How to use leftovers – Momo Dough

I posted a recipe for Tibetan momos on February 17, 2010. Often when making momos there is leftover dough. My favorite way to use up this dough is to make Yow Bing or Chinese green onion pancakes.

Yow Bing

Ingredients

Dough leftover from making momos OR make full batch as outlined in the momo recipe

1 tsp to 1 tbs safflower oil or other neutral oil

salt,

1/4 to 3/4 cup very finely sliced green onions (depends on how much dough is left)

oil for frying

On a floured surface roll out the dough into a roughly circular shape to 1/8-inch thick. If dough is sticky, keep lifting up and dusting flour underneath as you are rolling. Spread a thin film of oil on the round and salt evenly. Sprinkle green onions evenly over surface, not too thickly. Roll the dough tightly into a tube. Cut the roll into 4 sections. Take one piece and dust with flour and roll again into a tube shape. Take tube and twist a few times then roll into a spiral, tucking ends in to seal. Roll out to a round about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Repeat until dough is used up. Use flour to dust the dough or work surface as needed.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium low heat and add enough oil to create a thick film. When hot, put in bread and cook for a couple of minutes. Press down occasionally to ensure even cooking. Turn bread over and cook for 2 minutes on other side. Continue to cook, turning form side to side until golden brown spots form and the bread is cooked through. Remove and put on a paper towel and let drain. Cook all bread this way. Serve hot, cut in quarters.

Note: the size of your bread will vary depending on how many times you divide up the dough or how much dough you have left over. I usually get four med-small breads from the left over momo dough.

How to use leftovers – Dumpling Filling

Often when making dumplings (or potstickers, gyoza, jao zi, etc.) you'll end up with extra fillling. Here is one recipe that solves this leftover problem. This was adapted from an excellent recipe from the NY Times, Mark Bitten's blog, 11/18/09, "Meatballs, Chinese Style."

Take leftover dumpling fillling and add an egg white and about 2 tsp tapioca starch. You can add more salt if ou like, or a tsp of soy sauce or fish sauce. The mixture will be very wet but don't worry the poaching in stock will firm them up.

Mince an inch of ginger and finely slice the white parts of a leek or a small handful of Chinese chives or a couple of green onions. Heat veg oil, add ginger and onion but don’t brown just get it softened. Add about 6-8 small heads of baby bok choy roughly chopped. Or use an equivalent amount of regular bok choy or Napa cabbage, coarsely cut up. It looks big at first but the greens cook down so much, you’ll be surprised.

Add white pepper and 2/3 to 1 cup of chicken or pork stock. Stir, then cover the wok or pan w/lid and let the bok choy cook down a little. After a minute or two, shift the bok choy over to one side of the pan. Make the dumpling filling into balls, don’t have to be precise here, and gently ease them into the cooking liquid next to the bok choy. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. The bok choy will be very overcooked but so yummy.

The broth is pretty amazing. I don’t usually reduce or thicken it. If you have leftover broth from meal, this can be used in another stirfry or as a soup base. Check for seasoning, add a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce to taste.

Serve, of course, with rice.

Note: I’ve made this recipe several times from scratch (no leftover filling.) Making the meatballs from a lb of ground pork, 1 tbs fish sauce, ½ small minced onion, , white pepper , tiniest pinch of sugar, egg white (small egg), 1 tbs starch (corn or tapioca.) It makes a lot but then you have -- leftovers!

How to Use Leftovers - Rice

Fried Rice

a great quick meal and a great way to use leftovers.

Left over rice, refrigerated overnight.
Green onions, cut on diagonal , ½-1 inch pieces
Eggs
Veggie: bok choy, kale, rapini, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, etc.,
cut into bite size pieces or coarsely shredded
Soy sauce, to taste
Salt & white pepper, to taste

Optional ingredients:

Garlic, left whole, slightly smashed
some kind of pre-cooked meat or tofu, cut in to small pieces.
red pepper: cayenne, togarashi, chili paste
kimchi (allow kimchi to be heated through, use juices instead of soy sauce)
sesame oil, for flavor

Method

Heat oil or lard or use bacon cut into small bits as both the fat and the meat. Use fairly high heat, what your pan can stand (med-high).

Add ginger stir until fragrant (very quick) then add green onions and stir fry until edges begin to brown.

Quickly add veggies and meat, turn heat to medium and stirfry until veggies are almost cooked and meat is heated through.

Push mixture to edge of pan and break eggs into pan (make sure that pan has some oil thinly coating bottom, okay to add a little sesame oil at this time.) Mix eggs with fork and season with with salt/white pepper. Then let cook until almost done but top of eggs are still wet.

Add rice folding eggs into rice, making sure to break egg into small pieces, mixing veggies in also. At this point you can season with a little soy and red pepper.

Note: I usually don’t use garlic but if I do I add at the same time as ginger and green onions and then remove when brown.

Here are a few variations on the theme:

Jean-Geoges Fried Rice - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/dining/27mini.html?ref=dining
Shanghai, Yangzhou version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5yDSxXlNKQ
Japanese style - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfub_GqhpbI
Korean style - http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-bokkeumbap
http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2008/02/fried-rice-yang-chow-style.html

I could go on and on. There are as many versions of fried rice as there are countries that eat rice.

How do you make fried rice?