#COOKING: DUMPLING WITH CHEF KEN YAU IN CELEBRATION OF NETFLIX’S “OVER THE MOON”

In celebration of Netflix‘s acclaimed Animated Feature OVER THE MOON, we got to partake in a special virtual Dumpling making class with Chef Ken Yau of k.dinners, who has worked at popular local hotspots Nota Bene and Scaramouche, in addition to three-Michelin star The Fat Duck in London. Local television personality Pay Chen hosted and among my classmates was the lovely Tanya Kim!

How fitting, since food is such an integral element in the culturally-rich, visual spectacle that is OVER THE MOON!

Official Synopsis:

Fueled with determination and a passion for science, a bright young girl builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. There she ends up on an unexpected quest, and discovers a whimsical land of fantastical creatures. Directed by animation legend Glen Keane, and produced by Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou, Over the Moon is an exhilarating musical adventure about moving forward, embracing the unexpected, and the power of imagination. The film stars Cathy Ang (Fei Fei), Phillipa Soo (Chang’e), Robert G. Chiu (Chin), Ken Jeong (Gobi), John Cho (Dad), Ruthie Ann Miles (Mom), Margaret Cho (Auntie Ling), Kimiko Glenn (Auntie Mei), Artt Butler (Uncle), and Sandra Oh (Mrs. Zhong). 

A Clip from the Film:

A few tips from Chef Yau about Dumplings:

-All vegetables should be chopped well (maximum 1 cm in size)
-Avoid olive oil if frying; use vegetable oil
-If frying dumplings, don’t use a stainless steel pan, use a non-stick frying pan for a fail-proof fry
-Mix your vegetables with egg separately in its own bowl from the meat before introducing them together
-When stirring your ground pork, go only one way as that activates the protein
-A light dab of water acts as an agent to help seal your dumplings; never use too much of it
-Made too much? don’t worry, freeze these uncooked in an air-tight bag or container for later use!
-Use some kind of liquid if not Shaoxing Wine in your ground pork as this does wonders for moisture
-If boiling your dumplings, they absolutely have to be sealed tonight. this rule isn’t as strict when frying dumplings
-He swears by Ponzu Sauce as an accompaniment to his dumplings

I asked Chef Yau if his recipe could be used in an Air Fryer, which we are obsessed with and he didn’t see why not, though he had never tried. So we did!

Sharing Chef Yau’s recipe below with his permission. I added double the soy sauce to the filling for just a bit more flavour.

PORK DUMPLINGS

2lbs ground pork (or ground chicken)

1 bunch green onion, minced

1 cup Nappa cabbage, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bulb ginger, minced

1.5 tbsps salt

2 tbsps vegetable oil

1 tbsps soy sauce 

1 Egg

1 Pack of fresh dumpling wrappers (if frozen, thaw out in the fridge overnight or min 30-40 mins before) 

Optional:

¼ – ⅓ cup Shaoxing Cooking Wine 

Instructions:

1. In large mixing bowl, mixed chopped vegetables together with egg.
2. In separate bowl, pour wine into ground pork. Season with salt and soy sauce.
3. Mix pork into vegetables, stirring one direction only till combined.
4. Dab a bit of water (careful not to over-wet it) on edge of half of dumpling wrapper.
5. Scoop a spoon of filling onto center of wrapper. Fold edges firmly together. For added effect, you can pleat the edges into an “S”-shape repeatedly and pinch to seal. Repeat till you’ve reached desired amount of dumplings and store on a baking sheet.
6. You boiling pot of water, bringing dumplings to boil and reduce to medium/medium-low heat, covered for about 8 minutes, cooking in batches of 12 at a time.
7. Alternatively, for a crisp dumpling, you can air-fry at 380°F. Drizzle with a tiny bit of oil, pre-heating fryer for three minutes and then frying dumplings for about 6 minutes, tossing the dumplings once and placing back in fryer to finish for about 3-4 more minutes.
8. Plate the dumplings and serve with soy sauce, chili sauce or red/black vinegar.

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So fun partaking in a virtual #Dumpling making class with Chef Ken Yau of @k.dinners. Chef Yau has worked with the best at the likes of three-Michelin star The Fat Duck in London, Scaramouche and Nota Bene. The class, hosted by @paychen was in celebration of the phenomenal @NetflixCA Animated Feature #OvertheMoon! You must see this heartfelt visual spectacle! We adapted Chef Yau’s easy-to-follow recipe for an extra-crispy crunch in the Air Fryer and also did them boiled! More on link in Bio!

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on Nov 5, 2020 at 5:47pm PST

See the Trailer:

Our glowing Review of OVER THE MOON here.

OVER THE MOON is streaming now on Netflix!

(Photo credit: Netflix/Mr. Will Wong)