With COVID-19 taking over the mind space of a lot of us, the social distancing protocol, especially for us in a densely infested metropolis like Bombay, has become paramount to our physical health (I will need hours of emotional assistance after spending all my waking hours in the confines of our home, at the mercy of my infant and toddler). Devising (and getting them to voluntarily participate in) games, activities, and constructive play has always been something I’ve very happily passed on to the experts. But Sitara and I do love to bake together, and she’s now partaking in the cooking as well. Right before #flattenthecurve went mainstream, we enjoyed a yum cha feast, and ever since then the concept of dim sum (or maybe she just likes the way it sounds?!) has fascinated her and one confinement day, we decided to make dim sums using whatever was on hand, i.e. spring roll wrappers.
An easy way to sneak in any and every vegetable on hand, including odds and ends, this dim sum filling was sautéed in sesame oil with tamari and rice cooking wine vinegar. I didn’t add chilli sauce or fresh chillies into the mix until later, because the guest of honour was a 3 year old, but if there are adults lined up for this snack, definitely load in some birds eye chilli, sambal or even sriracha.
The recipe is fundamentally vegan, but if you want to make it gluten free too, I personally haven’t yet made wrappers on my own out of GF flours or rice, although of course there is absolutely no dearth of resources or recipes on the internet that one could resort to. But an interesting alternate I came across the other day, would be to roll the stuffing mixture into little bliss balls, and coat with a mix of black and white sesame seeds, which could then be steamed / air fried and served with dipping sauces ( recipe in another post, really soon!)
Vegetable and Sweet Potato Dim Sum/Wontons
Ingredients
1. 1 medium sweet potato, steamed, peeled and mashed
2. 1 tbs chopped garlic
3. 1 tbs chopped ginger
4. 1 green onion, chopped
5. 1/3 cup chopped carrot
6. 1/3 cup chopped green beans
7. 1/2 cup chopped mushroom
8. 2 tbs tamari
9. 1 tbs rice cooking wine vinegar
10. 2 tbs sesame oil
11. spring roll / wonton wrappers
12. birds eye chilli / sriracha / sambal oelek (optional)
13. black and white sesame seeds
Method:
1. Remove the wrappers from the freezer and cover with a tea towel. This is because the wrappers get dry and brittle very quick, and need to always be covered, even once filled.
2. Heat sesame oil in a large enough pan and begin by sautéing the aromatics (green onion, garlic and ginger) till sloughy soft but not coloured.
3. Add the vegetables and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, this is to prevent the vegetables from letting out water since we definitely don't want a soggy wonton. Add the tamari and vinegar, taste and season, and add some chilli at this point if using.
4. Let cool before mixing with the sweet potato. Taste and adjust salt / chilli as needed.
5. Scoop a teaspoonful into each wrapper, and seal / style as you like. I steamed a few, I air-fried a few (takes just 5-8 minutes at 180*) and also rolled some into little balls and coated with sesame. My favourite? The air-fried ones!
