Monday, 24 September 2012

Limpeh's home made pierogi

I have done a few recipes before on my blog but I was a little bit unsure about sharing this one since it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted. I followed a Korean mandu recipe, but the result was far more like a Polish pierogi or a Singaporean curry puff and the whole thing took nearly 2.5 hours. Just as well it was a Sunday and pouring with rain, so it was something to do on a wet Sunday evening, but good grief. The next time I want gyoza/mandu/wantons I will simply just buy the wrapper-skins from Chinatown or get a whole packet of frozen Korean mandus (just £2.80 from the local Korean supermarket). For a delicious dumpling, the skins need to be thin, like really thin but not break and despite the fact that I worked hard rolling them out to be as flat as possible without breaking them, they still turned out way too thick and as a result tasted more like a pastry case rather than a thin dumpling casing. If any of you have any experience with this kind of cooking, I have a question: would you add an egg to the pastry dough? Some recipes include an egg, others don't. I chose to add an egg but I am wondering what different adding the egg makes? Thanks.

As usual, don't forget you can always double click on the photos to see them in greater detail.
The final product
Rolling out the dough was hard work!
Filling the pierogi / dumpling with meat and vegetables
Ready to be cooked.
Making a side dish of glass noodles (tanghoon) with vegetables
Sunday night dinner

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9 comments:

  1. Tien Yew24 September 2012 at 13:25

    I don't have much experience with pastry dough, but if mandu is anything like gyoza or dumplings then I think it's more like pasta which "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee might shed some light:

    "Eggs perform two functions in noodles. One is to enhance color and richness. Here the yolk is the primary factor, and yolks alone can be used; their fat content also makes the dough more delicate and the noodles tender. The second function is to provide additional protein for moderate-protein flours used in both home and industrial production. The egg white proteins make the dough and noodles more cohesive and firm, reduce the gelation and leaking of starch granules, and reduce cooking losses."

    On getting it thin, did you roll it out by hand or use a pasta machine?

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent24 September 2012 at 14:32

      Ooh thanks for this. Very interesting.

      I rolled it out by hand, I don't have a pasta machine.

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    2. Tien Yew24 September 2012 at 15:56

      ah ok. I used to roll it out like that too. I don't know if it's the same problem you faced but when I did that, at some point the dough got really sticky and I had to roll very hard to get it just a bit thinner. I realized this was because I had overworked the dough. I'm not sure if you did it but I found rolling it between plastic wrap really helpful and when it got too hard just, I just let it rest in the fridge for a while before continuing. That MIGHT help you get it thinner. Hope this helps. I think it's awesome you're making dumplings by hand!

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    3. Limpeh Foreign Talent24 September 2012 at 17:08

      It was a fun thing to try but there are just some things which are not worth the trouble. I saw a nice recipe for some cheesy bun and I thought, yeah I could just get it from the bakery down the road ...

      I still have half the dough frozen in my freezer - I made too much! The next time I use it, I will make a filling with potatoes and meat, it'll be curry puffs.

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  2. Winking Doll25 September 2012 at 00:38

    The last time I made wonton skin was almost 10 years ago. I was in France, had to make do with whatever available. Mixed whole wheat flour, water and a pinch of salt into a dough. Hand-rolled out into approximately 1mm thick skin. That rolling took forever! Had to keep sprinkling the rolling pin and the working surface with flour to make sure that the skin doesn't stick to the pin. Turns out okay though, except that the whole-wheat flour made the wonton looks brown rather than golden, although it tastes better than those pre-made skin. Still IMHO it is too much effort, I would buy the pre-made skin if it is available.

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent25 September 2012 at 10:49

      Hahahaha as my mum would say, "jin tzueh kang ah" (a lotta work) - yeah, especially since I can *walk* to Chinatown in like 5 minutes, I think that's the last time I try to make wanton skins from scratch. Still have half the dough in my freezer, so I will save that for a weekend when I have plenty of time to play with it.

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  3. Anonymous25 September 2012 at 09:20

    Hi limpeh, i know this is random, but i got a question.
    Why is it that UK unis fare 'worse' in terms of international ranking?
    I am writing up my personal statement for history at Durham, St Andrews, LSE, Warwick and UCL, but i just dont quite understand why not even LSE comes close to many US unis. can you pls help me in this

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    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent25 September 2012 at 10:51

      Hello! Yeah, kinda random considering that this article was about my cooking :)

      I will do a post for you on this, okay? Gimme a some time.

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    2. Limpeh Foreign Talent25 September 2012 at 12:35

      OK Lee for you: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/university-season-part-9-international.html

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