by Geila Bernstein

Whenever I make kreplach for my chicken soup, I inevitably have left-over wonton wrappers, which get whisked into the freezer for later use. But last year I was having a cocktail party with an Asian theme, and I dared myself to make dumplings with them. Naturally, my challenge took me to Chinatown, where I found a vegan—yes, vegan—Chinese grocery! I discovered a product available in many flavors and configurations call koyaku. This is a potato-type vegetable that is fashioned into ersatz shrimp and crab. Its advantage of over the fished based surimi is that it works beautifully with a dairy menu.

What follows is the result of two parve dumpling experiments. These can be steamed, fried, boiled, and almost poached. But the latter must be done very carefully. Wonton skins are not like homemade noodles—they are more delicate and a fierce boil will produce a glutinous soup and broken dumplings.When I am serving more than one dumpling per meal, I fashion them into different shapes. For now, we will work with the traditional kreplach triangle. If you’re interested, an afternoon in Chinatown touring the dumpling shops and watching them mold the various shapes can be very entertaining.

Shitake Dumplings

Ingredients

3 ounces dried porcini

¾ cup pine nuts

4 ounces tofu

4-5 cloves roasted garlic

2 tablespoons soy sauce-preferably lite soy

1 teaspoon freshly grated or chopped ginger

1 tablespoon mirin

3 cups Napa cabbage-about 8 ounces

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon hot chili oil

1 egg white

1 package wonton wrappers

Directions:

1. Pour boiling water over porcini and let stand in a bowl until water cools and mushrooms are soft.
2. Drain mushrooms (reserve strained porcini water for a soup or vegetable stock) and place in food processor with pine nuts, tofu, and Napa cabbage which has already been sliced fine, and add garlic. Pulse until finely ground, but before it becomes a paste.
3. Mix in by hand the soy, ginger, mirin, and rice vinegar, salt to taste and hot chili oil to taste.
4. If mixture is very crumbly, add the egg white and mix well.
5. Place about 1 teaspoon of mixture in center of wonton wrapper.
6. Moisten two edges of wrapper with water and fold to form a triangle.
7. Press edges together making sure they are sealed well.
8. At this point they can be frozen.
9. To use right away steam them for 3-5 minutes and serve immediately with ponzu sauce or soy sauce mixed with a small amount of orange juice and ginger.

“Shrimp” Dumpling

Ingredients

6 onces koyaku

1/3 cup diced water chestnuts

¼ cup thinly slicked scallion

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 egg white

1 tablespoon lite soy

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

¼ teaspoon chili oil

Directions:

1. Pulse the koyaku—shrimp style. The crab style is sweeter in the food processor
2. Mix in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients
3. Fill wonton wrappers and cook the same as the Shitake Dumplings or fry them.