Kimchi Hamentashen Dumplings

The Jewish holiday of Purim will be upon us in a few weeks, and I’m in that creative zone thinking about what to prepare. Purim is a very lighthearted holiday. You can learn more about it here.

One of the foods that we traditionally eat on Purim are hamentashen. They are usually triangular filled cookies made to represent the evil Haman from the holiday story. I’ve been making these little cookies since I was a kid, but in the past few years, I’ve been trying to balance the savory and the sweet when making my hamentashen for the Jewish Holiday of Purim. This year was no different.

I’ve been brainstorming various flavors this year and hope to share a few of them with you over the next several days.

This hamentashen came about because I’ve been wanting to make traditional Korean Mandu for a while now. I’m also a huge fan of Kimchi – and from that, kimchi dumplings, of course. It dawned on me last week, that I could possibly turn it in to a hamentashen of sorts. Both are always filled and shaped. Why not? I made some vegan  daikon kimchi a few weeks ago, so these dumplings came together quickly.

I decided to cook them potsticker style so that I could keep the hamentashen dumplings up right, so that it looked like a traditional hamentashen where you can see the filling.

I started by quickly stir-frying some tofu with ginger and garlic. Next, I added in some grated carrots, scallions and Napa cabbage. Once that mixture had softened, I added some of my special radish kimchi. I added enough that it was would contribute a lot of flavor to the mix, but I didn’t want the kimchi to overpower or overheat the dumpling. The smell coming off of the pan is amazing! I seasoned with a small amount of salt – about a teaspoons.

When the filling mixture was done cooking, I transferred it to a bowl and let it cool.

I placed a tablespoon of the filling in the dumpling wrappers and then pinched the round dough to form corners, like I’ve done in the past with my hamentashen cookies. I dabbed the corners with a bit of water mixed with corn starch. It helps glue the corners in a bit.

Once I prepared several dumplings, I heated my pan with vegetable and sesame oils. I placed the dumplings in the pan and let them brown a bit. Once they were browned, I added some water to the pan and covered the pan to let them steam. I removed the lid when the water had evaporated.

We then dug in.

Oh my. Now this is a hamentashen to enjoy and be proud of! Definitely making these dumplings and these hamentashen again.

Kimchi Hamentashen Dumplings

 

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Author: Hindy Garfinkel

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• ½ lb. super firm tofu, diced small
• 2 tbsp. ginger, peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• ¾ cup napa cabbage, chopped
• ¾ cup daikon kimchi (veganized), chopped (can sub cabbage kimchi if you have that)
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1-2 tsp. salt - as needed
• dumpling wrappers (I used around 30)
• ½ cup warm water mixed with a 3 tsp. corn starch (to seal the dumplings)
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• water for steaming

Dipping Sauce

• 3 tbsp. tamari
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• chopped scallions

Instructions

1. Heat up the 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil along with the 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil. Add in the tofu and cook for several minutes. Once the tofu is cooked a bit, add in the garlic and ginger.
2. Let the garlic and ginger get fragrant, then add in the carrots, cabbage and scallions. Let them soften a bit.
3. Next, add in the chopped kimchi. Stir everything together.
4. Salt as necessary.
5. Place a tablespoon of dumpling filling on the dumpling wrapper. Pinch in the corners and seal with the corn starch and water mixture.
6. Repeat with more dumplings.
7. Heat the oils in a large pan that has a fitting lid.
8. Place the dumplings bottom down in the pan and let them brown a bit. Should take a couple of minutes. Once the dumplings have lightly browned on the bottom, pour about ⅔ cup of water in the bottom of the pan and cover pan with a lid to steam the dumplings.
9. Let the dumplings steams until the water has evaporated completely.
10. Transfer to a platter. Repeat with any additional dumplings.
11. Dip the dumplings in a mixture of tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar and scallions.
12. Enjoy!

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