Chinese New Year isn’t complete without these golden Steamed Money Bag Dumplings. Conjure them up for the celebration, and you’ll welcome them in the lunar new year flush with riches and success.
When it comes to making these shiny banknote pouches, I’ve seen a lot of ingenious solutions. The most salient feature of these little bags is their golden yellow color, which makes them look like little money. Except for that, change it up!
You can use tofu skin, soaking tofu sheets, napa cabbage leaves, or yellow dumpling wrappers like I did to make the money bag.
For the filling, simplicity is best. More importantly, you will do a lot of cooking during the day. Fillings from other recipes you’re cooking could also work.
You may rest assured that, superstitious or not, everyone will compete to consume at least one of these to ensure good fortune in the next year.
INGREDIENTS:
- 16 cilantro stems (5 inches long)
- 16 Hong-Kong-Style yellow dumpling wrappers
- 2 ounces of dried shiitake mushrooms; soak it overnight until rehydrated and save the water
- 1 cup of finely diced bamboo shoots
- 1/2 cup of finely diced carrot
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoons of light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of finely chopped vegetarian oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons of minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons of Shaoxing wine
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Squeeze out the excess water and remove the rough stems from your rehydrated shiitake mushrooms. Prepare them by dicing them very small and setting them aside. Additionally, get the carrots, bamboo shoots, and ginger ready to be minced.
- Put the oil in your wok and get it hot over low to medium heat. About a minute is all you need to cook the ginger and carrots. Increasing the heat to medium, stir-fry the mushrooms and bamboo shoots for two to three minutes.
- Mix the Shaoxing wine, the low-sodium soy sauce, and the vegetarian oyster sauce. Put everything into a pot and stir until combined.
- Simmer until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has evaporated. After adding the scallions, remove the dish from the wok and allow it to cool fully.
- Make the money bag knots while you wait. Have ready a bowl of cold/ice water and a medium-sized kettle of boiling water.
- To stop the cooking process, plunge the cilantro stems into cold water soon after they have been blanched (for 5-10 seconds). Drain and carefully squeeze dry, taking care not to break the stems.
- Keep the dumpling wrappers from drying out after opening the package by covering them with a damp towel. Each wrapper should be rolled out to a diameter of about 4 inches (10 cm). Make sure there’s enough room to knot the bags shut after adding the filling (about a tablespoon’s worth).
- Pinching the wrapper together, but leaving the bag’s opening open, close it over the filling. A string of cilantro can be used to seal the bag.
- The process should be repeated until all the filling has been consumed. You are in full steam mode now. You should use a bamboo steamer since it allows steam to escape and won’t leave your money bag dumplings mushy from condensation.
- Use parchment paper, cabbage leaves, or cheesecloth to line the bamboo steamer to prevent food from sticking.
- Put the dumplings in the steamer so that they are separated by approximately an inch.
- For three minutes, steam the ingredients by placing the steamer in a clean pan filled with boiling water. These are also delicious when pan-fried in the same way that Japanese gyoza are.
- Wrappers made from tofu sheets, tofu skins, or napa cabbage require an additional 15 minutes of steaming time.