Lunar New Year Muslim Hui lapsang souchong tea potstickers

Spring Lunar New Year Muslim Hui lapsang souchong tea potstickers

60 minutes to prep
20-30 minutes to cook
4 servings

Description

One of my grandpas is of Chinese Hui ethnicity. Many of them are Muslim. I couldn’t find a vegan Hui dumpling recipe, which features the Hui ingredient cumin. So I made a recipe. I’m not Muslim. He’s not vegan. He liked anchovies on pizza. I didn’t. He grew up without a mom. I grew up with too much mom. But maybe we can have a love of dumplings in common.

This dish also features carrots with green tops. Carrot greens have six times more vitamin C than carrots, as well as lots of potassium, and calcium.

Where to get more affordable, bulk ingredients

You might be able to get ingredients below more affordably and without plastic packaging from bulk bins at places below. Also, it’s legal to put unpackaged food in your own containers at food providers, such as stores, restaurants, farmer’s markets, and food trucks (at least in California and Maine).

Natural food stores:

All purpose flour
Cumin seeds
Lapsang souchong tea
Oil
Salt (brands with the least microplastics and heavy metals)
Soy sauce

Ingredients

Dough:

10 oz all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt (Himalayan salt seems to have fewer microplastics in it).
3/4 cup just boiled water

Filling:

Vegetables:

1/2 cup red onion
12 carrots with their greens
4 cloves garlic

Smokey tofu:

1 tablespoon lapsang souchong tea. There is no other smoky, meaty flavor like it. Other black tea will not give you that special feeling, even if you add liquid smoke. If you can’t be zero waste and find tea in bulk bins and put it in your container at your local natural food store or apothecary, the only place I could find this organic tea with a plastic-free tin and shipping is from Mountain Rose Herbs.
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon whole cumin
One 16-ounce block of firm non-GMO tofu, chopped. You can get that in bulk bins without plastic packaging at co-ops, natural food, or Asian grocers. Or make plastic-free tofu with a blender or a 1-step self-cleaning soymilk maker and tofu kit. Or try fresh yuba, the Japanese word for soy tofu skin (豆腐皮 dòufu pí), which is chewier than dried tofu skin. (I like the Hodo organic brand). Or if you like the texture of chewy Asian fish balls, try vegan “fish tofu,” such as from Sogo Tofu, which is made with organic soy flour. Or I also like firm, soy-free pumpkin seed tofu by Pumfu or smoked fava bean tofu by Big Mountain.
1/2 teaspoon salt (Himalayan salt seems to have fewer microplastics in it)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Oil safe for medium to high heat, such as untoasted sesame oil (which is rich in polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids)

Instructions

Dough:

Add flour and salt into a bowl that you can cover with a plate or lid
Make a well in the center of the flour and slowly pour in just boiled water.
Mix dough with a spoon until water is absorbed.
Knead for 2-3 minutes until dough is round and smooth.
Cover with a lid or plate (instead of toxic plastic wrap) for 30 minutes.

Filling:

Vegetables:

Clean vegetables and save water by putting them in a bowl and adding water until the level is higher than those ingredients. Remove ingredients with your hand or ladle strainer. You can water plants with that water.
Smash garlic and let rest for 10 minutes so it becomes more nutritious.
Pulse all vegetable filling ingredients in a food processor until ingredients are lightly chopped.
Heat 3 teaspoons of oil in a skillet over medium to high heat. I use a cast iron wok (naturally non-stick). If you can, avoid other non-stick cookware because they can have toxic PFAS.
Add vegetable filling. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes until vegetables are slightly tender.

Smokey tofu:

Boil water.
Put tea in a metal tea ball strainer and steep for five minutes.
Lightly roast cumin in a pan for 30 seconds.
Add all smokey tofu filling ingredients to food processor until ingredients are chopped.
Add vegetable filling ingredients to tofu in food processor.
Wrap dumplings
Lightly flour a chopping board.
Remove dough from bowl.
Split dough in half.
Roll out one half of dough into a 1-inch thick rope. Cut into 16 equal pieces.
Place pieces of dough in a lightly floured shallow casserole dish covered with a lid or plate.
Roll out a piece of dough into a 3-inch disc with a jar, can, rolling pin, or tortilla press.
Put each dumpling skin in the palm of your hand. Stuff no more than a tablespoon of filling in the center of round dumpling skin.
Pinch dumpling skin together into a half-moon shape for good luck. If filling seeps out, remove a little filling. If dough won’t pinch together because it dried out, use water like you’re sealing a paper envelope.
Place dumpling on a lightly floured surface.
Repeat steps above for other half of dough.

Cook potstickers:

In a clean pan or wok, add a tablespoon of sesame oil to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
Gently put potstickers in with flat bottoms on the pan. Avoid having them touch each other.
Sear on the flat side for 3 minutes until the side is golden brown.
Add 4 tablespoons of water to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add a little more water if the water evaporates.
When dough looks cooked, put on serving platter.
Serve immediately with chili oil and/or soy sauce.

Leftovers

If you have leftover uncooked potstickers, freeze them in a container without them touching each other; otherwise, they’ll stick together and break. When boiling after freezing, repeat “cook potstickers” steps above; however, it might take 8 minutes to cook.
If you have leftover cooked dumplings, refrigerate them as soon as possible so they don’t dry out. Put them in ideally in a closed glass or metal container and eat them ideally within four days.