Korean Meat and Vegetable Dumplings

• 1 cup bean sprouts (about 3 ounces)
• 6 ounces firm tofu
• 2 large scallions (white and pale green parts, reserve dark green part for dipping sauce), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, or 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 pound ground beef (chuck preferred) or ground pork (fattier kind preferred), coarsely chopped to loosen
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Korean, Japanese, or light (regular) soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 pound Basic Dumpling Dough (page 22) or Extra Chewy Dough (page 23)
• Canola oil, for panfrying
• 2/3 cup Korean Dipping Sauce (page 215)

1. To make the filling, blanch the bean sprouts in a saucepan of boiling water for about 20 seconds, or until no longer stiff.
2. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
3. Use your hands to squeeze excess water from the sprouts.
4. Chop the sprouts into 1/4-inch lengths and put in a bowl.
5. To expel water from the tofu, put it in a cotton (not terry cloth) kitchen towel.
6. Gather the towel up and, standing over a sink, firmly squeeze on the tofu.
7. Unwrap the towel and add the crumbled tofu to the bean sprouts.
8. Use the dull edge of a knife or plastic dough scraper, if needed, to remove the tofu from the towel.
9. Use a fork or spatula to mash any remaining chunks of tofu.
10. Add the scallions, onion, garlic, ginger, and meat to the bean sprouts and tofu.
11. Stir and lightly mash the ingredients so that they start commingling.
12. In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
13. Pour the seasonings over the meat and vegetable mixture, then stir and fold the ingredients together.
14. Break up any large chunks of beef and briskly stir to blend the ingredients into a cohesive, thick mixture.
15. To develop the flavors, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight and return to room temperature for dumpling assembly.
16. Makes about 2 cups.
17. Meanwhile, form 16 wrappers from half of the dough.
18. Aim for wrappers that are about 3 1/4 inches in diameter (see page 24).
19. Before assembling the dumplings, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
20. (If you plan to refrigerate the dumplings for several hours, or freeze them, lightly dust the paper with flour to avoid sticking.)
21. Hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand.
22. Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling with a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, or fork and position it slightly off-center toward the upper half of the wrapper, pressing and shaping it into a flat mound and keeping about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of wrapper clear on all sides.
23. Fold, pleat, and press to enclose the filling and create a half-moon, pea pod, or pleated crescent shape (see pages 26 to 29).
24. Place the finished dumpling on the prepared baking sheet.
25. Repeat with the other wrappers, placing the finished dumplings on the baking sheet at least 1/2 inch apart.
26. Cover the dumplings with a dry towel as you form wrappers from the remaining dough and fill them.
27. Assembled dumplings can be covered with plastic wrap, refrigerated for several hours, and cooked straight from the refrigerator.
28. Or, freeze them on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag, pressing out excess air before sealing, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month; partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that may have formed during freezing, before cooking.
29. To panfry the dumplings, use a medium or large nonstick skillet; if both sizes are handy, cook two batches at the same time.
30. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add enough oil to film the bottom.
31. Add the dumplings, one at a time, placing them on one of their sides.
32. Dont let the dumplings touch.
33. Fry the dumplings for 1 to 2 minutes, until they are golden or light brown on the one side.
34. Using chopsticks, and maybe a spatula, too, turn each dumpling to brown another side, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
35. Holding the lid close to the skillet to lessen the dramatic effect of water hitting hot oil, use a kettle or measuring cup to add water to a depth of roughly 1/4 inch; you will use about 1/3 cup water for each skillet.
36. The water will immediately sputter and boil vigorously.
37. Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil, lower the heat to medium, and let the water bubble away until it is mostly gone, 8 to 10 minutes.
38. After 6 to 8 minutes, move the lid or foil so that it is slightly ajar to allow steam to shoot out from underneath.
39. This lessens the drama of condensation dripping down onto the hot oil when you remove the lid.
40. When you hear sizzling noises, remove the lid.
41. Let the dumplings fry for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the bottoms are brown and crisp.
42. (At this point, you can also brown the third side, if you want.)
43. Turn off the heat, wait for the cooking action to cease, and then use a spatula to transfer the dumplings to a serving plate.
44. Display them with their crisp sides facing up.
45. Serve with the dipping sauce in a communal bowl for people to help themselves, or divided up among individual rice bowls or large dipping sauce dishes.
46. Eat these with chopsticks in one hand and a spoon or rice bowl in the other to catch any drips.

bean sprouts, tofu, scallions, yellow onion, garlic, ginger, ground beef, salt, black pepper, korean, sesame oil, dough, canola oil, dipping sauce

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/korean-meat-and-vegetable-dumplings-379750 (may not work)