PUMPKIN, SHIITAKE & WALNUT POT STICKERS + May In the Garden

Pumpkin, Shiitake & Walnut Pot Sticker Dumplings

Dumplings do take time to shape, so I suggest enlisting help from smaller hands, or even making them for a shared dinner with family or friends. Preferably use fresh dumpling skins, but frozen can also be used. Find more detailed dumpling shaping instructions HERE - Taiwanese Pork & Cabbage Dumplings - A Family Tradition.

Servings 4

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

Filling

• 10 g dried shiitake - available from Asian markets
• 2 cups roasted pumpkin flesh, roughly mashed
• 1/3 cup shelled walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Small handful fresh chives, chopped

To make the dumplings:

• about 50 round - 8cm dumpling skins (available from Asian markets)
• neutral oil for cooking
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon flour

Instructions

• First, rehydrate the shiitake - place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes. Drain well through a sieve, retain the soaking water for adding to soups. Finely chop the mushrooms. Place in a bowl along with the roasted pumpkin, walnuts, ginger and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Mix well and check taste, adding extra soy sauce if needed.
• To prepare the dumplings set up a making station - kitchen bench or table - with a bowl of water, the filling mixture, and dumpling skins. To shape, lay a dumpling skin in the palm of your hand. Dip a finger into the water and moisten around the entire edge of the dumpling skin. Scoop a teaspoon of the filling mix into the middle. Fold in half, pressing together firmly in the middle, then fold and pleat to incase the filling into a curved crescent shape. Repeat with the remaining skins and filling. Arrange dumplings in a single layer on a lightly floured plate.
• Cook pot stickers in batches. Heat a large frying pan over a medium/high heat with a light film of oil in the base. Once hot, arrange with a single layer of dumplings. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the dumplings are golden. Combine the water and flour in a small jug. Pour this mixture into the pan to come 5mm up the sides of the dumplings. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes until the water has been mostly absorbed. Remove the lid and cook until remaining water evaporates. Place the dumplings onto a serving plate. Serve garnished with chopped chives and bowls of dipping sauce (recipe below)

Notes

Dipping sauce:
In a small bowl combine 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, pinch of sugar and ½ teaspoon sesame oil.

My son’s absolute favourite food is dumplings, in particular, pot stickers. It may seem like an unusual food for a Kiwi kid, but with a multicultural family including German, Cuban, Korean, Singaporean and Taiwanese among others, he has been exposed to an array of different cuisines from a young age.

When my Taiwanese aunty and cousins visit New Zealand, we always make time to have an extended family dumpling session. This is quite a sight – four generations sitting around my Nana’s dining table shaping hundreds of dumplings, with my Aunty Corina cooking them as fast as we can eat them. It is her pot stickers that are most favoured so I have shared her specific cooking method in the recipe. The key is to shape the dumplings carefully so they sit upright while cooking.

With a nod to the autumn harvest, I have created a filling of roasted pumpkin (or squash), shiitake mushrooms and walnuts. The dried shiitake came from a surprise harvest from our backyard. Some years ago we inoculated a large log with the spores, and for years there was nothing. Then, quite by surprise, we found a small forest of shiitake mushrooms had sprouted this summer – more than we could eat in a short time – so I sliced and dried some for making my son’s favourite dumplings.

More Autumn Recipes

Spiced to Perfection Gingerbread – using Pumpkin or Squash

Nicky’s Tomato & Vegetable Soup

Chocolate, Berry & Walnut Cake

In the Garden: May

Harvesting – feijoas (only just) / lemons / parsley / coriander / kale / silver beet / celery / and a few tomatoes still hanging in the glasshouse. I usually have more to harvest in May but it has been a slow time in the garden, with the long hot summer I left plants in longer than usual limiting space to plant winter crops.

Growing – thankfully the weather has been warm this last month so everything is growing well – broccoli / cauliflower (self seeded and transplanted in every available space) / Brussels sprouts / kohlrabi / purple curly kale / leeks / peas / spinach / winter lettuce / broad beans.

Garden Tasks – plant (more) garlic – I planted my first round of garlic early May on recommendation from Mile’s at Garden Organics where I got my seed garlic. His suggestion is to plant in May rather than June to avoid rust (which took out my whole crop last season), the idea is that the bulbs are a good size before the spring rains arrive, and they can also be harvested earlier = more space for summer plantings, bonus! Find garlic growing info HERE. / This month I continue to plant more green crops in the spent summer garden beds so to give back to the soil / And prune blackberries and raspberries – I recently shared my basic blackberry pruning tips on instagram.

*A little note about my garden news – this is a place to keep track of my garden through the seasons. I don’t see myself as an expert gardener by any means, and hope by sharing what I do, and learning from others, that we can all grow some food, whether it is a few herbs on a windowsill or a full food forest (my dream!). I always love to hear your ideas and garden tips too, please comment below or email me.  Happiest gardening!