Make Ahead Wontons

With the beginning September, the weather has begun to cool in this part of the country. Cooler weather always has me thinking of soup.

Preparing wontons ahead of time and then freezing them is great for those busy weekday evenings when you crave a hot bowl of soup. All you need is chicken or fish broth, sliced green onions and other greens if you have those handy. Add a few frozen wontons and you are good to go in less than 10 minutes.

wontons
1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned and roughly chopped
10-12oz ground pork
3 green onions, sliced
2-3 tsp low sodium tamari or soy sauce
2-3 tsp chili or plain sesame oil
2-3 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1-2 (12oz) pkgs wonton wrappers, depending on how large you make them.

Bring a small pot of water to a simmer.

Meanwhile combine the shrimp, pork, green onions, the lesser amounts of tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and salt in a large bowl. Place a small amount of filling onto the center of a wonton wrapper. Wet the edges and fold together like a triangle and press to seal the edges.

Drop the wonton into the simmering water for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with the tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil. ginger and salt until the filling is to your liking.

There are several ways you can fold the wonton. I'll illustrate two ways, one using less filling and one with more.

To make wontons with less filling. Place a small amount (about 1 tsp) onto the center of the wonton. Wet the edges and fold together to form a triangle. Press and seal the edges. Wet the two narrower edges and bring those together. Pinch and place onto a large cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicon mat. This will make it easier to remove the frozen wontons later. Take care the wontons don't touch each other.

If you prefer more filling and less wrapper, then place a larger amount of filling (start with about 1 1/2 tsp) onto the center of the wrapper. Wet the edges and bring two opposite corners together and pinch together. Then bring the other two corners toward the two that are already pinched together. Wet any loose flaps and pinch those together as well. Place onto a large cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicon mat. This will make it easier to remove the frozen wontons later. Take care the wontons don't touch each other.

When all of your wontons are finished. Place the cookie sheet(s) into the freezer. They will be frozen in about 3-4 hours. Peel them off the parchment paper or silicon mat and place them into freezer bags to return to the freezer.

to prepare per serving
1 1/2 cups chicken or fish broth
1/2 green onion, sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced spinach, watercress or beet greens (optional)
a drop or two, chili or plain sesame oil
3-5 frozen wontons, depending on size

Heat the broth in a pot with a lid. Add the green onion, spinach, watercress or beet greens if using, and the sesame oil. Simmer for a minute, then drop in the wontons.

Cover the pot and simmer 5-8 minutes more. Serve.

Chicken Potstickers

(about 60 potstickers)

I have to admit I'm pretty inept when it comes to forming potstickers. I can't seem to get the folds right and trying to put them together correctly takes me way too long. I usually give up after a few tries and end up folding them into simple half moon shapes similar to pierogies. It's much faster that way and they still taste the same, so ultimately it doesn't matter. I'm still in awe of my dim sum teacher in Toronto, who could fold dumplings into various shapes in mere seconds while holding a conversation with you and maintaining eye contact!

These delicious dumplings freeze really well, so if you are inclined, double this recipe to enjoy more of them at a later date.

potstickers
4-5 dried shitaki mushroom caps
1 cup hot water
1 lb napa cabbage
3/4 lb ground chicken
2 green onions, sliced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2-3 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 pinches red pepper flakes
60 potsticker wrappers
sesame oil for frying
water

Soak the mushrooms in hot water for about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile shred the cabbage into a microwave-proof bowl. Cover with wrap and microwave at one minute intervals until the cabbage has softened. Remove and cool.

Remove the mushrooms from the water and gently squeeze. Discard any hard stems and slice the caps into thin strips. Place them into a large mixing bowl.

Gently squeeze the cooled cabbage to release some of its excess moisture. You do not need to squeeze it completely dry. Add the cabbage, chicken, green onions, cilantro, ginger, tamari, sesame oil, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes to the mushrooms.

Mix thoroughly until everything is well combined. The filling will be on the wet side. At this point you can fry a small amount to adjust the seasoning, if you like.

To form the potstickers, place a generous teaspoonful into the center of each wrapper; make sure to leave the edges clear otherwise the dumplings will be difficult to seal. Lightly moisten the edges with water and then fold them together in half, pressing the edges together firmly. If you wish to pleat them, then have a look here. Smooth half moon shapes are fine if you find the pleating process as difficult as I do.

To freeze your finished potstickers, place them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer and not touching each other. Place the sheet into your freezer for about one hour, then remove and place the frozen potstickers into freezer bags for further freezing.

To cook the potstickers, heat a small amount of sesame oil in a heavy non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid over a medium-high flame.

Place the potstickers into the skillet in a single layer, then add about 3-4 tbsp of water. Cover the skillet and reduce the flame to about medium or a touch lower. Steam the dumplings for about  5-7 minutes if they are fresh; 8-11 minutes if they are frozen (do not thaw them out first). Adjust the flame as needed to keep the bottoms from burning; the bottoms should just be nicely browned and slightly crispy.

If there's still a bit of water in the skillet when you remove the lid, then just cook another minute or two until the liquid has evaporated.

Serve with the dipping sauce, (see below).

potsticker dipping sauce
1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin or rice wine
3-4 tbsp rice vinegar
1 green onion, sliced
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp chili paste, or to taste

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Serve with the potstickers.

Pierogi with Sauerkraut, Mushroom & Bacon Filling

(about 30 3" pierogi)

I'm a huge fan of dumplings. They are the epitome of comfort food. These sauerkraut pierogi are a nice alternative to the ones with potato and cheese.

If you feel inclined, you can triple the amount and freeze them. I like to arrange them in a single layer on a lightly floured cookie sheet which I place into the freezer for about 20 minutes. At that point they will be cold enough to bag without them sticking together.

I added some melted butter to the dough because a reader mentioned an aunt had done so and her pierogi "melted in your mouth". To be honest, I didn't notice much of a difference. I may not have added enough butter. It was worthwhile trying and I have left the butter in the recipe as an option if you are inclined to give it a try.

sauerkraut filling
1/4 lb peppered bacon, diced
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
2 cups sauerkraut
salt and pepper
3 tbsp sour cream

Place the bacon into a large skillet and fry until it's almost crispy. Remove most of the rendered fat in the skillet, leaving a teaspoonful or two behind. Add the onion and mushrooms.

Lower the heat and stir the onions and mushrooms into the bacon. Cook, stirring from time to time until the mixture is dry; about 10-12 minutes.

Add the sauerkraut and cook until it has heated through and the mixture is dry again.

Cool the filling. Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the sour cream until it's well combined.

dough
2 1/4cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp melted butter, cooled (optional)

2 - 5 tbsp water

Place the flour, egg, salt, sour cream and butter (if using) into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade. Pulse a few times. If the dough doesn't form into a ball and pull away from the sides, then add a tablespoon of water at a time until it does. You want a soft, slightly sticky dough.

Process the dough for a few seconds, then place it into a buttered bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel for at least 20 minutes.

To assemble

butter
cracked pepper

sour cream

Grab a third of the dough at a time and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 1/6 of an inch thick. Cut out as many *three inch circles as you can. 

*I use a glass for this, depending on the size of your cutting tool,  feel free to make your pierogi slightly larger or smaller if you wish.

Place as much filling as you can into the middle of each circle without letting any of it touch the edges (otherwise you won't get a good seal and the dumplings might open as you boil them). 

Fold the edges together to form crescents, dust them lightly with flour and continue to work until you have used all of the filling and dough.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pierogi, taking care not to crowd them too much (you might have to cook them in batches). Reduce the heat slightly so the water simmers and cook them until they rise to the surface; about 3-5 minutes.

Toss the pierogi in a small amount of butter, dust with freshly cracked pepper and serve with sour cream.

Spinach Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

(4 servings)

These gnocchi didn't come together as quickly as my last batch. I used the spinach directly out of the package and probably should have chopped it further; it would have been much easier to shape them. They were delicious though, and I served them with a mushroom sauce.

Parmesan Gnocchi with Puttanesca Sauce

(4 servings)

When I decided to make Marillenknödel, I also found myself thinking about gnocchi. The dough is pretty similar.

This gnocchi turned out a bit larger than usual. Once the garlic hit the hot olive oil as I was making the sauce, and that wonderful aroma filled my kitchen, I began to get hunger pangs. All of a sudden my leisurely time became rather hurried, and my focus shifted from the process of making this meal to seeing the finished food on my plate!

Marillenknödel; Austrian Apricot Dumplings

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(4 - 8 dumplings)

Over the years I have come across various versions for these dumplings. Some recipes use a quark dough or yeasted dough...  in my family (both my mum and grandmother) made these with a potato dough similar to gnocchi.

My mum used to fill these dumplings with either apricots or those small Italian prune plums (Zwetschgenknödel). This year the apricots were gigantic and I didn't like the large dumplings I got as a result. I will only make these again if I can get my hands on small apricots. The portions will be more manageable that way.

Asian Style Scallop and Shrimp Dumplings

(about 30-36 dumplings)

These dumplings are similar to Har Gow, although the wrappers differ somewhat. I ran out of wheat starch, so I added more tapioca starch. The resulting wrappers seemed a bit thicker to me as well as "chewier", but in a pleasant way.

I kind of liked the wrappers and noticed they didn't seem quite as delicate when I steamed them; I wasn't afraid they might fall apart if they stayed in the streamer a tad too long. On the other hand, one of the wonderful aspects of starch wrappers is the ability to see through them, and because of their thickness these weren't quite as translucent as they might have been.

*The dumplings do freeze well. Place them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for about 20-30 minutes. Then bag them for further freezing. I usually double or even triple this recipe to have a good supply on hand for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Semmel Knödel; German Bread Dumplings

(about 10 small dumplings)

My mum sent me a wonderful German cookbook. One of the first things I checked out were the dumplings. I made some last year to go with my Rouladen, and failed miserably. They had fallen apart during the cooking and I wasn't sure why.

It appears I used too much milk, not enough eggs and no flour. I have made the necessary adjustments, and the dumplings turned out great this time around.


4 cups bread or rolls, torn apart or cubed
1/4-1/3 cup milk
1-2 slices of bacon, diced
1/2  large yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
a pinch of nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour, give or take

Place the bread in a bowl and pour the milk evenly over it. Use less milk if the bread is fresh. Set aside.

Place the bacon in a skillet and fry until it's crispy. If there's too much fat, then remove some of it.

Add the onions and fry until they become translucent and change to an amber brown. Remove from the heat and cool.

Add the parsley, salt and pepper (to taste), nutmeg and eggs to the bread mixture. Add the cooled onions and bacon.
Combine the ingredients well. I find hands work best here.

Starting with about 2 tablespoons of flour.. work that in.. adding a bit more if necessary until the mixture feels like a sticky dough.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil.

Form about 10 small dumplings with wet hands and drop into the boiling water. Reduce the heat so the water simmers gently and cook for about 15 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. They will usually begin to rise to the surface a few minutes before they are actually done.

Leftover dumplings are great sliced up and fried in a small amount of butter.

Pierogi with Potato & Cheese Filling

( 24-36 dumplings, depending on size)

I grew up in Edmonton which had a large Ukrainian community, and learned to make these when I was still a teenager. Pierogi were serious business; a friend's mum once wrote me a "sick note" so I could skip an afternoon of school to help her make a huge batch, lol.

These dumplings are usually boiled, then coated with butter and served with fried onions and /or crispy bacon bits and sour cream.

They come with a variety of fillings. The popular one in Edmonton contained mashed potatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. Others were filled with sauerkraut or meat, and then there were the dessert pierogi filled with cherries, blueberries, saskatoon berries or plums.

For the New Year there were tiny ones filled with mushrooms which were placed into soup bowls with hot borscht ladled over them. My mouth waters just thinking of those.

I double this recipe and freeze most of the ones I make. Just place them on a lightly floured cookie sheet after they are filled and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes. At that point you can bag them for further freezing. When you are ready for the frozen ones, just drop them straight into the boiling water; don't defrost them.

Har Gow; Shrimp Dumplings

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(about 42-48 dumplings)

While I was still living in Toronto, I took several evening cooking courses at George Brown College. Among them were two dim sum classes.

I loved those classes, and it wasn't until I left Toronto that I realised just how wonderful they had been. These were "hands on" classes where each student had their own workspace and prepared their own food, very unlike the classes I have come across in Dallas where you basically shell out a small fortune to squeeze between 15-20 individuals to watch someone else cook or prepare something.

Had I known how "special" these classes were at the time, I would have taken a lot more of them.

Har Gow was one of the dishes I learned to make and I still make it rather frequently. It freezes well, so I often double or even triple this recipe.

Filling
1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2 tbsp glutinous rice wine, or sherry
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt, or to taste
2 tbsp tapioca starch

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.

Wrappers
3 cups wheat starch
4 tbsp tapioca starch
2 tbsp lard, or shortening, or olive oil
2 cups boiling water

Serve with
chinese mustard
chili paste

Combine the wheat and tapioca starch in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water; add the lard, shortening or oil. Mix until a ball forms. Knead until the dough feels smooth; a minute or so.

Keep the dough under a damp cloth and break off small pieces, and roll them into little balls. Place each ball into a tortilla press, and press; this makes perfect circular wrappers. If you don't have a press, then roll each piece out by hand with a rolling pin. The ones I make in the tortilla press do make a slightly thicker wrapper, but that's the trade-off for getting them done faster.

Place a small amount of filling into the centre of each wrapper and fold starting at one side; keep one edge smooth and fold the other edge in as you work your way to the other side. Don't be tempted to overfill these; the smallest amount of filling will prevent the edges from sticking together.

*At this point the har gow can be frozen. I place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer, not touching and freeze  for 10 minutes or so before packing them into freezer bags for further freezing.

Spray the bottom of a steamer lightly with oil or cover with cabbage leaves, and arrange the har gow in one layer with a bit of space between. Steam for about 5-8 minutes. *I add a minute if I'm steaming them directly from the freezer. Be careful not to steam them for too long as the wrappers can disintegrate.

Serve these with chinese mustard and chili paste.

Kimchi Mandu, Korean Dumplings

(about 90-100 dumplings; they freeze really well)

My first introduction to Korean food was many years ago in Edmonton, Canada, of all places. We used to order these with Bibimbap, a rice dish with veggies which was topped with a raw egg.

Back then we dipped the Mandu into soy sauce and sugar we mixed together at the table. Now I make a sauce similar to one I make for most asian dumplings, except that I add sugar to this one.

Filling
1 1/4 lb lean ground pork
5-6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped or 6-7 dried, soaked in water overnight, chopped
1 cup kimchi, finely chopped
2/3 cup firm tofu, crumbled
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp salt

2  12 oz. pkgs gyoza wrappers, about 90-100 total
water

Place all the filling ingredients into a large bowl, and mix gently with your hands until everything is well combined.

Place a small amount of  filling in the centre of each circular gyoza wrapper. Dip your finger into the water and wet the edges; bring them together in a half moon shape. Press firmly to seal.

*At this point the mandu can be frozen. I place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet  and freeze them for 10 minutes or so before packing them together into plastic bags for further freezing.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup  rice vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili paste, (optional)
1 tbsp green onion, finely chopped

Combine all of the sauce ingredients, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

*Place a steamer in a wok filled with water. Either spray oil or place cabbage leaves over the bottom. Place the dumplings in one layer, cover and steam for about 10 minutes, or until done.

OR

Place them in an oiled skillet and fry for a few minutes over medium-low heat, then flip them over. Add about 1/4- 1/3 cup of water and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook for an additional 8 minutes or until the water is gone. Adjust the heat if necessary so they don't burn.

Serve with the dipping sauce.

* they can be reheated by pan frying.