Gyuasang (Court Sea-Cucumber Dumplings)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Bamboo or metal steamer with lid
• •Rolling pin or small dowel
• •Clean cotton towel for squeezing cucumber
• •Skillet
• •Bench scraper or knife for dividing dough

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Stir the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Pour in the hot water while stirring with chopsticks, then add the oil and knead 6 to 8 minutes until smooth. Hot water makes a softer, more elastic skin, which matters because gyuasang is pleated tightly. Cover and rest 30 minutes so the flour hydrates and rolls thin without fighting you.

2. 2

   Salt the cucumber

   Split the cucumbers lengthwise, scrape out the watery seed core, and cut the flesh into matchsticks about 3cm long and 2mm thick. Toss with 1 teaspoon fine salt and rest 15 minutes, then rinse once and squeeze firmly in a clean towel. The cucumber must bend, not leak. Wet cucumber tears dumpling skins and weakens the filling.

   Do not grate the cucumber. Grating makes pulp, and pulp belongs nowhere near this dumpling.
3. 3

   Season the fillings

   Season the minced beef with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, garlic, scallion, black pepper, and crushed sesame seeds. In a separate bowl, season the chopped shiitake with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Keep them separate because beef and mushroom take seasoning differently; one bowl would make both muddy.

4. 4

   Cook each part

   Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Cook the beef, breaking it small, until no pink remains and the juices have cooked off, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cook the shiitake 2 minutes until glossy and dry. Last, cook the squeezed cucumber only 40 to 60 seconds, just until bright and barely softened. Cool everything completely before mixing, or the wrapper will soften before it reaches the steamer.

5. 5

   Mix and taste

   Combine the cooled beef, shiitake, and cucumber. Taste a small spoonful. It should be savory and clean, with cucumber still reading clearly. If it tastes flat, add 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce, not a heavy pour. Court dumplings are not mild because they are timid; they are mild because each ingredient is meant to remain itself.

6. 6

   Roll the wrappers

   Divide the rested dough into 24 pieces, about 14g each. Roll each piece into a thin oval, about 9cm long and 7cm wide, dusting lightly with flour. Keep the rest covered as you work. Thin is important, but not transparent; a wrapper that tears during pleating is too thin for this filling.

7. 7

   Pleat the crescents

   Place 1 level tablespoon filling in the center of each oval. Fold into a crescent and pinch the edge closed, then make small tight pleats along the sealed side so the dumpling looks ridged like haesam (sea cucumber). Press out trapped air as you seal. Air pockets swell in the steamer and split the skin, and then all the careful knife work is lost.

8. 8

   Steam gently

   Line a steamer with damp cotton cloth or perforated parchment. Arrange the dumplings with space between them and steam over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, until the skins turn slightly translucent and firm. Do not boil the steamer violently. Strong heat makes the ridges slump and the skins blister.

9. 9

   Cool and sauce

   Lift the dumplings out and let them cool to room temperature, or chill 20 minutes for a summer table. Stir together the dipping sauce: 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, sliced scallion, and a pinch of sesame seeds. Garnish with fine jidan strips and pine nuts if using. Serve the dumplings cool, not icy, so the wheat skin stays tender.

Chef Tips

• •Summer cucumber is the reason this dish exists. Use firm Korean or Persian cucumbers with few seeds. If your market only has soft, watery cucumbers, cook another mandu tonight and save gyuasang for the right month.
• •Purchased round mandu wrappers are acceptable for a crowded day, but choose thin wheat wrappers and roll them into ovals before filling. The safe corner to cut is the dough. The unsafe corner is the squeezing of the cucumber and the shaping of the ridges.
• •Mince the beef by hand if you can. Ground beef from the store works, but hand-minced beef keeps a finer, cleaner texture and does not pack into a hard lump inside the wrapper.
• •The dipping sauce should be light. Too much vinegar turns this into a sauce dish, and too much soy hides the cucumber. Measure it once, then adjust only after tasting with a dumpling.

Advance Preparation

• •The filling components can be cut, cooked, cooled, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. Keep cucumber, beef, and mushrooms separate until the day you fill so the cucumber stays clear.
• •The dough can rest at room temperature for up to 2 hours, covered well, or be refrigerated overnight and brought back to room temperature before rolling.
• •Shaped raw dumplings can be held on a floured tray under a damp towel for 1 hour before steaming. For longer storage, freeze them in a single layer, then bag them; steam from frozen for 10 to 11 minutes.
• •Steamed gyuasang are best the day they are made. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated, but bring them to room temperature before serving rather than reheating hard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 145g)