Sweet Sesame Dumplings 汤圆 (Tangyuan)

 
     These couple past weeks have sure gone by quick.  And by that, I mean that it's the end of Chinese New Year, today, and my mom and brother are finally coming back from China tonight!
     At the end of a long day, nothing is more comforting than a nice bowl  of tangyuan.  Those are a traditional Chinese dessert made of gluttinous rice flour, water and filling.  Tangyuan are a tradition to eat on Chinese New Year, but I've never made them myself before.  Why not try them yourself?
      First, you toast some sesame seeds and grind them to a paste.

      Then you add some sugar and butter and melt it all together.
      It will be liquidy, but after you chill it for half an hour, it'll be dryer and easier to scoop onto the dough.
      To make the dough, just mix glutinous or sweet rice flour with water and knead it until it's smooth.  It's that easy.

      Then, cut it into equal portions and roll the pieces into balls.
      Flatten the balls into circles and fill them like a dumpling.

      Then, just boil them in some water (you can add brown sugar to the water to make a nice, sweet soup) and when they float, they're done!

       I love watching the little white balls float to the surface, and them devouring them right after.  You can make and wrap the dumplings ahead of time and cover and freeze them for a long time before boiling them.  You can also make them without the filling.
       Enjoy!

Sweet Boiled Sesame Dumplings 汤圆

makes 16-20 tangyuan

adapted from Rasa Malaysia 

Ingredients

8 oz glutinous rice ( or sweet rice) flour

180ml (3/4 cup) water, room temperature

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup (half a stick or 2 oz) unsalted butter

Directions

1. Combine the glutinous rice flour and water and knead until it's smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
2. Toast the sesame seeds in a wok over medium heat, just until they're fragrant.  Then grind them in a blender or food processor until fine.  Return to wok over low heat and add butter and sugar, stirring until it's a smooth paste.  Pour into a small bowl, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for at least thirty minutes, until it's drier and scoopable. 
3. Cut the dough into 16-20 pieces.  Roll into balls and flatten.  Put a bit of filling in the middle and wrap it up.  Then, gently roll the dumpling into a spherical shape. Repeat with the rest of the dough.  If not cooking them on the same day, cover in plastic wrap and freeze.
4. Boil some water and add a spoonful of brown sugar.  Add the dumplings and boil.  When they float on the surface, remove with a ladle and pour into a bowl.  Serve immediately.  

Baked Coconut Pudding

 Tell me this doesn't look delicious.  It looks like a chewy, delicious bed made of sugar, doesn't it?  I wish that it was my size so that I could sleep on it.  That would be nice: "sweet dreams" taken literally.
  I've been pretty busy lately.  I don't know why, but I had so many tests and things this week.  Also, track tryouts are in a week!  I'm nervous but really excited at the same time (so cliché, isn't it).  I ran cross-country in the fall, but I've never run track before.

  Anyways, this "pudding" (which is more like a cake sorta-ish thing) is awesome.  I remember my mom used to make something similar to this before, with red beans I think.  This is a Chinese recipe, but I don't know what it's called in Chinese.  It's not too sweet, like a lot of Chinese desserts, and doesn't have a strong coconut flavor. It's made with only 6 ingredients: sweet rice flour, sugar, coconut milk, coconut cream, eggs, and vanilla.  It only takes less than 10 minutes of work, and it'll be ready in about an hour.  It's delicious served warm with some coconut ice cream, or plain and at room temperature.
   Plus, this technically fulfills one of the things on my "2013" list!

   Yum.  I could seriously eat this every day.  I was so sad when the last piece was gone.  I have to make this again.
 
Well, here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Baked Coconut Pudding

serves 6-8

recipe adapted from Christine's Recipes

Ingredients

5 large eggs

1-1/2 cups to 2-1/2 cups (300g-500g) sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

1 400ml can coconut cream

100ml coconut milk (I used the lighter version)

1-1/2 cups (300g) glutinous or sweet rice flour

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper and lightly grease or spray with oil.
2. Beat eggs together until foamy and evenly mixed.  Add sugar and mix until well-combined.
3. Add cream, milk, and flour, and vanilla and mix until well-combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
5. Can be served immediately or stored at room temperature for a couple of days. Enjoy!

Dumplings 饺子

   
     As I mentioned earlier, I have been making Chinese food to celebrate Chinese New Year. Today I will be sharing a recipe for traditional dumplings.
     I tell you, there are a lot of genius things in this world, and wrapping meat in dough and boiling it is one of them.  There are a lot of different kinds of dumplings out there, but to me, this is the only real one.
     Like many of the foods I make, this recipe is inspired by my grandma.  Only until I made these dumplings myself could I really appreciate how amazing she is at making them.  She can swiftly roll out a perfect circle of dough and wrap the dumpling before you can blink.  That comes with experience, I guess.
     Dumplings are one of my favorite foods, and if you've tried them before, you'll know why.  The outside is chewy and the inside is flavorful and moist.  I like the pork and vegetable kind, but any type of filling works. You can also pan-fry them or steam them, and they'll be delicious in a new, wonderful way.  I'm always in the mood for dumplings.
     Jiaozi, or dumplings are a Chinese New Year tradition.  In Chinese class, I learned that the name originated from "jiaozi," the first paper currency in China.  Dumplings were shaped like Chinese gold ingots, and therefore eating them symbolized wealth.
     There are two different ways to wrap dumplings: the popular Northern way (commonly seen in cartoons) and the Southern way (shaped more like gold ingots).  My family always does it the second way.

   
      For some fun, I put a chestnut in one of the dumplings so that whoever got it would have "good fortune" for the year.  My older sister got it.  It's kind of like putting a baby in a king cake for Mardi Gras.
       I hope you enjoy!

Chinese Dumplings 饺子

makes about 40 dumplings

For the Wrapper

3-1/8 cups all-purpose flour (1/8 cup = 2 tbs)

1 cup hot water (175*F)

1/2 cup room temperature water

1. Slowly pour hot water over flour while stirring quickly.  Stir quickly until all the water is incorporated.
2. Add the room temperature water little by little, mixing until incorporated. The dough will be sticky.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and firm, about 10 minutes. Add flour if necessary.
4. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
5. Divide into about 40 equal pieces (a scale makes this easier). Roll pieces into a ball.
6. Flatten the ball with your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll from the middle to the outside edge of the ball. Rotate the dough and repeat until you have a circle.

For the Filling

1 small head of nappa cabbage (about 12 oz), chopped into very small pieces or processed in food processor

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup of Chinese Chives, cut into small pieces

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

2/3 lb ground meat (chicken, pork, turkey)

A pinch of white pepper

1-2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs rice cooking wine or sherry

2 tsp sesame oil

1. Sprinkle the salt onto the cabbage and let sit for 10 minutes. This helps to draw the moisture out of it. 
2. In a medium bowl, mix the meat with the remaining ingredients.  
3. Squeeze out as much water as you can from the cabbage. Then mix it in to the meat mixture. Mix well.
4. For more flavor, let the filling marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator before filling the dumplings.

Assembly

wrappers

filling

small dish of water

1. Place a small spoonful of filling into the center of the wrapper.
2. Use your finger to brush some water around the edge of the dumpling wrapper.
3. Fold the wrapper in half and pinch together the edges.
4. Pinch the two corners together or pinch the seam together in a wavy pattern.
5. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil.  Add some of the dumplings and close the lid until it is boiling again.  Boil for about 5 minutes. The dumplings are ready to eat when they are floating.
6. Serve warm and with vinegar. Freeze or refrigerate uncooked dumplings.

     

Steamed Buns and Vegetable Filling 馒头 包子

      Hey everyone! The first day of Chinese New Year was yesterday.  Don't worry if you missed it yesterday, because Chinese New Year lasts fifteen days. That's right--fifteen days of Chinese food!
      It you're not familiar with Chinese New Year, hear are some things to get you started.  First, Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar of the New Year.  This year, the first day of the lunar calendar was February 8th.  And also, this year is the year of the snake.  So there you go.
      This year, I'm making a bunch of Chinese food to celebrate, but it'll be kind of hard since my mom is in China.  I really wish that I could have gone to China with her, but I have school to worry about :(.  Whatever, I'm going to have some good Chinese food nevertheless.
      Steamed buns (pronounced mantou or Mahn-tow in Chinese) have always been a favorite food of mine. Partly because they're so simple.  They can be made with just flour, sugar, milk, and yeast, and you can fill them with lots of different fillings like red bean paste and pork. I prefer eating them plain or with a bit of honey on top.  I made two batches of dough, one sweeter one and one less sweet one.  The less sweet one I filled with a traditional tofu, noodle, vegetable filling.  Stuffed mantous are actually called Baozi.
      My grandma makes the best mantous in the world.  I can practically inhale them.  The recipe I used is hers, but some translation were kind of hard to make.  To measure the milk, my grandma just uses a bowl and to measure the flour, she doesn't spoon and level like a lot of people do.  This recipe is pretty accurate and makes perfect steamed buns.  Another side note: to have pure white, idealistic mantous, you'll have to use bleached flour.  I use unbleached flour, so they are not as white.
      Mantous are really easy to make.  It takes about 15 minutes to make the dough, 2-3 hours to rise, and 10 minutes to steam, though.  You can make the dough in a bread machine on the dough setting or by hand.

If you have a bread machine, put all the ingredients in the pan and set the machine to the dough cycle.

Otherwise, dissolve sugar in milk and sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit 5 minutes.

Stir in egg.

Add flour and knead into a dough.
 

Let rise twice.

Cut the dough.

Steam.

Make a filling (optional)

Cut Dough.

Fill.

Wrap.

Steam.

Enjoy.

      These are perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even desert.  They are so versatile.  I love eating them plain for breakfast, with savory filling for lunch/ dinner, and with red bean paste in the middle for dessert.  They are so delicious and I never get tired of them.
      大 吉 大 利!

Steamed Buns 馒头

makes about 15 buns

Ingredients

1 cup warm milk (I used 2 percent)

1 tsp yeast

2 tbs to 1/3 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

1 egg (optional)

1 lb. flour (about 3 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. If using a bread machine, place all ingredients in pan in order suggested by the manufacturer.  Set the machine to the dough setting.  Check after 10 minutes to make sure that the dough is firm and smooth, and add milk or flour if necessary. After the machine finishes, take the risen dough out, knead it a bit, and put it back in the machine for a second rise until it's double again. Go to step 3.
2. If kneading by hand: mix sugar into milk and sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit 5 minutes until frothy.  Then stir in egg and slowly add flour while stirring until a dough forms.  Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and firm, about 10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a moist towel or plastic wrap.  Set aside in a warm place until double, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.  Take the dough out, knead it a bit, and put it back in the bowl to rise until doubled again-- another hour or so. 
3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface.  Divide in half and roll into 2 logs.  If making plain buns, cut the logs into 15 equal pieces and leave the pieces as is.  If adding filling (recipe below), divide into 15 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten the ball with your fingers so that is is a flat circle.  Place a spoonful of filling into the middle and wrap the sides of the dough over it. 
4. Place dough pieces about 1 inch apart into steamer pans lined with a moist towel. Place over boiling water and cover the pans with a lid. Steam buns for 10 minutes, then remove.
5. Eat warm, with honey if desired, or refrigerate for later.  Reheat by steaming them again for 5-10 minutes, or by putting a wet napkin over a couple and microwaving for 30 seconds per bun.  Enjoy!

Vegetable Tofu Filling

makes enough to fill about 15 baozi or 20 dumplings

Ingredients

1/2 tsp minced ginger

2 shiitake mushrooms, diced

1/4 cup frozen corn kernels

1/4 cup diced carrots

about 1 cup chopped Chinese chives

45g 5-spice flavored very firm tofu, diced (a little less than 1/4 of the package, about 1/2 cup)

about 1 cup of vermicelli or cellophane noodles, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and cut into small pieces

3 water chestnuts, skinned and diced (I used canned)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder

2tsp to 2 tbs sesame oil (to taste)

2 tbs water

Directions

1. Heat oil in a pan.  Add ginger and saute. Add mushrooms, corn, carrots, chives, and tofu. Saute until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  
2. Add noodles and water chestnuts, then stir in seasonings and water.
3. Remove from heat and let cool before using it to fill baozi or dumplings.      

Pumpkin Rice Cakes 南瓜饼

 
     My family has had this huge pumpkin sitting in our garage forever.  I mean since Halloween.  Yeah, I think that it was because nobody felt like cutting the huge thing.  Well, I instantly knew what I wanted to make with it: nan gua bing.  Pumpkins may be out of season, but this treat is perfect for Chinese New Year on February 10th and Japanese kobacha squash works great, too.

Biggest pumpkin I have ever seen

Steamer

Steam pumpkin until soft

Knead the dough

Add the filling

Squarish shape. Fold up 4 separate flaps around the filling and press together.

Simple circle shape.  I was originally going to pan-fry the circle ones I made, but the  steamed ones turned out so good.

Triangle shape. Pull up 3 flaps around the filling and press together.  

Place in the steamer pan

Enjoy

    I didn't realize before, but this recipe is actually healthy.  Really, and it's not even meant to be.  It's made with whole wheat flour (or wheat starch) and steamed.  Plus, pumpkin is a vegetable and red beans are good for you!  Pan-frying them instead of steaming is another delicious alternative, though less healthy.

    I first can about this recipe from one of my mom's friends and my mom and I made it together.  It tasted great, however, the shape didn't hold.  I think that the wheat flour/starch helps and we didn't add water this time.

   You'll need glutinous rice flour (aka sweet rice flour) and red bean paste, which can be found at an Asian market or in the Asian isle in your grocery store. You'll also need a steamer and pumpkin/Japanese kobacha squash.

   Trust me.  These are delicious, and they don't taste like pumpkin at all.  You may also use different fillings beside red bean, and you can make your own homemade red bean paste which is great.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Rice Cakes 南瓜饼

makes about 24

Ingredients

450g pumpkin or Japanese kobacha squash, cut into cubes

450g (3/4c) glutinous rice flour

150g (1c 2tbs) whole wheat flour or wheat starch

30-60g sugar (1/4c to 1/3c) sugar depending on how sweet you want it

1 can sweetened red bean paste

Directions

1. Steam the pumpkin in a steamer until soft, about 20 minutes
2. Quickly add flours and sugar and mix with your hands until a dough forms.
3. On a board dusted with glutinous rice flour, Knead the dough until smooth and a but stretchy, about 10 minutes.
4. Take about a tbs of dough and flatten it into a circle with thinner edges. Place about a teaspoon of filling into the center and wrap the dough around it. Continue with the rest of the dough.
5. Prepare a steamer.  Line a steamer pan with a damp towel.  Rub the bottoms of the cakes with a bit of glutinous rice flour and place in the pan.  Steam 8-9 minutes, until soft.
6. Alternatively, heat some oil in a pan and fry on both sides a few minutes until brown ans crispy. 
7. Serve immediately.  To store, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature or refrigerate for 3 to 5 days.