Gyoza in Lemongrass Broth

This soup with dumplings (the Japanese 'potsticker' kind, not the stodgy British kind) is just delicious and makes a filling meal. I always thought of 'broth' as something like watery healthful but bland meat stock for the infirm - not so in this recipe! We've been getting asparagus just recently in our organic delivery box (Australia has food in season at strange times, lucky us). If you want to make this when asparagus is not in season, use your imagination and substitute some other yummy veg like something from the broccoli family maybe.

By the way, it's easy (at least here) to grow lemongrass. I have a border of it doing well along the wall below the leaky gutter - perfect as lemongrass likes water which is a scarce resource here.

This recipe comes from a beaut book by Nicola Graimes called New Vegetarian Kitchen: Raw/Broil/Fry/Steam/Simmer/Bake. (Recipe is hers but photo is of my attempt; hers looked good too!)




1. First make the gyoza. Put the aduki beans, sesame oil and half the soy sauce in a bowl and mash lightly with the back of a fork, leaving some of the beans whole. Stir in the ginger, spring onions, garlic, cornflour and cabbage, Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

2. Put 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling in the centre of a gyoza wrapper - you want the parcels to be as full as possible. Brush the edge of the wrapper with water, top with another wrapper and press the edges to seal. Set aside and repeat to make 11 more gyoza.












3. To make the lemongrass broth, put the stock, lemongrass and lime leaves, ginger, vegetarian fish sauce, lime juice and caster sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the stock into a clean bowl, discarding the solids, and return broth to the saucepan. Add the remaining soy sauce, coconut milk and chilli and cook for another 5 minutes until slightly reduced and thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 70 degrees celsius / 150 fahrenheit and heat a griddle pan (I didn't know what one was so used a frying pan) over medium heat. Toss the asparagus in the sesame and sunflower oils and griddle it (fry) for 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and charred in places. Transfer to an ovenproof plate and keep warm in the oven.

5. I fried the gyoza with just a little oil in a non-stick frying pan but the recipe suggests deep frying: To deep fry the gyoza, heat the remaining sunflower oil in a deep saucepan to 180 C / 350 F, or until a cube of bread turns golden in 40 seconds. Fry the gyoza, 3 at a time, for 2 minutes, turning once, until golden and puffed up. Remove, using a slotted spoon, and drain on kitchen paper. Transfer to an ovenproof plate and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining gyoza.

6. To serve, heat the lemongrass broth, if necessary, then ladle it into four large, shallow bowls. Sprinkle with coriander and put three gyoza in the centre of each bowl, slightly overlapping them. Arrange the asparagus on top and serve immediately.