Is It Dumplings or Ravioli?
The algorithm and her assuming self has flooded my YouTube homepage with Asian women vloggers. And I have never been so entertained. Mainly, by the intentional cinematics of moving in silence, hardly ever coming into frame and speaking to the camera, yet a twenty-minute (at the most) video, leaving you wanting more.
Specifically, Jen, creator of @Kahvihuone8487, who brilliantly thrusts the viewers into her Finland experience, with illuminated ambiance, cleaning, and cooking, as she carefully sets the perfect dining table for her husband and herself to feast on cultural dishes of her ethnicity (Filipino) and his (Finnish).
There is @Kojohome who shares her five a.m. diaries by preparing meals for her household as the sun rises in Australia. Like Jen, little to no talking, just ASMR from the sizzling of hot oil and chopped onions dancing in a pan, or the soothing hum of the motor of a free-standing mixer combining cake batter, offering sounds that relaxes - and if at night - drifts us off to sleep. Ji-Young @Jiyoungdorner does a bit of narrating in her videos, as well as have conversations (in her native language - Mandarin) with the people in the room along with her, as she prepares tasty-looking dishes or enjoys the most eye-appealing restaurant and street dining.
Then there is Joanne Lee Molinaro better known as The Korean Vegan. It is hard not to binge watch her brilliant Korean, vegan-converted dishes, and feel inspired to try your hand at vegan bibimbap or kimchi. Trust me, I have made a list for my next run to the nearby Asian Market. Molinaro is so inspiring with not only her finely crafted re-creations but her strong ability of storytelling. The woman eloquently sucks me into her narrative, making a greater reason as to why I need to make this dish.
In a video called, “100 Dumplings” Molinaro has quite the task of preparing one-hundred dumplings as Christmas gifts and demonstrating the many ways to prepare dumplings. As I watched her create a Korean-inspired filling to stuff into the disc sized dough that would become dumplings, it was all too familiar to a task I took on this past summer (2023), having absolutely nothing to do with Korea, but rather Italy.
I wanted to learn how to make homemade ravioli. I stalked every Italian (Michelin star) video on YouTube to teach me how to do so. Even though there was a language barrier - the videos were in Italian, and I speak English - I was able to follow along with ingredients, occasionally asking Alexa: “What does ‘uova’ mean in English?” as she blurted out “eggs!”
Once I had the ingredients and measurements, it was then time to focus on the technique. I did not have a ravioli cutter as many of them did, nor did I have a machine to flatten out the dough, however, with every muscle strength within me, I rolled out the dough so flat that it was nearly transparent. I was proud and felt accomplished using an American biscuit cutter to form my small discs.
Thankfully, there was a chef who was making many styles of ravioli, not just the standard square shape with pressed edges, but half moons and even introduced a round shape that was given another name, “tortellini.” I watched and rewinded, watched and rewinded again, until I could garner the patience and confidence needed to do it like a Michelin star chef or if not so ambitiously, do it like an Italian native.
I created a delicious vegan cream cheese filling that I combined with cooked, chopped spinach, and sauteed red onions. The savory taste was incredible, if I do say so myself. Once it cooled enough for stuffing, I used a bowl of water to create the glue needed to seal my dough into a beautiful, recognizable shape. Ravioli (sans the square). Tortellini.
I placed a small dollop of the filling into the round disc and wet the edges of the dough. I carefully sealed the top middle of the dough with thumbs and pointer fingers, while creating what I describe as a pleat. It had become like art to me, as I moved from disc to disc, carefully pinching and shaping. The same with the tortellini. Instead of creasing, I folded the disc over and sealed, then shaped it into a circle. I had a lightly floured dusted sheet pan full, waiting for the water to boil (One chef I watched discouraged the use of salt in the boiling water, and so did I.).
As assertive steam arose from the hot, bubbling water, I submerged the stuffed noodles, letting them bathe for the seven minutes the chef suggested, or at least until the perfect coagulation seemed obvious, tossed them into a divine sauce creation of summer peaches, sage, and saffron with brown butter. And voila.
I beamed at my beautiful plate “of something,” boasting on IG how anyone can learn how to make this dish. I even found enough confidence to organize a “pasta” making class that would teach hopefuls how to do the same thing. I became more and more ambitious during round two, blending the juice of spinach into the dough for a vibrant green choice that seemed fancier than the traditional, because now I know how to do something that the Italians introduced to the world. Right?
Molinaro’s video brought my assurance into question with a simple video, with perhaps, no intention of a conversation such as mine to ensue. I stared at the TV screen watching The Korean Vegan cleverly demonstrate the many ways to cook dumplings - steam, sauté - with her eloquent narration fading to the background. I was clear on what was resonating, uncovering more than she intended. Humbly, dumplings cannot be ravioli, because ravioli are the doppelganger of dumplings, or possibly the AI generated version of dumplings.
Recipe:
Brown Butter and Peaches and Sage-Saffron Spinach Dumplings
Dumplings
300 g ‘00 Flour
3 Organic Eggs + 1 Egg yolk
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Sprinkle Salt and Pepper
Small bowl of water
Build a well with the flour. Add eggs, yolk, and olive oil. Beat with a fork, gradually adding the flour to the eggs. Begin kneading the dough for at least ten minutes. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Once rested, cut the dough in half and roll out to on a floured table until the dough becomes a transparent sheet. Use a cutter to cut mini discs. Dust with flour to prevent sticking.
Take an individual disc and put a dollop of filling in the center. Submerge your finger into water, tracing your fingers around the edges of the disc. (This serves as a glue to seal the dumpling.) Fold over and pleat the dough atop.
To Boil
Boil 6c of water and submerge noodles. Cook for at least 7 minutes. Take the dumplings out. Discard all but 1 cup of the dumpling water.
Filling
1 c Vegan Cream Cheese (Room temperature)
2 c Spinach (cooked and strained)
T tbsp Roasted Garlic
½ Small Red Onion (Chopped)
Salt + Pepper
Cook spinach and strain all the water out and chop. (Best to do so when the spinach is cooled.) In a small bowl, add chopped spinach, cream cheese, garlic, and onion. Mix well and put into a piping bag.
Brown Butter Peaches and Sage-Saffron Sauce
4 Peaches
½ Red Onion
Handful of Fresh Sage
A Pinch of Saffron
1 Stick of Vegan Butter
Roast everything except the saffron and butter in the oven for 15 minutes. Afterwards, place all into a blender and blend until smooth. Heat up a skillet on medium heat and brown the butter. Once browned, turn the heat to low. Add the blended sauce into the butter and stir until well mixed. Add the cooked dumplings to the sauce. To loosen the sauce, add a bit of the dumpling water.
Serve and enjoy! If you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on IG and TKTK at @ItsMeYCB.
