Snow Day and Pan Fried Veggie Dumplings and Hot & Sour Soup!

The wind is howling and the snow is piling up outside; we are cozy and warm inside planning a lazy day with plenty of time to practice, make reeds, write my blog and play Bananagrams in front of the woodstove!

I will share recipes for a Chinese Feast that we made in the last snow storm that included pan fried veggie pot stickers and hot & sour soup- just in time for Chinese New Year!

The recipe for the soup includes sliced bamboo shoots. I didn’t have any on hand- feel free to use what you have.

For the veggie dumplings, also feel free to improvise with whatever ingredients are available.

ENJOY!

Veggie Potstickers

1/2 pound firm tofu cut into small pieces

1/2 cup shitake mushrooms sauted and finely chopped.
1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots- optional
1/2 cup finely chopped bok choy or Napa cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped soaked and drained rice noodles
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil

20 small wonton wrappers

Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Place dried rice noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let sit a few minutes until softened. Drain and rinse with cold water. Cut into small pieces.

Cut the tofu in half horizontally and lay between layers of paper towels. Place on a plate, top with another plate, and place a weight on top (a 14-ounce can of vegetables works well). Let stand 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cut the tofu into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the carrots, rice noodles, shitake mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce and sesame oil. Lightly stir to combine.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the tofu mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over and lightly press edges to seal. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Cook until brown and crispy and then turn. Cook this side until brown and crispy.

Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked.

Serve immediately.

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (I use organic brown rice vinegar)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil or 1/2 tablespoon dark, 1/2 tablespoon hot sesame oil
1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)

Hot and Sour Soup- adapted from NY Times Cooking

By Vivian Chan-Tam

Published Feb. 6, 2024

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6

• 6 ounces pork tenderloin, sliced into ½-inch-thick strips (see Tip 1)
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2teaspoons Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry
• ½ cup plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
• 4 ounces shiitake or baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and sliced ¼-inch thick
• 8 ounces firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1(8-ounce) can of sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 2 medium scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
• ⅓ to ½cup rice vinegar, to taste
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• ¾ to 1½teaspoons crushed red pepper, to taste
• ¼ to ¾teaspoon ground white pepper, to taste
• 1 large egg, beaten

Preparation

1. in a medium bowl, add the pork and 2 teaspoons of regular (low-sodium) soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Toss until well combined and marinate for 5 minutes.
2. In a large, wide pot, bring 7 cups of the broth to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium, then add the marinated pork, shiitake mushrooms, firm tofu, bamboo shoots, scallion whites, vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, crushed red pepper and white pepper. Simmer until mushrooms have softened and flavor has developed, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Whisk the remaining ½ cup cornstarch with the remaining 1 cup chicken broth in a small bowl. Slowly stir into the soup; continue stirring until the soup has thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Taste the soup and add more pepper or vinegar, if desired.
4. Stir the soup in a circular motion and slowly drizzle in the beaten egg to create ribbons. Simmer for 1 minute. Divide soup among bowls and top with scallion greens. Serve immediately.

Tips

• Tip 1: If purchasing a whole tenderloin, remove the 6 ounces needed for this recipe and freeze the remaining piece, wrapped tightly in plastic. Or, cut the remaining piece into strips and freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan, then transfer to a zip-top bag and store it in the freezer for a quick stir-fry.
• I used the extra pork to make stir fried bok choy and pork ( recipe to appear in another blog post!)

Here are some pictures from a walk on a cold sunny day at the Thompson-Palmer Trail in Great Barrington, MA.

AND: Here is the “Tree of the Week”!

STAY WARM!