Mushrooms and shiitake dumplings with ginger broth
This super delicious recipe for an Asian inspired soup with mushroom and shiitake dumplings was originally made during a Donna Hay photography challenge. But the recipe itself is also totally worth making! It’s easy once you get the hang of how to make the dumplings.
Mushroom and shiitake dumplings
Now the heroes of this dish are – of course – the dumplings. I’d not made shiitake mushroom dumplings before and in fact I had not made many dumplings before period. So I found it an interesting process. I used ready made wonton wrappers for this. You can usually find those in the Asian grocery store or Asian markets. Of course you can use homemade dumpling wrappers if you prefer but since I’ve not made those myself I’m sticking to the store-bought wrappers.
Despite the number of ingredients this is not a complicated recipe at all if you just follow the steps.
Making the broth
First step is to make the broth for the dumplings. For that you take a large pan and you add the chicken stock, water, ginger, shaoxing wine, garlic, a little bit of sugar and the dried shiitakes in to the pan. Bring the liquid to the boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. If you want to make this a vegetarian version, you can simply substitute the chicken stock for vegetarian stock as that is the only animal component in this dish.
While the broth is simmering away you prepare your mushroom filling. For that I used a mix of Asian mushrooms. Depending on your mushrooms, slice them smaller and clean where necessary. Now heat a large skillet on medium heat. You can bake the mushrooms in olive oil or use any other kind of oil. A little bit of sesame oil is great to add too for extra flavor.
Galangal is somewhat similar to ginger, so if you can’t find galangal you can substitute for ginger instead. Let the mushrooms bake with the rest of the ingredients till golden brown and cooked through. Place in a small bowl and add the chopped coriander through it.
Strain the broth and place back into the pan. You’ll continue that later. First you need to make the dumplings.
Making the dumplings
If you’re using frozen wonton wrappers let them get to room temperature first but cover them to make sure they do not dry out. Once they soft and pliable it’s time to start to fill them. Place one wrapper on your kitchen counter with a bit of rice flour so they don’t stick. You can also use parchment paper if you prefer that above a floured surface.
Place a teaspoon of your mushroom mixture in the center of the wrapper. Now make sure you have a cup of water standing by too. Your dumpling filling should leave the sides of the wrapper free. Now fold one half of the wrapper over the other so you have a half moon shape. Use a bit of water to wet the edges of the wrapper. This is easiest to do with a finger. Now comes the part where you can use your imagination and fold the wrappers in a fancy shape.
I’m not all that good in folding them in a pretty way but in the end the only thing that is important is that they stay closed. If you’ve seen Chinese dumplings before you have probably seen beautiful wrapper edge examples. It takes a bit of practice to get that right. There are plenty of Youtube videos to show you how to do that.
While you work on one wrapper make sure to cover the remaining wrappers with plastic wrap. Again to prevent them drying out. The same goes for the wrappers you made. Cover them to prevent them drying out and place them on a baking sheet together until you’re finished with all of them.
Putting it all together
Now is the time to finish this easy recipe. You place the stock back on medium-high heat and you add the chopped fresh shiitake to it. Add the dumplings as well. This is easiest done with a slotted spoon. The dumplings need about 3-4 minutes to cook until they become translucent. That means you’re mushroom and shiitake dumplings are cooked and ready to eat.
You serve the dumplings in the broth and add a bit of chili oil and micro herbs for serving. A sprinkle of sesame seeds is also a good addition or add some chopped green onions instead of the micro herbs.
Additions or variations
As mentioned this is rather simple recipe. While this is delicious served in the ginger or galangal broth, you can also prepare the dumplings in a steamer basket. I have a bamboo steamer but you can also use an official steamer pan. Do make sure to add parchment paper to the pan and place the dumplings on top. To prevent them sticking to the pan or steamer. If you prepare them this way you can serve them with a delicious dipping sauce and make it more like a snack.
Once steamed you can also make them into potstickers and bake them on one side in a skillet till golden brown.
Mushrooms and shiitake dumplings with ginger broth
Ingredients
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 500 ml water 500 ml
- 10 cm ginger peeled and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic lightly crushed
- 50 g shiitake mushrooms dried
- 1 tablespoon chinese rice wine Shaoxing
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms fresh
Mushroom and galangal dumplings
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 400 g mixed asian mushrooms
- 2 cm galangal peeled and finely grated
- 1 red chili chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar Chinkiang
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1/2 bunch coriander chopped, cilantro
- 24 wonton wrappers
For serving
- micro herbs
- 1 red chili thinly sliced
- chili oil optional
- To make the mushroom and galangal dumplings, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the mushroom, galangal, chili and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the soy, vinegar and oyster sauce and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the coriander. Set aside to cool completely.
- Place the wonton wrappers on a clean bench top dusted with rice flour and brush the edges of the wrappers with water. Place 2 teaspoons of the mushroom mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper and bring each corner together to form a pyramid shape. Cover and set aside.
- Place the stock, water, ginger, garlic, dried shiitake mushrooms, rice wine and sugar in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Strain the broth and return to the saucepan. Increase the heat to medium, add the dumplings and fresh shiitake mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes or until wontons are transparant. Top with microherbs and chili and serve with chili oil. Serves 4-6
Notes
Galangal – you can use ginger here
Shaoxing rice wine – sherry is a reasonable substitute
Chinese black vinegar – a mild balsamic might be a good substitute here although it is not entirely the same. If you do not have balsamic, try a regular good vinegar
Dried Shiitake mushrooms – these might be hard to find too although the dried mushrooms are quite essential for the taste of the broth. Try another type of dried mushroom you can find
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
