Dumplings and Dragons

‘Friends, Fiction, and food.’

To my mind there is no greater act of culinary devotion than making any kind of filled food, tortellini, pirogi, empanada or (as in our case) dumplings. When I was a younger man I was very interested in keeping my food somehow authentic a pure example of the cuisine they were part of and never mixing them I have here though abandoned this concept and present a kind of vaguely Asian good stuff stuffed in dumplings served with a sweet and hot sauce and wok fried greens.

This is a lot of stuff

The dumpling skins 

Save yourself a headache go to the closest (or your favorite) Asian supermarket and buy some.

Green and blacks
French fine beans (a bunch)
Fermented black beans (about a handful, you have to go to the Chinese supermarket anyway)
Garlic (5 cloves)
Soy sauce (dark or light, the world’s alright)
Butter (a knob)

1. Process the french beans and garlic in a food processor. The add the black beans and process again.
2. Heat up your wok. A wok should be hot. Stir fry the mixture.
3. Add soy sauce to taste.
4. Add butter at the end (fight me)
5. Wrap in dumpling skins, doesn't matter as long as its sealed

Tibetan potato dumplings

Potatoes
Onion 

Coriander (fresh)

Garlic (some) (if you're also making the green and blacks omit this if you want)
Cheddar cheese (I really don't remember where I got this recipe from)
White pepper (½ teaspoon)
Cumin (2 teaspoon)
butter/oil

1. Peel, chop and boil the potato
2. Finely chop the onion and garlic then fry it in a mix of butter and oil your wok until it begins to color
3. Finely chop the coriander and roughly chop the cheddar
4. Mash everything together,
5. Wrap in dumpling skins

Pork and prawn dumplings
(I’m vegetarian, and as such I wouldn't eat or cook this. Jordan made this filling)

Pork mince (equal to prawn)
Prawn (equal to pork)
Soy sauce (light)
Sesame oil
Chives (finely chopped, quite a lot)

1. Process the pork and prawn in a food processor.
2. Add a dash each of soy sauce and sesame oil
3. Stir in the chives
4. Chill
5. Wrap in dumpling skins

Spring onion pancakes

Many years ago me and Jordan make a dumpling feast (just for the two of us) and i made some kind of onion pancake. I’m a better cook now i think this interpretation is good.

Egg
Flour
Water
Neutral oil
Spring onions (scallions,or green onions chopped extremely finely)

1. Pour the flour onto a counter and form a volcano.
2. Add an egg and incorporate into the flour, you’re looking for a stiff dough.
3. Kneed for about 15 minutes until you get a very smooth dough.
4. Fridge for at least half an hour.
5. Cut into slightly larger than golf ball sized pieces.
6. Roll it out until approximately a millimeter thick.
7. Brush with neutral oil then scatter a good handful of onions onto the surface
8. Fold the edges of the dough into the center so that there is none of the onion side showing.
9. Roll out again to the size of your frying pan.
10. Fry in oil.
11. Serve as soon as possible, goes real well with the hot sauce.

Orange and chili sauce

Tomatoes
Garlic (not as a major taste)
Fresh oranges
Orange juice
Red chilies (to taste)
Soy sauce
Sugar

1. Chop your tomatoes, garlic and chilies into chunks and put in a blender
2. Add the zest and juice of an orange and a good slug of soy sauce to the blender
3. Blend until a smooth sauce is formed
4. Taste and balance with OJ, soy and sugar

Serve family style on the biggest table you can find along with wok fried greens, some kind of vegetable pickle, and a noisy room full of good friends.