Dual Color Dumplings 雙色蒸餃

This is the second post on the dim sum series. Click here for the other post.

These little dumplings are also known as pomegranate dumplings because their shapes are like little pomegranate. I love the transparent wrapper with crisp green color which is made from the juice of spinach, all natural. 

這些嬌小玲瓏的餃子又名石榴餃，因它的造型浩似一棵石榴。我很喜愛它透明的外皮又帶有清脆自然的綠色，十分嬌肖。色素是用新鮮菠菜汁做成，絕對天然健康。

Ingredients to make about a dozen dumplings:

transparent wrapper: 水晶皮

38g wheat starch 澄麵 

32g potato flour* (see notes below) 太白粉

100g boiling water 滾水

3g vegetable oil 菜油

green wrapper: 綠色皮

38g wheat starch 澄麵

32g potato flour 太白粉

100g spinach juice 菠菜水

25g spinach 菠菜

3g vegetable oil 菜油

fillings: 餡料

100g minced pork 豬肉碎

4 pieces dried mushroom, soaked and diced 東菇，浸軟，切粒

half of a small carrot, peeled and diced 紅蘿蔔，去皮，切粒

2 tbsp bamboo shoots, diced 筍，切粒

seasonings: 調味品

salt, sugar, soy sauce, corn starch, sesame oil, white pepper 鹽、糖、豉油、粟粉、麻油、胡椒粉

1)  Blanch spinach for about 10 seconds in boiling water. Transfer it to ice or cold tap water to stop cooking. Chop in a food processor or blender with some water.

2)  Drain the juice in a pot. Discard the spinach. Add water to the juice until you have about 100g. Set aside.

3)  Prepare the fillings and marinate the minced pork with seasonings.

4)  Stir fry all the fillings in a pan until the meat is fully cooked. Let it cool to room temperature.

5)  Prepare the transparent wrapper by bringing the water to a boil. Mix all the wheat starch and half the potato starch in a bowl. Add the boiling water to the flours and mix well with a spoon or spatula. Add the rest of the potato starch. Knead until a dough is formed. Add oil and mix well.

6)  Prepare the green wrapper in the same way. Replace water with the spinach juice. 

8)  Wrap the transparent log with the green wrap.

10)  Put about a spoonful of fillings in and seal. Steam for about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes:

1)  The kind of meat to use for the filling is highly flexible, or it can be meatless, as well. 

2)  Potato starch and potato flour/powder are both made from potato but they have different functions in cooking. Potato starch is starch extracted from potato with protein and fat removed while potato flour/powder is made from the whole potato. Starch is used mainly as a thickener, like cornstarch, in gravity or sauce. Flour, together with wheat flour, can be used in making bread or cake.

將菠菜放滾水約十秒，撈起放冰或凍水降溫，加些少水放入攪拌器內攪成汁，隔篩後的菜汁加水至100g備用。餡料放鍋內炒熟待涼備用。做水晶皮: 將水煮滾，大碗內放澄麵及一半太白粉，倒入滾水，用匙攪勻，再放入餘下太白粉攪成團狀，再放油搓勻。綠色皮做法一樣，用菠菜水代替水。將水晶皮搓成直徑約二點五厘米大圓筒狀，綠色皮搌開成長方形，將水晶皮包起，用刀切成約一厘米厚片，再搌開約六厘米直徑圓形，包上約一茶匙餡料，封口成石榴狀，用大火蒸五分鐘便成。

注意事項:

不同牌子或產地的太白粉可以是番薯粉 (potato flour)、木薯粉 (tapioca flour) 或生粉，令人極之混淆，但如果認明英文名稱比較清楚。

以下三種來自台灣的粉都叫太白粉，實際上是三種不同的粉，但如果看清楚英文，比較清晰。