Daring Cooks Challenge #2: Homemade Bulgogi Dumplings

My first thought after seeing the second Daring Cook's challenge was, "Why mess with perfection?" Jen from Use Real Butter had chosen Chinese dumplings as the challenge, which coincidentally, was one of my first posts on The Cooking of Joy. I've been making my mom's recipe for dumplings for as long as I can remember not only because it's my mom's but quite simple because it is the best-tasting dumpling I've ever had. In my opinion, it has the perfect ratio (1:1) of meat to vegetable and is just seasoned enough that you can serve it boiled with only some sriracha sauce for heat, if you want. So seriously, why mess with perfection?

But Jen's request to "try something different" if we'd made Chinese dumplings before echoed in my head as a challenge. Then when I came up with the idea to make kalbi using the kiwi, pear, and apple I had gotten in my Boston Organics delivery, I started thinking about making a beef dumpling filling with the same marinade. And using Romaine lettuce instead of napa cabbage as the vegetable since Romaine is traditionally eaten with kalbi and bulgogi (Korean marinated barbecued sirloin beef). And ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) as the condiment. And thus, the bulgogi dumpling was born.

One of the other requirements for the Daring Cook's challenge was to make your own wrappers. Jen had posted a recipe that used warmed water instead of the boiling water recipe I was used to. Since I was doing something different anyways, I figured I'd try her recipe (using her mom's version to mix the dough) but I soon realized that I much preferred the boiling water version. The warm water version gave a really stiff dough that was much harder to work with. At first I thought that maybe I hadn't added enough water, but the recipe only called for 1/2 cup water for 2 cups of flour, and I had already added about 2/3 cup of water. So I ended up scrapping half of the warm water dough and making a half batch of the boiling water dough, which I've reprinted here. Using the boiling water and kneading the dough for a good five minutes allows the dough to develop a lot of gluten. Resting it for 20 minutes makes it even more pliable so that you should have no problems rolling out your wrappers and stretching them while wrapping.

Above is a side by side visual comparison of the two wrappers with the boiling water ones on the right. The reason for the color discrepancy is simply because I ran out of bleached all-purpose flour after making the warm water wrappers and used unbleached all-purpose flour for the boiling water ones.

Bulgogi Dumplings
makes about 56 dumplings

1 bundle bean thread vermicelli
1 lb. ground beef (I used 80% lean meat)
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and roughly chopped
3 scallions, roughly chopped
1/2 cup kalbi marinade
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
56 homemade dumpling wrappers (recipe below)

Soak the bean thread vermicelli in a bowl filled with hot water for 15 minutes.

While the vermicelli is soaking, use a food processor to mince the lettuce and scallions. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Squeeze out the excess water in the vermicelli and use the food processor to chop into about 1/2" pieces. Add to the mixing bowl.

Add the ground beef, marinade, and sesame oil and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Once you have your dumpling wrappers ready, prepare plates or trays with flour for dipping. Put a spoonful of the filling in the middle of a wrapper and fold in half. Seal center portion of the joined edges. Make two pleats on both the left and right side of the dumpling. Make sure that the whole thing is totally sealed and then dip the bottom in the flour and place on the tray. Here are step-by-step photos to show you how it's done, or you can check out this video, but ignore the part about wetting the edges. Since we are using fresh dumpling wrappers here, you can skip that step.

To pan-fry the dumplings, heat a frying pan on high and add oil once it is hot. Once the oil is hot, add the dumplings one at a time so that they are sitting upright. Once the bottoms are browned, add about a 1/2 cup of water (for 8 dumplings, my usual serving size). If you like your dumplings extra crispy, add 1 tablespoon of flour or cornstarch to the water and mix to get rid of the lumps before you add it to the pan. Be very careful as the steam coming off the pan may burn you. Cover and let cook for a few minutes until the water is almost all gone. Remove the lid and let the rest of the water cook off.

Homemade Dumpling Wrappers (adapted from here)
makes about 56 wrappers

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
4 tablespoons cold water
Flour for dusting

Pour boiling water into the flour, quickly stir with a fork or chopstick, mix well, then add the cold water. Mix and knead into a soft dough about 5 minutes.

Cover with damp cloth or paper towel. Set aside and rest for 20 minutes.

Knead the dough for 1 minute and divide into 4 quarters. Roll one quarter into a long snake and pinch into about 1 inch lengths.

Dust flour on work surface. Roll each piece into a circle of about a 3 inch diameter. Try to make the edges thinner than the middle.

Instead of the usual soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar dipping sauce I like to have with my dumplings, I just served it with ssamjang. The intense saltiness of the season soybean sauce complemented the sweetness of the marinade, but I have to admit both flavors were a little too strong, so I tried wrapping some Romaine lettuce around a dumpling, similar to how I like to eat my kalbi.

This combination ended up being perfect as now there was a balance of all the oral senses: taste (sweet and salty), temperature (hot and cold), and texture (crunchy and soft).

So once again, the Daring Cooks Challenge forced me to try something I normally wouldn't have made, which is the point of a challenge, I suppose. To be honest, I'll probably continue to stick with my mom's dumpling recipe and store bought wrappers, but it was pretty fun to make these, and I'm looking forward to next month's challenge!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage

When I checked to see what the inaugural challenge for the Daring Cooks was, I just happened to be in San Francisco, the same city where the Zuni Cafe resides. Having never had ricotta gnocchi, I figured I better stop by the restaurant and taste the real thing before I went about trying to make it. I'm really glad I did because I probably would've have been tempted to douse my gnocchi with some type of heavy tomato-based sauce, but what this ultra-light pasta needs is something much more simple. Something like browned butter and sage.

Now I won't lie and say this recipe was simple, because it's not. (And I've tried to simplify the recipe as much as possible here.) You need to drain the ricotta the day before, and then there's this really delicate handling of the gnocchi while forming it that definitely needs a lot of careful attention. But if you do everything correctly, what you'll end up with is so light and fluffy in texture, yet so rich and decadent in taste that you'll be thinking about these long after you've finished your meal. I know I was.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage (gnocchi recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook)
serves 4 to 6

For the gnocchi:
16 oz. fresh ricotta
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 fresh sage leaves, minced
1/2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about 1/4 teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the sauce:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 dashes ground nutmeg

The day before you want to make the gnocchi, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain with a bowl underneath for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta and stir to combine.

Melt the tablespoon of butter with the chopped sage. Add a little at a time to the ricotta and egg mixture while stirring so that the eggs don't cook. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

In a large, shallow bowl, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s 1/2" deep.

Using a tablespoon, scoop up about a tablespoon of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

Use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can; at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm, about 3 to 5 minutes.

If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.

Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour. Form the rest of your gnocchi and place on the sheet pan. Store the formed gnocchi in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

While the gnocchi are in the refrigerator, make the sauce by melting the 1/4 cup of butter in a small saucepan. Continue to cook and stir until it turns a golden brown (if it gets too dark it will become bitter). Remove from heat and add the sage, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

I have to say, if it hadn't been for this Daring Cooks first challenge, I doubt I would've ever ordered the ricotta gnocchi at Zuni Cafe, much less try to make it. (I probably would've gotten the roast chicken with warm bread salad because I've been dying to make it ever since I heard about it.) I'm glad I did, though, if only to broaden my foodie and cooking experiences, and I can't wait to find out what the next month's challenge is.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad