Boiled Pot Stickers (Shwei Jow)
Ingredients
8 ounce regular or firm tofu
2 Tbsp. black mushrooms, minced (or shiitake mushrooms) (presoaked)
2 Tbsp. presoaked minced tree ear
1 Tbsp. dried lily buds, minced (presoaked)
1 Tbsp. green onion, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. soy sauce
2 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 C. all purpose flour
1/4 C. water
soy sauce
vinegar
mushroom soaking liquid or water
sesame oil (optional)
chile oil (optional)
Cooking Instructions
Mash the tofu to yield about 3/4 C.. To make the filling, combine mashed tofu with the minced ingredients, salt, soy sauce, and sesame oil. To make the wrappers, mix flour and water by hand, kneading just enough to make a ball of dough. Cover and let rest for at least an hour. Place on a lightly floured board, and knead for 2 minutes or so. With palms of your hands, roll it into a long, cylindrical shape, 12 inches long, 1 inch in diameter. Cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces; you will have 24. If your climate is dry, keep the dough covered. Shape these, cut side up, into a round shape. Flatten them with a flour dusted board. To assemble, place 1 1/2 tsp. filling in an elongated mound in the center of each wrapper; fold the dough over the filling so that the edges meet. Press the edges together for a tight seal, at the same time making four or five tiny pleats, pinched tightly flush with the edge. Bring 4 C. water to the boil in a pot. Immerse eight dumplings at a time for 3 minutes Stir occasionally. After 3 minutes, remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon. Cook the remaining two batches in the same way. Serve hot, accompanied by small dipping saucers of soy sauce and vinegar (cider or Chinese dark), mixed in roughly equal proportions, or to taste, and thinned with water or mushroom liquid if too strong; add perhaps a drop of sesame and/or chile oil.
My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalms 42:3)