A Dish to Dream About….Fried & Steamed Passover Dumplings

I literally can taste food in my head…

and there have been many a night…

I actually dream in recipe.

I LOVE food – period.

it is way more than a romance….it is an obsession.

and so when the urge strikes…and it almost always does…

I cook up what was keeping me up the night before…and satisfy my cravings.

Now if only all my non-food dreams…

would so easily come TRUE  TO!

 

One of my readers had emailed me recently saying that her daughter was allergic to eggs and she is having a very hard time finding good side dishes that she could make that would be delicious and exciting for not only her daughter but her whole family.

I was feeling her pain as I read the email that night eating one of my favorite steamed chineese dumplings from a local takeout place. I filed the email away, thinking I would look up some recipes I have stored in my notebooks the next morning and see if anything might work for Pesach & her family.

That night I dreamed of this recipe. It took me a few days to actually get myself in the kitchen and try it, but tonight when I did, I was so excited about how it came out and can NOT wait to share it with all of you!

I used cabbage as the dumpling wrapper, thinking that it would hold the filling well under all the steam or frying and I was right! I bought green cabbage, but I think for the steamed dumpling recipe especially, purple cabbage would be a much better choice, beside the gorgeous color, it has more of a flavor depth.

I used basic vegetables that you will find in most chineese recipes, but added the fennel the last minute, because I love the taste and thought it would be a great addition. But feel free to leave out if you are not such a fan of the anise flavored vegetable.

For the fried dumplings, I took my favorite Pesach Chicken Nugget recipe’s batter, CUT THE EGGS, added a few spices,  and then dredged and fried.  In general I have come to realize I actually prefer the potato starch version of this batter recipe than the flour one. It is lighter and crisper and I think a tad bit tastier. On a whole I much prefer anything fried, but I gave the steamed option for all you dieters.

But at the end of the day, not only are these vegan, with no egg in site,  these Passover Dumplings are really so darn tooting delicious, perfect for a side dish or as a meal..

Fried & Steamed Passover Dumplings

tip: these last in the fridge assembled raw for up 2 days. Fry or Steam 

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage (green or purple), boiled whole in water for about 8-10 minutes until softened

for the filling:

2 red bell peppers

1 pint button mushrooms

10-12 baby carrots

1 head of fennel

1/2 red onion

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

salt & pepper to taste

 

for the batter:

3/4 cup potato starch

2 tbsp. oil

3 tbsp. water + more if needed

1.5 tsp. garlic powder

1.5 tsp. onion powder

2 tbsp. dried parsley

salt & pepper

Directions:

1. prep all your vegetables

2. In a food processor, process all the vegetables with all the spices for 30 seconds.

3. separate the cabbage and using one leaf at a time, place about 2-3 tbsp. of filling into the center of the leaf.

4. then fold over top side of the cabbage to cover filling, and then bring in the sides to create a small tight as possible pouch

5. if steaming, place your steamer into the center of your frying pan that is filled with hot water that is steaming, cover and cook for about 8 minutes.

IF FRYING:

1. Whisk together all the batter ingredients until you have a thick pancake like batter. If needed add water 1 tbsp. at a time till you reach the desired loose consistency.

2. Dredge the cabbage dumpling in the batter, coating it on all sides well with the batter.

3. Heat up a frying pan with about 3 tbsp. of olive oil. When the oil is hot, fry the cabbage dumpling on all sides for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until crispy.

 

4. Serve the dumplings with a delicious dipping sauce.

Thai Dipping Sauce

I combined 1/4 cup of Almond Butter, with 1/4 cup of duck sauce (or you can use orange or apricot preserve) with 2 tsp. of soy sauce and whisked until smooth.