Sake to tofu no komatsuna suigyoza / shuijiao boiled dumplings with salmon and tofu in komatsuna wrappers

Very comforting dumplings with salmon in season and vegetables from the garden. Tofu contributes to the gentle taste.

<Ingredients>

(Makes about 40 dumplings)

For komatsuna wrappers
200 g all purpose flour
100 cc water
40 g komatsuna

For filling
1 fillet fresh salmon (120 g in photo)
100-120 g tofu (100g soft tofu in photo)
1 small/medium kabu Japanese turnip
1 green onion
1 small knob ginger
1-1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
Pinch salt (not in photo)
Tiny amount of sesame oil (for aroma and taste; not in photo)

For dipping sauce (not in photo)
Equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar
Rayu (la you) chili oil, to taste


<Directions>
1.

Prepare wrappers.
Chop komatsuna, add to water, and puree.

2.

Heat up in microwave for 30 seconds, then pour into flour.

3.

Mix with chopsticks until roughly blended.

Knead until smooth.  

Cover, and let sit for 30+ minutes.

4.

Meanwhile, prepare filling.
Grate ginger, and finely chop green onion, kabu turnip and salmon (skinned).

5.

In a bowl, put salmon, green onion, kabu and tofu (lightly squeeze out water); add coconut oil and a tiny amount of sesame oil.

Squeeze juice from ginger, and mix. 

First mash tofu, then incorporate other ingredients.

Add salt, mix well, and set aside.

5.

Sprinkle flour on board, and knead wrapper dough until smooth.

Make a hole in center to make a loop, and gently stretch while passing it through hands until tube reaches 2-3 cm in diameter.

Cut in four sections (each section is for 10 wrappers).
Keep covered until rolling out. 

6.

Wrap dumplings.
Cut each section of dough into 10 pieces (in photo, one section is cut in half; the two resulting tubes are aligned side by side and cut to obtain 10 pieces).

Roll out each piece and wrap filling.

Dough dries out quickly, so make sure to cover pieces that you are not working on, if you need time to wrap filling.

See prawn dumpling recipe for how to wrap filling.

Place dumplings on another board or plate sprinkled with potato starch.

7.

When ready to cook, bring plenty of water to boil.
Add dumplings, and cook on medium high heat for 5-6 minutes.

8.

Serve with dipping sauce

<Notes>

• Leftover cooked salmon works fine, too.
• Tofu can be either soft or firm type. When using soft type, leave it in a tray for some time to let excess water come out, and gently squeeze before adding to other ingredients.
• Coconut oil is for juiciness and is a substitute for lard. Adjust the amount according to fat content of salmon piece. Because tofu in this recipe gives extra moisture, you need less coconut oil than with other suijiao recipes.
• If kabu is not available, the firm, white section of hakusai napa cabbage, any radish, renkon lotus root and fennel bulb (my usual choice) work fine.
• While working on forming dumplings, sprinkle flour on board as necessary to prevent wrappers from sticking to board. After dumplings are formed, use potato starch. Potato starch separates wrappers/dumplings well.