2021 Cooks the Books Recipe: Assiniboine Community College

Braise Short Ribs:

• Heat oven to 400F (204C). Combine onions, carrots, chicken stock, garlic, ginger, star anise, honey, sherry vinegar, soy sauce, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
• Heat canola oil in heavy bottom braising pot and sear ribs to a golden brown on all sides. Add the braising liquid and vegetables from the bowl, cover, and place in oven for 2 hours until tender. Cool slightly to remove meat from the bones. Continue with short rib filling.

Short Rib Filling:

• In a large bowl, combine the short rib meat, carrot, onion, cilantro, ginger, canola, water, soy sauce, pepper, and chicken base, and mix together well, season with salt to taste.

Wrapper Doughs:

• Steam beet until tender (20 minutes). Purée cooked beet with ⅓ cup water in blender until smooth. Set aside. Purée spinach and parsley together with ⅓ cup water in blender until smooth. Set aside.
• For each dough, whisk the flour and salt together. In the original dough, just add ⅔ cup water. In the spinach and beet doughs, add ⅓ cup of puree to their respective flour and salt ratios. If dough is too wet, adjust with some flour. If too dry, adjust with 1 tbsp water or puree. Knead each dough 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest 20 minutes. Meanwhile make the tomato jam.

Tomato Jam:

• Combine all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a simmer for approximately 15 minutes until thick and syrupy. Keep warm.

Rainbow Dumpling Assembly:

• Cut original dough to two even pieces to be used with spinach and beet doughs to make colored dumplings. Roll the 2 portions of original, spinach, and beet doughs separately into long even sticks approximately 20” (51 cm) long. Brush each of the long sticks of dough with water and place one original dough next to a spinach and the other original dough with the beet. Stack the beet and original doughs on top of the spinach and original sticks – with the beet and spinach on opposite sides – in a pinwheel pattern. Roll the entire log of dough together to combine colors up to 30” (76 cm) in length. Rest 10 minutes. Cut dough to even two portions and roll each portion dough to 30” (76 cm) in length again then cut into 1” (2.5 cm) pieces.
• Dust dough pieces with flour and flatten with palm of hand. Roll the dough with a rolling pin to 1⁄16” (1.5 – 2 mm) thick round wrapper.
• Place 1 tbsp short rib filling into center of wrapper. Dip finger in water and brush edges of wrapper to help seal. Fold and seal the dumpling in a shape that you like. You can simply fold in half and seal in a half moon or try other more traditional shapes.

Cook Dumplings:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add dumplings one by one, stirring occasionally, reducing heat to a simmer. Cook for 8 minutes or until dumplings float and have swelled slightly. Using a perforated spoon, remove dumplings from water and serve with the tomato jam.

• Bonito dashi: Bring water to a boil, then remove from heat.
• Add bonito flakes and rest 5 min. Strain and use in custard and tofu sauce.
• Steamed Egg Custard (Chawan Mushi): Preheat oven to 300F (149C), then boil 4 cups water for the water bath.
• In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and bonito dashi. Strain to remove egg chalazae.
• Stir the chopped Shiitakes, tamari, salt, chives, and garlic puree into the egg mixture and mix well.
• Pour the custard into ramekins covering with plastic wrap and tin foil tightly. Place ramekins in an oven proof dish and add water to about 1½ inch up sides of ramekins. Bake 20 – 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean.
• Sauté Shimeji Mushrooms in canola oil seasoning to taste with salt. Garnish by placing a few mushrooms and fresh microgreens on finished custard.
• Crisp Tofu Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a small pot and slowly bring to a simmer 1 minute, stirring constantly until thickened.
• Crisp Fried Tofu (Agedashi): Remove tofu from package and wrap in paper towel. Heat in microwave for 1½ minutes, then change paper towel and microwave a further 1½ minutes. Change the paper towel, and let rest for 5 minutes to absorb all excess moisture.
• Cut Tofu into 1” cubes (2.5 cm x 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm) and dredge in cornstarch.
• Heat canola oil in pan to 350F (177C) and quickly fry the Tofu until crisp and lightly browned, turning to cook all sides evenly. Place on paper towel to absorb excess oil and serve with Tofu sauce with fresh ginger, a carrot flower, a slice of bird chili, a sprinkle of black sesame seeds, and a bias-cut chive for height.