Vegan Chinese Chive Pies Or Pockets 韭菜盒子 Recipes

VEGAN CHINESE CHIVE PIES OR POCKETS (韭菜盒子)

Steps:

• Add in 2 cups of flour into a mixing bowl.
• Create a well in the center of the bowl.
• Pour in the warm water.
• Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix the flour and water. Once the dough starts to come together, add in 1 tsp of oil.
• Use your hands to mix the bits of dough. You can also transfer the dougn mixture to a floured surface. But I preferred to knead mine in a bowl for easier clean-up!
• Knead together for several minutes. If the dough is a bit dry, add a splash of water.
• Keep kneading until the dough no longer sticks to your clean hand and is slightly smooth.
• Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in the bowl.
• Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes
• For the noodles, I simply soaked them in boiling hot water until cooked through yet still chewy. Chop the noodles into small ½ inch pieces. Drain excess water and set aside.
• Prepare the rest of the veggies for the filling.
• Heat a large pan over high heat. Add in 1 tbsp neutral oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chives, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until the carrots are tender. Add in noodles. Pour in the soy sauce, salt, five spice powder, sesame seeds and oil. Season to taste as needed. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula and cook for another 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
• Transfer the filling in a bowl then set aside to cool while you prepare the wrappers.
• Add some flour on your work surface. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it a few times.
• Slice the dough into 12 pieces. Each piece will be around 35 grams.
• Roll or shape each piece of dough into a ball.
• To make a wrapper, press down on the ball of dough and lightly flatten it over the surface. You can also check out my pan-fried buns video here to see how I roll out my wrappers. Sprinkle a little flour on top and lightly coat your rolling pin with some flour as well. While holding both ends of the rolling pin, roll out the dough by moving the pin forward and backward. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the movement. Continue to roll out the dough until you have a wrapper that's around 4 ½ inches in diameter. If you can't make them into a perfectly round shape, that's okay! Mine weren't perfect but I was still able to properly fold the pies together. It really takes some time and practice to get a hang of making wrappers.
• Place the rolled out wrappers on a tray and cover with a dry towel to prevent them from drying out. Roll out the rest of the dough.
• Take a rolled out piece of wrapper.
• Place around ¼-⅓ cup of filling into the center. Press down the filling to make sure it's compact.
• Note: You can also opt to just seal these or fold them like empanadas (pinch and press).
• Fold the dough in half and seal by pressing the ends together. You will end up with a pie shape but you can also use your fingers to pinch small pleats on the sides if you'd like. Since we're using fresh dough, we don't need to seal the edges with water.
• To make the pleats, hold down the edges of the pie with your thumb and pointer finger, while you use your other hand to push down the sides.
• Press the wrapper together to seal the pleats well and avoid the filling from seeping out.
• Repeat this around the pie until you've pleated it all the way through.
• Repeat this for the rest of the wrappers until you have all your pies!
• This will take patience and some practice at the start, but trust me, it's worth it!
• Afterwards, place back the pie on the tray and cover with a dry towel to prevent it from drying out.
• Heat a pan (similar one with a lid here), add in 1 tbsp of oil (for every 3 pies). When hot, add in the pies and lightly press down.
• Leave to cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until it has a golden brown crust. Flip over and leave to cook for another 4-5 until golden brown.
• Prepare the lid of your pan. Using the lid as protection, carefully pour 3 tbsp of water into the pan and then immediately cover to prevent it from splashing due to the heat.
• Leave to cook in the steam, until the water has evaporated, around 5-6 minutes. Take out the pies and repeat this step for the remaining ones.
• Enjoy while hot!
• Place the cooked pies in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To reheat, you can pan fry them again with a splash of water or oven-toast in low heat.
• Frozen: freeze the cooked pies on a tray for 5 to 6 hours until hard. Make sure they are properly spaced apart to avoid from sticking. Afterwards, transfer them to freezer safe bags or containers. Reheat them from frozen (no need to thaw!) by pan-frying them on a pan with a splash of water before covering. Alternatively, you can also wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave on high until cooked through (around 1 minute).