Colorful Tofu Mushroom and Scallion Dumplings

Ingredients

For the Dumpling Wrappers:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup water, very hot
• Food coloring of choice (optional)

For the Filling:

• 2 onions, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cups tofu, crumbled
• 2 1/2 cups Oyster mushrooms
• 4 dried King Oyster mushrooms
• 8 scallions
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 hot pepper (optional)

To Make the Filling:

1. Soak the dried mushrooms for about 30 minutes in very hot water. After the soaking, you can cut them up into little pieces. Make sure everything is chopped, diced, and crumbled into small pieces, not too big or too chunky. Now sauté the onion, garlic, and chopped mushrooms for about 3 minutes. Now add the rest of the ingredients and cook until most of the moisture has evaporated. Let the mixture cool and set aside while making the dough.

To Make the Dumpling Wrappers:

1. For green wrappers, mix a pinch of spirulina and turmeric through the flour. For red wrappers, mix some beet powder through the flour. For turquoise wrappers, use water that has been boiled for 15 minutes with purple cabbage. Add a pinch of baking soda to this water before using it to make the dough.
2. If you're using a food processor with a dough hook, add the flour and optionally your food coloring of choice to the machine and turn it on. In a steady stream add very hot water through the feeding tube and form a ball of dough. Pinch the dough to see if its soft, but still firm enough to hold its shape. You can add a tiny amount of water if it's too dry, or a small amount of flour if the dough is too wet. Knead the dough a little and put it in a plastic bag or place it in a bowl covered with a damp, wet towel to prevent the dough from drying out. Leave it here for 15-30 minutes.
3. Alternatively, to knead the dough by hand, add the flour and food coloring of choice to a bowl and add the hot water while mixing the flour with a wooden spoon. Once the flour starts to form lumps and its cool enough to handle by hand you can start kneading it. Form a ball of dough and kneed for another couple of minutes until soft, but still firm enough to hold its shape, adding water or flour if needed. Put it in a plastic bag or place it in a bowl covered with a damp, wet towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
4. After the dough has rested, knead it for 30 seconds and take a take about 1/3 from the dough, place the rest back in the plastic bag or underneath the damp towel. Flour your working surface and form little balls from the dough, the size of a marble. Roll them flat into circle-shaped disk and fill the dumplings, close them and put them on a plate covered with parchment paper. After filling your first batch of dumplings put the plate or tray in the freezer while working your next batch.
5. To cook the dumplings you can steam them for a couple of minutes (if frozen, about 15 minutes) just line the steamer with parchment paper. Boil them until they float to the top. Or you can make pot stickers. Heat up some oil in a pan and once hot add the dumplings, cook for about a minute before adding a glass of water, quickly put the lid of the pan on and leave it to steam for about 15 minutes. They should be crispy on the bottom, but not burnt.