Too late for dumplings?

Last Thurs was the dumpling festival (端午节). It was only on the Sun of the week that I impromptuly decided to make dumplings this year. One of the main reasons was for my mum. Mum used to make dumplings which were raved by all who've tasted them. Due to her health, she hasn't been making them since a few years ago. I was quite determined to pass down her knowledge and skills, although unfortunately, I haven't quite mastered them yet.



This was the 3rd year I was attempting on her popular Nonya dumplings, but sadly, the standard is still not quite there. My mum does not have a well documented recipe. Much of it was in her head. It was pretty difficult to get the correct gauge on the taste of the meat which was the essence of the whole dumpling. I'll probably have to wait till next year to try again.



There were quite a few hiccups this year. The shallots were not crispy. I was trying to multi-task and chose to turn on medium-small fire from the beginning which probably had caused the flop. Next, I had to throw away half of the cooked ingredients (one big pot) as I only managed to keep one pot in the fridge. The other pot was left in room temperature, thinking that I would be using them to wrap the dumplings 6 hours later, which I didn't. It had turned bad by the time I was finally ready to do the wrapping. Super demoralising! Perhaps the dampened mood resulted in a vicious cycle. Some of the leaves split open in the midst of cooking, which resulted in rice falling into the boiling water. Hence my last batch of dumplings had bits of rice sticking on the outside, something which hasn't happened in the last two years.



This year I also attempted the yellow dumpling (碱水粽）. My mum has made it sound so easy that I really thought it would be fail proofed. But I was wrong again. The dumplings didn't turned out quite like hers. I had added yam paste into the dumplings. The yam paste tasted bland in the dumplings although it was ok on its own.

So you see, this year hasn't been really successful for my dumpling journey. Hopefully by next year I would have achieved the perfect dumpling.

Nonya Dumplings

It's that season of the year again. This year I'm making my favourite Nonya rice dumplings. These were taught by my mum 3 years ago. She used to make them every year when we were young. I could eat 8 of them in a day when I was a little kid! Pretty amazing appetite I had then. Now that age is catching up on her, she can't make these anymore due to the extensive work involved. I was glad I managed to learn the basic from her. Although my skills are still far from hers, but at least the recipe can be passed down without loss. It's part of our heritage that is slowly losing in this modern age.



Nonya Dumplings

Ingredients
1kg Glutinous rice
30 large dumpling leaves
Dumpling strings for tying

Fillings:


1kg pork belly, skin removed (retain the fats) (三层肉)
1/2kg pork shoulder, boneless (前腿肉)
300g melon strips (糖冬瓜)
200g chestnuts (I use fresh chestnuts with the pellicle)
100g preserved chinese mushrooms
300g shallots

1 tsp salt

Seasonings:
3.5 tbsp finely grounded coriander seeds*
1 tbsp five spice powder
1 tbsp pepper
3.5 tbsp light soy sauce
1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce

*It's best to grind your own. I find commercial ones not as fragrant.

Method

Preparation (can be done 1-2 days earlier)
1. Soak dumpling leaves and strings overnight. Place a heavy weight on top of the leaves to ensure all leaves are soaked.

Boil the leaves and strings in a large pot of water for 10 mins on the second day.

Wash the leaves, using a piece of cloth to stroke each leave downwards from the stalk to the tip. After washing, continue soaking till ready to use, changing water 2-3 times a day.

2. Boil pork in a pot of water for 10 minutes to remove any smell. Dice semi-cooked pork, approximately 1cm for lean meat and 0.5cm for fatty meat.
Remove tough membrane like this


3. Boil the chestnuts (with the pellicle) in water for 10 minutes. Remove the pellicle if you are using fresh chestnuts. Discard any rotten ones (use a small knife to prick open the center of the chestnuts to check). Wash the chestnuts and boil for another 10 minutes to semi-cook them.
4. Dice melon strips approximately 0.5cm.
5. Soak and wash chinese mushrooms. Dice approximately 0.5 cm.
6. Slice shallots into 1mm thickness.
7. Wash and soak the glutinous rice for 6-8 hours before use.

To cook the fillings
1. Fry the shallots in a wok over medium heat until golden brown. Drain and set aside for later use.
2. Fry the mushrooms in the shallot oil till fragrant. Drain and set aside for later use. Scoop out extra oil leaving about 2 tbsp.
3. Fry the diced meat. Season with 1 tsp of salt. Cover wok and simmer over medium heat till meat is just cooked. Scoop out any excess oil/liquid.
4. When the meat is about to dry, add the mushrooms, melon strips, chestnuts and seasonings to mix well before adding the shallots in the final stir. Do not overcook pork or it will be tough. Remove from heat and leave to cool completely.


On actual day
1. Drain water from the leaves.
2. Drain water from the rice and add 1 tbsp of salt to season.
3. Give the meat a good stir so that the oil trapped at the bottom can be evenly distributed. (If the cooked meat is kept in the fridge, bring to room temperature before wrapping.)

4. To wrap dumpling, fold the leave at approximately 40% mark from the tip so that the stalk is the longer end.


The folded end should be at least 1.5-2cm


Scoop a tsp of rice,


follow by 2 tbsp of meat & chestnut


and finally cover with another 1-1.5 tbsp of rice.


The two ends of the leave should be overlapping each other


Fold the dumpling and bend the leave carefully, making sure the corners are not broken.
Fold both sides inwards

Holding both sides with your right hand, fold it upwards towards the overlapping leave on your left hand and wrap the leave around the dumpling

Fold the leave to one side

Ensure the folded point does not fall at the stalk but at the leave or the dumpling may break open during boiling


Tie each dumpling securely with a string. Do not tie it too tight. The string should just go round the dumpling (twice) nicely and not create any crease.


5. Cook the dumplings in boiling water over medium-high heat for 1 hr. Water level must be above all the dumplings. Add boiling water along the way, if necessary.


Mood: tired