cold water (I use my index finger). Fold into a half-moon shape and seal the midpoint, leaving the sides open. Make 2 pleats starting from the left side of the half-moon folding towards the midpoint then firmly press the pleated side to seal. Repeat the pleating on the right side. Firmly press to seal the dumpling and thin out the edge of the wrapper slightly. Place the finished dumplings on the prepared plate. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling (see Cook's Note).
• Whisk together 1/2 cup cold water, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the white vinegar in a small bowl until the slurry is smooth and free of lumps.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons neutral oil in a large nonstick skillet (about 11-inch) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Arrange 10 dumplings in a concentric circle or flower pattern (place the pointy end of each dumpling in the center of the skillet with the pleated side of the next dumpling facing the flat side of the previous one). Fry until the bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir the slurry before pouring into the skillet, cover with a lid, and cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook over medium heat, moving the skillet as needed for even browning, until the skirt looks dry, crisp and golden brown. Remove from the heat, place a large dinner plate over the skillet and carefully invert the dumplings onto the plate with the skirt-side up. Serve immediately with Chinese black vinegar, for dipping.
• Repeat making the slurry and frying the remaining dumplings or freeze the dumplings on the plastic wrap-lined plate until frozen, then transfer the frozen dumplings to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.