Dumpling Experiment

[lydamorehouse]

 
Very lovely, mostly well-shaped pork buns in a bed of cabbage leaves in a bamboo steamer.

As I was telling a friend in e-mail this morning, I was inordinately worried about the wrappings for these dumplings, kind of to the exclusion of the stuffing. I think I thought that somehow this bread would be more difficult for me than most breads, but that turned out to not be true. The pork buns, shown above, used a yeast wrapping and the wrapping was by far the more delicious part..... unfortunately. I THOUGHT that I could use this opportunity to use up some of the pork that I had leftover from previous dumpling making. I should have started fresh. The meat wasn't spoiled or anything, it was just... not right for these buns. 

Ah, well, I learned that steamed pork buns are very do-able. Obviously, I still need to work on my folding technique, but NOT BAD FOR A FIRST TIME, EH?

The other dumpling I tried, I was really also just trying to see if I could make the wrapper from scratch? Again, apparently, this should not have been my big worry. I should have been FAR MORE worried about what went inside.


Image: lovely little half moons on another bed of cabbage... actually steaming in the steamer.

Like, these looked great?  I need to experiment more with filling before I share recipes. I will say that these dumpling wrappers were mostly white wheat, with a little bit of rice flour and were not at all difficult to make.  

The cabbage instead of parchment paper linings worked AMAZINGLY. It's a tip I read about in the book that inspired these experiments: A WORLD OF DUMPLINGS: Filled Dumplings, Pockets, and Little Pies from Around the Globe by Brian Yarvin.

My family, however, took this meal in the spirit it was intended. They gave me lots of feedback and encouragement to keep experimenting... while also lamenting that it was a real bummer that the fillings were very "meh," to "this is a bit odd, Ima, what did you put IN here??"  All of which was fair.

Otherwise, emotionally? Things have been kind of rough. It is a combination of hormones (mine: perimenopause) and a lack of proper sleep last night that made me not chose the right way to talk about things... A LOT.

But, this too shall pass and tomorrow is another day.

Comments

[abracanabra]

I shall look forward to the recipe-sharing stage!

[lydamorehouse]

It will happen soon. I could always share the wrapper recipes, if you're interested. But, I would like to do this again ASAP. I had a lot of fun.

[sabotabby]

Ahhh, I am dying for dumplings. If someone made me even mediocre dumplings I would praise them to the heavens. But those look incredible.

Ugh hormones and insomnia.

[lydamorehouse]

The hormones SUCK, but the dumplings were fun.

I'd ship some dumplings to you, if I thought they'd survive the trip.

[dreamshark]

Gorgeous! I love dumplings of all kinds. And those look spectacular.

[lydamorehouse]

Same. I bought the book partly because it kind of doesn't matter if they're perogi or pork buns or empanda or whathave you. If you have wrapped something in a bread, I am down for it.

[offcntr]

Did you eat the cabbage leaves as well? With a little soy/sesame oil?

[lydamorehouse]

My book told me that they were tasty, but not this time. I should have.

[yhlee]

Your dumplings look amazing. :)

The traditional (and rather sexist) Korean way of making dumplings, which I have participated in, involves getting all the women of the household together to gossip and chatter while making dumplings en masse. Meanwhile, the men lounge about and play baduk (go). But the results are still delicious!

[lydamorehouse]

It seems to be a tradition in a lot of cultures, alas.

Shawn's family, at least, seems to all get involved with the making of their pastry meat pies: fleishkuekle. The men do "manly" things like deep fat frying and meat stuffing (mmmm?) but at least the whole family does something.

[caffeine]

Those look great! I, too, had dumplings last night. However, I used the grocery store frozen ones and a steamer that sits in the pot, nothing fancy. I do love the idea of using cabbage leaves instead of parchment paper - very cool.

[lydamorehouse]

Apparently, the cabbage leaves will soak up the juices and can be quite yummy? I didn't eat them this time, though. Perhaps another mistake.

But, store bought is still yummy. There are flavors that the stores will make that I have no clue how to replicate.

[oracne]

May tomorrow be better. And I am SUPER IMPRESSED you made dumpling wrappers.

[lydamorehouse]

Thank you. Weirdly the easy part for me, but I am a known bread wizard.

Today has been better? It's a tough anniversary, but emotionally I am feeling more resilient, which is good.

[broken_record]

I love dumplings. I've made wontons but not dumplings. One day I'll try too.