Recipes
for Respite

The long-awaited secret recipe of generations past, in writing, out in the universe, for the first time. Handle with care.

Given our current state of collective solitude, there is very little we can do to stave off anxiety at broken systems but to meditate (not what I’m doing) and build a test-kitchen triage system based on what produce in your fridge is the closest to being overripe, all the while stewing on the flaws of capitalism and how inconceivable exponential growth is outside of theoretical graphs (what I’m doing). Failing both of these options, I promptly get homesick.

The 2020 remedy for this is a video-call home-cooking class with Mama Zhang. While I am yet to learn the science and soul of so many of her traditional home village dishes, our go-to for collaborative family cooking and consumption since the day I could eat solids has been dumplings. Dumpling nights in my tiny New York kitchen with the people I care about are how I stay grounded and focused on the family (blood or chosen) and food at the centre of my heritage. While learning the proper technique for 食饼筒 over video chat with Mama Zhang last week, I raised the question of sharing our dumpling formulation joy with the world in these trying times. She, the keeper of the Zhangs’/Wangs’ secret family recipes, held a secret family WeChat meeting. It was approved. Joy for all.

The 章 Zhangs’ Secret Dumpling Recipe
[to be made to the syrupy vibrato of Teresa Teng’s 月亮代表我的心 The Moon Is My Heart]
Yields: 40 dumplings depending on how much filling you fit into each skin.

If it’s your first time wrapping dumplings, we’d recommend that you buy pre-packaged skins from your local Chinese/Asian market. For a thicker, heartier dumpling, get Northern style or Shanghai style skins. For slightly thinner skins, get Wonton skins or even Japanese gyoza skins.

Wrapping

If you’re using store-bought dumpling wrappers, have a small dish of water on hand to seal the edges of your dumplings. If you’re using fresh wrappers made as above, you don’t need water to seal the edges because they’re not as dry.

Hold out your non-dominant hand, palm up, and place a dumpling wrapper on it.

Spoon some filling into the centre. For beginners, start with one teaspoon until you get the hang of pleating around the filling. If you’re well-seasoned, you can stuff it up to one heaped tablespoon.

If you’re using store-bought wrappers, take some water on your dominant hand’s index finger, and run it around the edge of your wrapper. If you’re using fresh wrappers, no need.

Take the bottom edge of your wrapper that is closest to your body, and fold it up and over so you have a semi-circle. Pinch the two edges together and bring it towards you to stand, like a taco.

Take the semi-circle in both hands, using your dominant hand’s pinky finger to support underneath.

Pick up a section of the edge furthest away from you (beside the part where you’ve already pinched the two edges together) with your thumb and forefinger (doesn’t matter which side) and pull it toward the already-pinched section. Pinch to seal. This is a pleat. Continue this on one side—pulling the back edge up to meet previous pleat and pinching to seal—until that half of the dumpling is sealed completely. Repeat on the other side, and you have yourself a Zhang dumpling.

Cooking

To steam, line a bamboo steamer basket with cabbage leaves (poke holes in the leaves) and bring a wok or saucepan of water to a boil. You can also use a rice cooker with a steam tray (make sure you oil the tray). It usually takes 15-20 minutes to steam dumplings, depending on the apparatus used. Just touch the surface of one of the dumplings at the 15-minute
mark to check if it’s a little gummy/tacky (which means it’s done).

If you’re confident in the sturdiness of your wrapping skills, you can boil them for 3-4 minutes in a pot of water. Don’t pack the pot with too many dumplings—keep it to about 8 at a time.

Our favourite is pan-frying: heat up a wok/non-stick pan with your choice of oil (refined olive oil, canola oil or peanut oil are usually the easiest to cook with—but sesame oil is the tastiest). Place the dumplings in a circle and let them sit until the bottoms are browned to your liking. Add a splash of water and cover the pan to let them steam. Same thing as before—check if the surface of the dumpling is a little gummy.

The eating experience is really each to their own as long as it lives within the bounds of: soy sauce, Chiang Kiang Vinegar, Lao Gan Ma and sesame oil. Experiment with permutations. Develop a dumpling consumption signature. I, for one, love dumplings with a half a teaspoon of vinegar poured into it after I’ve taken my first bite. Papa Zhang does the same, but with soy sauce. My brother loves to have a small dish of soy sauce and a small dish of vinegar in front of him, dipping back and forth until he finds his pH7. My boyfriend makes a concoction of soy sauce and sesame oil with fresh red chilis which sits in the fridge while dumplings are under construction, and is then poured over his bowl of dumplings as soon as they’re off the heat. My cousins heap on Lao Gan Ma by the spoonful. Mama Zhang is categorically offended by any additional seasonings distracting from the dumpling formulation itself.

Regardless, always have the first dumpling completely free of sauces and seasonings, just to taste the success.