c/o Milly Berman

This is another recipe in a series I am developing called “Recipes You Can Make With Ingredients Only From Weshop (and Not Just on Restock Day).” Sure, anyone can make a delicious dinner on a Friday or Saturday when the shelves are all full. But it’s truly a challenge to be inspired when there’s just one sad, wilted, baby bok choy in the vegetable section and nothing at all in the meat fridge. In this case, it’s important to have some flexible recipes into which you can dump limp vegetables and a good old brick of tofu to get through the week.

Substitute the tofu for any kind of ground meat if you can find it, and throw in any other vegetables you have. Scallions or spinach would work great. Disclaimer: these dumplings are in no way authentic to any cuisine whatsoever, but neither are the ones at Usdan, and these are much better.

Because they don’t sell dumpling wrappers at Weshop, we are going to have to make our own. It’s going to be okay. Dumpling wrappers are actually one of the simplest things in the world to make because they only require one ingredient (flour) and some time. The key is using part boiling water and part room temperature water—the boiling water denatures the gluten in the flour, making the dough soft and easy to roll out rather than stretchy or bouncy. When you first mix together the dough, it will be a dry, crusty mess. But the flour works its magic during an hour-long waiting period and actually absorbs the water in a process similar to autolyse, a stage of the resting period for bread dough when it hydrates and develops gluten. Then the dough can easily be rolled into 3-inch rounds and stuffed full of delicious filling.

Ingredients

Serves 2–4 

Dumpling wrappers:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup (+ 2 tablespoons) boiling water
• 1/4 cup room temperature water
• Oil

Tofu filling:

• 3 teaspoons oil
• 1 large carrot
• 1/4 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 1 baby bok choy
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons sriracha (or more, according to your spice preference)
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 tablespoons Japanese BBQ sauce (One of my Weshop staples. If you can’t find it, add 2 extra tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of honey.)
• 1 block firm tofu 
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Mix together the flour and two types of water to form a shaggy, crusty, ugly dough. Add 2 extra tablespoons of boiling water if it’s really not coming together at all. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
2. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and place it in a bowl. Place anything heavy, like a can of tomatoes or a textbook, on top to weigh it down and press out any excess water.
3. Once 15 minutes have passed, knead the dough a couple of times. It should come together into something less ugly and more smooth. Rub the outside with oil, cover, and set aside for 45 minutes to an hour for the gluten to relax.
4. While the dough rests, make the filling. Chop your carrot and onion as finely as you possibly can and sauté them in 1 teaspoon of oil on medium heat until soft and translucent. While they heat, mince the garlic, ginger, and baby bok choy. Add them to the pan and stir to combine.
5. Season the vegetables with the soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, ketchup, and Japanese BBQ sauce. Continue cooking until the sauce has been mostly absorbed by the vegetables, about 5 minutes. Then remove from the heat and crumble in the pressed tofu.
6. When the dumpling dough has rested, roll the dough into a log and cut it into 16 evenly-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball in the palms of your hands. Use a rolling pin or any kind of clean, empty bottle to roll out each ball as thin as you possibly can. They should end up between 3 and 4 inches in diameter. The size is less important than the thinness. If they are too thick, they won’t cook all the way through.
7. Fill each dumpling wrapper with filling and seal them up. I could try to explain how to do this, but YouTube will serve you better.
8. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Once it is super hot, place all the dumplings in the pan. They should start to brown instantly. Once they are lightly browned, add 1/3 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid. 
9. Cook for 6 to 9 minutes, or until the dumplings have started to turn shiny and a little translucent. At this point, remove the lid and let all the water evaporate so that the dumplings can get crispy again. The good thing is that you can’t really overcook them at this point. Once they are crispy, you are ready to serve! I like to dip the dumplings in a little extra Japanese BBQ sauce.

Milly Berman can be reached at mgberman@wesleyan.edu.