Fry

Broccoli-ginger dumplings

April  4, 2011
0
0 Ratings
  • Makes around 60ish dumplings
Author Notes

I'm no dumpling expert. I've only made them a few times, but I do find them really fun, and they're great for experimenting. Anyways, these ones were definitely experimental - a tasty experiment! They were inspired by the broccoli ginger puree in The Essential New York Times Cookbook, which sounded really delicious, but I wasn't in the mood for just eating a puree. So, I thought I would make a version of it into a filling for dumplings. I added a touch of ricotta too, for creaminess and bulk (I guess I had ravioli on the brain), and then devised a gingery sweet-salty dipping sauce for a total fusion dish! —fiveandspice

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Ingredients
  • Dumplings
  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
  • 2 big heads of broccoli (approximately), stems removed and florets cut into grape sized little pieces
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup fresh ricotta
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 60 or so, wonton wrappers
  • cooking oil
  • Dipping sauce
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Directions
  1. Steam the broccoli until bright green and cooked through. Let cool and then chop well.
  2. n a large saucepan, heat a Tbs. of olive oil over medium, add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic and 2 Tbs. ginger, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until nice and soft. Stir in the heavy cream, turn the heat down to simmer, and cook for a couple minutes until thickened. Stir in the broccoli.
  3. Transfer the broccoli mixture to a food processor and puree until mostly smooth but with some chunks remaining, for texture. (This can also be done with a handheld blender.) Then stir in the ricotta until all mixed together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Lay out about 15 wonton wrappers at a time. Put a tsp. of the broccoli puree on one side of each square – resist the temptation to overfill! If they are overfilled, your dumplings won’t seal. Put filling on all 15 of the wrappers before starting to fold them. When ready to fold, keep a little bowl of warm water next to you to use for moistening your fingers. Use a wet finger to moisten the perimeter of each wonton square, then fold one side over onto the other and seal to make a triangle. Then, fold in the arms of the triangle and press them together with a little water. Set on a parchment lined baking sheet or plate. Once you have assembled the first 15, continue with another set of 15 and so on until you have used all your filling.
  5. To fry the dumplings, heat a pan to medium-high, add enough oil to coat the bottom. Put in one layer of dumplings, cover the pan and cook a couple of minutes until dark golden. Flip and cook the dumplings on the other side for another minute or two until golden. Continue, adding more oil if needed, until all the dumplings are cooked.
  6. If you’d like to bake the dumplings instead, heat your oven to 400F. Grease 1-2 baking sheets. Lay the dumplings out on the baking sheets, brush them all lightly with oil, then bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
  7. Serve warm with dipping sauce. To make the dipping sauce, just whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, and tsp. of ginger.
  8. If you don’t want to make all the dumplings at once, they freeze really well. (Then you can use them later in soup!) Lay a batch in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer (finding room is never an easy task!) and freeze for an hour or two until hard. Then, transfer them to a freezer bag or container and freeze until ready to cook. You can cook them straight from being frozen, without defrosting.
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7 Reviews

meg March 22, 2015
Hey five and spice - these look awesome! What do you think about replacing ricotta with silken tofu for a dairy-free option?
fiveandspice March 24, 2015
Yes, I think that would work great!
meg March 24, 2015
thanks :)
kmartinelli April 5, 2011
I love how you've brought different elements together and it totally seems to work. These sound delicious! And look beautiful too!
fiveandspice April 5, 2011
Thank you km! They're definitely a fusion, but I was quite happy with how they turned out.
boulangere April 4, 2011
These are so visually beautiful that I would question your not an expert status - they're gorgeous! And your range of flavors and textures - oh my! I may be brave enough to try these!
fiveandspice April 5, 2011
Aw, thanks. I swear I'm really not an expert - I just concentrated really, really hard on folding this batch. I'm a perennial overfiller and it takes me a lot of mental effort to stop myself! :) But, if I can make dumpling, I'm sure you can, so you should give some a try!!