I have been experimenting different recipes for a vegetarian version of xiao long bao. The hubs hates waiting in long lines at various dumpling establishments throughout the San Gabriel Valley so I figured I would make some at home. Jase certainly did not have to wait in long lines but had to help me with clean up and the dishes. He kept to his word and helped me clean up last night for our Chinese New Years Eve dinner!
The tricky part of making the filling for these dumplings were to keep it moist enough just to mimic the taste of juicy soup within the dumplings upon biting into them. My first attempt of creating the soup was to add agar agar powder to vegetable stock and let it cool and set into a jelly substance. I hoped that the jelly substance melt and create a soup like effect after the dumplings were steamed but upon biting into them, but they were dry because the dumpling wrapper seemed to absorb the moisture mixed with agar agar. In my second and third attempts without the agar agar mix, I opted to add more cabbage and mushrooms to ensure that it would add more moisture to the filling and the fourth attempt was perfect! I created the illusion of biting into a juicy dumpling with flavors that implode in your mouth.
I also experimented with different types of seitan for the dumpling fillings and the mock duck version tasted the best. Mock duck? I know, it sounds strange right but we purchased the mock duck in a can from the Asian grocery store. The seitan is stewed in a light brown sauce. I know it looks strange but I placed the seitan in a food processor and chopped them into small pieces. It looked just like ground seitan and no longer duck after placing it through the processor. Flavor wise, this combination of mock duck with leeks was the winner out of my experiments.
The dumpling wrappers were purchased from the Asian grocery store as well. I will attempt to perfect the dumpling wrappers in the future but the long hours at the office makes my cooking time at home limited. I purchased a 9" bamboo steamer at the grocery store for $8. You will also need a large wok to steam the dumplings in.
Vegetarian Dumplings - Xiao Long Bao
Makes 4 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 can mock duck (drain seitan from can and ground seitan in a food processor)
- 1 minced leek
- 3/4 cup chopped oyster mushrooms
- 1/4 cup strips of dried wood ear fungus (soak the mushrooms for at least 2 hours in water then drain)
- 3/4 chopped cabbage
- 2 tablespoons of ground rolled oats (ground into powder in a processor)
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon 5 spice powder
- 2 teaspooon vegetarian bouillion powder
- 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- Napa cabbage leaves to align the bottom of bamboo tray
- 1 package of 3" diameter dumpling wrappers (mine came in a set of 50 wrappers)
- Dumpling sauce (julienne some ginger, black vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili paste)
- In a large bowl, add mock duck, leek, oyster mushrooms, dried wood ear fungus, cabbage, rolled oats, vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce, tamari, maple syrup, 5 spice power, vegetarian bouillon, hoisin sauce, sesame oil and vegetable stock. Stir until all ingredients are mixed in and set aside.
- Align the bottom of the bamboo trays with napa leaves as shown on the picture below.
- Place about 1 teaspoon of filling into the dumpling wrappers. Grab all ends of the dumpling wrapper together, pull upwards, pinch and the twist ends. Place the dumplings over the napa cabbage that align the bamboo trays. Try not to place them so close together as I did because the dumplings will inflate and stick to the surrounding dumplings.
- Add about one inch of water to the bottom of the wok. Bring to a boil. Place bamboo tray onto the wok and the water should not be touching the bamboo steamer. Cover the bamboo tray with a lid and steam for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately and dip the dumplings in dumpling sauce before consuming.
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