Steamed Dumplings With Shiitake Mushrooms in Sichuan Soup

The setup for this part dipping sauce, part soup couldn't be much simpler: add stock, some pantry staples, and scallions, dump in steamed dumplings, and that's dinner.

Ingredients

serves Serves 4, active time 10 minutes, total time 10 minutes

• 24 small Chinese dumplings, fresh or frozen
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, ends removed, caps sliced 1/2-inch thick
• Kosher salt
• 3 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons preserved bamboo shoots in chili oil
• 1/4 cup scallions greens, thinly sliced
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn

Procedures

1. Pour water into a large pot until it comes 2 inches up the sides, and top with a steamer basket. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add as many of the dumplings as will fit in one layer and cook according to the directions on the packaging. (The frozen dumplings I used took about 4 minutes.) Repeat step, if necessary, until all the dumplings are cooked.
   
2. Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high. When oil shimmers, add sliced mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their water and start to brown, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
   
3. Warm the stock in a medium saucepan over medium high heat until starting to simmer. Turn off the heat.
   
4. Take out four large bowls. In each bowl add 1 tablespoon preserved bamboo shoots, 1 tablespoon sliced scallion greens, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn, and 3/4 cup chicken stock. Taste and, if needed, season with additional salt. Add 6 dumplings to each bowl and a quarter of the mushrooms. Serve immediately.

Squash, Shiitake, Kale, and Kimchi Stew

Ingredients

serves Serves 4, active time 20 minutes, total time 30 minutes

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 scallions, ends trimmed, green and white parts thinly sliced and kept separate
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
• 1/2 pound squash, ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 pound shiitakes mushrooms, ends removed, caps sliced
• 1 bunch of kale, ends trimmed, leaves roughly chopped
• 2 cups kimchi, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup kimchi liquid
• 4 cups homemade or store-bought low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean miso paste), or Japanese white miso paste
• 1 pound soft tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons kochukaru (Korean dried chili flakes), more or less to taste (optional)

Procedures

1. Warm sesame oil into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add squash and shiitakes, stir well, and cook until squash starts to soften, 3 to 5 minutes minutes. Add chopped kale and cook, stirring often, until leaves turn bright green and wilt slightly, about 2 minutes.
   
2. Stir in kimchi, kimchi liquid, stock, water, soy sauce, mirin, gochujang, and doenjang. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to a strong simmer. Stir in soft tofu and kochukaru (if using), and cook until kale is tender and soup has slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and chili flakes if desired.
   
3. Serve soup immediately, sprinkled with scallion greens.