69

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

1 kg all-purpose flour

550 ml (2

1

/

4

cups) water

FILLING

800 g napa cabbage

1 tsp salt

8 dried shiitake

mushrooms, soaked and

rinsed

1 stalk Japanese

scallion, cut into

sections

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

2 tsp ground white

pepper, or to taste

4 Tbsp cooking oil,

preferably soybean or

peanut oil

8 blocks firm tofu, finely

chopped

0.5-cm knob ginger,

peeled and finely

chopped

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp premium soy

sauce

METHOD

1.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Add a third of the water at a

time, mixing to incorporate and kneading the mixture into

a dough. Scrape down the sides and mix well, until there is

no more flour or residue sticking to the bowl’s sides or your

fingers. This is the most ideal texture.

2.

Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit for

at least 1 hour. The dough will reach its most ideal texture

after 4–6 hours, when it feels soft while maintaining some

springiness.

3.

Blend cabbage into fine pieces using a food processor. Add

salt and mix well. Place in a cheesecloth and squeeze out

liquid from cabbage, but retain some moisture to maintain

the freshness of the cabbage.

4.

Place in a food processor with soaked shiitake and blend

until fine. Transfer to a bowl and add scallion to blended

mixture. Add sesame oil and mix well before seasoning

with sea salt and pepper. Set aside.

5.

Add cooking oil to a large pan over medium heat. Add tofu

and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, until more than half of its

liquid has evaporated. Stir in the mashed ginger and soy

sauces, then cook over high heat briefly before letting the

tofu cool. Taste to check that it is very savoury and much

saltier than what you prefer. That's expected, as we will be

mixing it with other ingredients.

6.

When stir-fried tofu is cooled, mix in cabbage mixture.

Taste to make sure it is saltier than preferred, adding more

salt and pepper if needed.

7.

Prepare a large, flat and clean surface to do the rolling.

Have a bowl of flour on the side. Lightly flour the surface to

prevent dough from sticking.

8.

Cut a portion of dough from the main chunk and cover the

remaining dough with a cloth to keep it from drying out.

9.

Roll dough portion into a log similar to the size and

length of a rolling pin. Cut dough log into smaller portions

equivalent to the size of glutinous rice balls. Flatten each

piece slightly with your hand.

10. With a rolling pin beneath one hand, roll and flatten each

small portion of dough while rotating it with your other

hand until you obtain a flat round wrapper. The outer

circumference should be about 0.2–0.3-mm thick. The

centre should be slightly thicker than the edges.

traditional dumplings

Makes around 120 dumplings