As part of our three course plant based menu, one of the chefs at MoaAlm has been serving a vegan mushroom and tofu dumpling with a soy dipping sauce.
This summer Becca is our scientist in residence at MoaAlm Mountain Retreat. As our plants and flowers expert, she is working on her master thesis about the biodiversity of high alpine mountain pastures meadow in the Hohe Tauern National Park. The rest of her time she performs trick on the yoga mat as well as in our vegan kitchen! Becca made Sunday a dumpling day. Here she explains how!
Living in Austria I became aware of the deep emotional attachment every single valley around me has its traditional way of making dumplings. How every village makes them slightly different than the next.
Austria, Italy, Vietnam, Japan… Every country has traditional dumplings. Well, I have recently moved to Vienna and one good thing about living in a capital city is the choice of international food available to me, anywhere anytime.
My absolute favourite thing to do has become going out for Ramen and Pho, sitting at the bar and watching the chefs artistically blend together chilies, coriander, soy sauce and fresh kimchi while the air is hot and spicy. I never miss dumplings and a glass of rice wine or rice tea as a starter.
At home, it has become a tradition to pretend we are a dumpling manufacturer and enthusiastically roll ad fold until our fingers are sore – of course this is not your quick and easy Monday evening dinner, but maybe on a Sunday afternoon with your friends and extra hands. Because making dumplings is as much fun as devouring them.
The first ones you ever make probably won’t win a price for the most beautiful dumpling ever created, but beauty lies in the eye of the beholder – and you will get the hang of it, I promise!
Serves 4 people.
150g Mushrooms
1 spring onion
1 clove Garlic
5g Ginger
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs Soy sauce
100g Firm tofu
75g Walnuts
Chop the mushrooms, spring onion, garlic, and ginger finely. Heat up a frying pan with sesame oil and fry everything.In a blender combine tofu, nuts, soy sauce and 3 tbsp of water until it becomes smooth. Combine with all ingredients.
200 g White flour
60 g Starch
1 pinch sugar
1 pinch salt
130 ml Water
1 tsp Oil
In a bowl combine flour, starch, sugar, and salt. Add the hot water and stir it in with a spoon. When it has cooled down slightly, knead it with your hands until the dough is really smooth. This can take up to 10 Minutes. Add the oil, knead it in and let the dough rest in the fridge for a further 30 Minutes.
Finally: The assembling and most exciting part!
Separate the dough into parts of 15 g. Keep flour and starch handy so the dough doesn't stick to the work surface. With a rolling pan, roll out the dough in a circle until it is very thin and approximately 10 cm wide. When layering your finished dough, sprinkle enough starch in between the individual sheets so they don't stick while assembling. Wet the edges of the circle with water, place a tsp of filling inside and fold it into a dumpling.
To fry: Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, dip a dumpling in a little flour and fry for three minutes until the button turns golden-brown. Then add 100 ml of water and quickly cover the pan with a lid and let it steam until all the water is gone.
To finish off, lift the lid and let the dumplings get crispy again.
Let us know if you made your own vegan dumplings. If you share your them on your social media, we would love to be tagged #moaalmretreat and #relaxinglyactive. We will award the prize for the prettiest :)
If you'd rather hike and eat than knead, roll and fold? Book a summer week at MoaAlm here.