These edamame truffle dumplings are inspired by the classic menu item at Yauatcha, only I added perilla leaf and spring onion because I like those ingredients and I have a glut of both in my garden. And because I wanted to.
Crystal skin dumpling wrappers are fundamentally different from the frozen or refrigerated ones you typically find in supermarkets. Instead of wheat flour, they are made from pure starches (in the case of this recipe, it's wheat and tapioca) combined with boiling water. The crucial step of adding boiling water triggers gelatinisation, which means the starch granules absorb water, swell, and form a soft gel. While wheat flour wrappers owe their structure to protein networks, crystal skin dumplings owe theirs to this starch gel matrix. The result is a delicate texture with a transparent appearance after they're steamed.
Edamame truffle dumplings were first popularised by the restaurant chain Yauatcha. This Italian Cantonese fusion concept originated in Mumbai, where it became a hit and was consequently added to the chain's global menu. Their version combines edamame with jícama and water chestnut, bundled in a money bag crystal skin dumpling. They're sublime, and worth seeking out. Mine are less refined, and don't contain any crunchy ingredients, but you can add finely diced whatever as you'd like - you'll just need to increase the dumpling skin recipe to account for the added bulk.
And speaking of ingredients, you don't have to add the perilla leaves if you don't want to. I like to find ways to use herbs and share them so that when people invitably search for ways to use perilla or perilla leaf recipes (lol see my completely transparent SEO babble in play), they might land on an option beyond the usual suspects that are repeated over and over. It's not that there's anything wrong with the standard recipe line ups (Korean uses of perilla are tops and highly recommended), but that when you grow your own herbs you can sometimes get desperate for new ideas when things start growing wild. Readers who grow their own food will probably understand what I'm talking about, that desperation to not waste what's available while also wanting to try something new, all while feeling mentally exhausted and unable to jumpstart those creative muscles.
I think various basils would also pair well with the edamame truffle filling. Another thing I've not tried, but am confident would be good, is to skip the truffle oil and go in with perilla oil instead. Or any seasoned oil, frankly. You can go fairly heavy on the oil too; there's something about the edamame that can hold onto it without throwing back an overly greasy and heavy mouthfeel.
If you have a torilla press, crystal skin pastry is an absolute cinch to work with. It saves a tonne of time for those of us who don't have either the requisite skills to knock dumplings skins out at speed or additional bodies to work a production line. If you don't have one, I'm sending you off to your favourite search engine or cookbook to find other recipes for crystal skin dumpling rolling and folding. Others will do a better job of explaining than me, there's no need to reinvent the wheel, I'm too tired already and have other things to do, etc...
Edamame truffle dumplings with perilla leaf
Ingredients
Edamame filling
- 180 grams frozen edamame beans
- 1 ½ tablespoons truffle oil
- Scant ¼ cup chopped green onion
- ¼ cup roughly chopped perilla leaf or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt
Dumpling skins
- 50 grams wheat starch
- 50 grams tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon oil 5 grams
- 2 pinches salt
- 100 grams just boiled water
Instructions
Prepare the edamame filling
- Boil edamame beans for several minutes - I always cook mine for longer than instructions call for so they're extra soft. Drain and add to a food processor.
- Process the edamame until mostly smooth, then add the remaining ingredients and blend until combined.
Prepare the dumpling dough
- Add the starches, oil, and salt to a medium sized heatproof bowl. Pour in the boiling water (it must be boiling) and stir quickly with chopsticks. The mixture will form a shaggy, non-uniform dough. Cover the bowl and leave it to rest for a couple of minutes until the dough is cool enough to handle.
- Knead the dough for a minute or two until it becomes smooth and elastic. The texture will be similar to Play-Doh.
Form and cook the dumplings
- Divide the dough into 14 pieces (I recommend weighing the dough and dividing it by the number of dumplings you're aiming for). I use a tortilla press to make approximate 9 centimetre (3 ½ inch) diametre skins. Cut a length of nonstick baking paper, fold it, brush it with the tiniest amount of oil, and use that in your press to keep the skins from sticking.Only make one dumpling at a time, or else the wrappers can dry out and make the dough difficult to work with.
- Add a scant tablespoon of filling to a wrapper and fold. The easiest method is to fold the sides together into a half moon shape. For directions on other folds, the trusty internet awaits your search. Place the dumpling on a tray lined with nonstick paper and repeat the process until you've made all of the dumplings.
- Bring water to the boil in your steaming apparatus.
- Remove the steamer basket or tray from the heat to avoid burning yourself. Line it with nonstick baking paper or a nonstick silicone dumpling pad. Place the dumplings at least an inch apart on the tray and steam for 6-8 minutes, until translucent. If cooking from frozen increase the time to 10-12 minutes.
- Serve immediately. They're good on their own, but I also like to eat them with Shanxi vinegar.