Sunday, July 25, 2010

Vegetarian Jiaozi

We just got back from a trip to China, where we found a great Jiaozi restaurant in Beijing. Their vegetarian dumplings inspired me to try some at home. Here are a couple that tasted yummy!

Fillings for Jiaozi (Chinese dumplings).

Green Veggie Filling:
1 bunch spinach: rinsed, large stems removed
1/2 bunch cilantro: rinsed, large stems removed
1/2 bunch water cress: rinsed, large stems removed
1 handful of chives finely chopped.
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
salt to taste

Chop spinach, cilantro, water cress briefly in a food processor, in small batches. Add chopped chives and salt. Let sit for a few minutes. Using a strainer, squeeze water out of greens. Add sesame oil and mix in.

Mushroom Filling:
1 lb crimini mushrooms, cleaned
12 lb fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced.
3 cloves garlic, minced.
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Cooking sherry
Salt to taste

Chop crimini mushrooms in food processor. Saute in oil with sherry, garlic, and salt. When mostly cooked and water evaporated, add shitake and more cooking sherry as required. Cook until shitake is just tender. Cool filling before making dumplings.