I was watching Food Networks Throwdown with Bobby Flay; I watch to many cooking shows. Bobby was having a throwdown with Sohui Kim. She has a restaurant in NY and apparently serves the best Chinese style dumpling. I was looking at the recipe and realized that Bobby's was a little more complicated and would require more time than I'm interested in spending, so I went looking for Sohui's recipe. I found what was said to be her recipe and decided that I could definitely try my hand at dumplings. I did use Bobby's dipping sauce because it was more to my liking. I could eat these all day every day they were that good.

Dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water
For the dough:

Whisk the flour with the salt and stir in the water until dough is shaggy. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead briefly; dough should be soft and pliable but not too sticky. Rest, covered, while you make the filling and the sauce.

Filling
2 tbsp. canola oil, plus more for frying dumplings

1 cup diced onion

3 tbsp. minced garlic

2 tbsp. minced ginger

1 cup chopped garlic (or Chinese) chives

1 1/2 lbs. ground pork

1 8-oz. package firm tofu

3 tbsp. hoisin sauce


1 egg, beaten and reserved in a small bowl

Salt and pepper to taste


In a large pan, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, ginger, and garlic chives and cook for 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and let cool. In a large bowl, combine pork, tofu, and hoisin sauce with the chive mixture. Test-fry a small portion of the pork mixture and adjust seasoning.

Flour your work surface lightly and roll the dough, or pieces of it, about 1/8-inch thick (too thin and the dough will tear as you fill the dumplings). Cut out circles with a 3-inch round cutter. Cover the dough with a side towel or piece of plastic wrap as you work. Dip your index finger into the beaten egg and rub it over half of the outer edge of the dumpling. Fold dumpling in half, crimping it in the middle and sealing along the egg-moistened edge, taking care not to leave any air pockets.

Heat a skillet, just large enough to accommodate the number of dumplings you want to cook over high heat. Add a thin coating of oil, heat, then add the dumplings in concentric circles. They should be touching. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, 3 or 4 minutes (reduce the heat if they are browning too quickly). Add enough water to come about 1/4 of the way up the sides of the dumplings-it will spatter. Cover the skillet, adjust the heat so that the water is simmering, and cook for about 7 minutes. Uncover the skillet and, if there is water left, let it cook off. Check the dumpling bottoms-if they need to brown a bit more, let them, adding a bit more oil if necessary.

Sauce:
1 cup black vinegar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chili paste
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons freshly chopped mint leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped Thai basil leaves
1/2 habanero pepper, minced

What do you do with edamame and mustard greens? You make vegetable Lo Mein. I love Lo Mein. you can usually put anything in it, and I do. I know those yellow things don't even come close to looking like mushrooms..... they don't taste like mushrooms either. I didn't have mushrooms so I decided to put whatever I had in the fridge. I used summer squash. Honestly I think this would be a tasty recipe no matter what you put in it. The husband loved it and the kids didn't complain so I guess it's a keeper. Traditionally Lo Mein is never fried. In fact some would even serve the parboiled noodles in individual bowls at the table and pour the other ingredients over top. So this could be considered a Chow Mein due to the 2 minutes that it cooks all together. Since I'm making it and I like Lo Mein I'm calling it Lo Mein.

1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup dried wood ear mushrooms
2 quarts water
3 cups chopped mustard greens
1 (14-ounce) package fresh Chinese egg noodles
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 1/4 cups (1/4-inch-thick) red bell pepper strips (about 1 medium)
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans), thawed
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Combine 1/2 cup boiling water and mushrooms in a bowl; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain mushrooms in a sieve over a bowl, reserving soaking liquid. Remove and discard stems. Chop mushroom caps; set aside.
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add greens, and cook for 1 minute or until greens wilt. Remove greens from water with a slotted spoon. Plunge the greens into ice water; drain and squeeze dry. Set greens aside.

Return water in pan to a boil. Add egg noodles, and cook for 2 minutes or until done. Drain and rinse with cold water, and drain well. Place noodles in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and sesame oil, tossing to coat, and set aside.

Heat canola oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger; stir-fry 5 seconds. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, onions, and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes or until bell pepper is crisp-tender. Stir in greens and edamame; stir-fry 30 seconds. Stir in reserved mushroom soaking liquid, noodle mixture, remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and hoisin sauce; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.