Wood Ear Mushroom Wontons in a Peanut Chilli Oil Sauce

If you've never tried Chinese Black Fungus aka Wood Ear Mushrooms before, then this is your sign to try them!

What are Black Fungus Mushrooms?

Black Fungus Mushrooms, aka Wood Ear Mushrooms are a type of fungus traditionally grown in China. They're known for their jelly-like consistency and chewiness. Wood Ear Mushrooms are sold dry (you can find them in your Asian supermarket), and are soaked in boiling water until elastic and larger in size.

For this recipe, I am using them as part of the filling and as a topping for the dish. However, you can use wood ear mushrooms in an array of dishes ranging from salads to soups.

For The Dumpling Filling

To re-hydrate the wood ear mushrooms, simply soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes or until soft, elastic, and larger in size. Save a handful of mushrooms for toppings and then chop up the rest of the mushrooms for the filling.

You'll also need these ingredients:

• Chicken breast, finely chopped (almost into a paste)
• 1 chunk of celery, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chicken powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Simply combine all of your ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Assembling The Dumplings

You'll need a packet of wonton wrappers from the Asian supermarket. For this recipe, we will be using about half of the packet, so if you want to use all of the wrappers, double the filling recipe!

Grab a wonton wrapper and dab two sides with water. Place a teaspoon of the filling into the centre of the wrapper and fold in half. Pinch the two corners of triangle at the fold and bring together to form a little hat shape (see video for tutorial). Repeat this step for all of the dumplings and then boil them for 6 minutes.

Peanut Chilli Oil Sauce

Is it just me, or are sauces the best part of a dish?

For this peanut chilli oil sauce, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 heaped teaspoon of chilli oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• ½ tablespoon peanut butter
• ½ teaspoon garlic paste
• ½ teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon hot water

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If You Are A Fan Of Dumplings, You Might Enjoy My Dumpling World Tour Series

I set myself a challenge to go around the world in 80 dumplings. Why? Because so many countries share a love for dumplings and every country’s dumplings have their own unique twist. From Varenyky in Ukraine to Banh Bot Loc in Vietnam, dumplings are a way for us to celebrate various cultures and culinary differences from all parts of the globe.

Not all my dumpling recipes are up on my website, yet! So, if you’d like to check them out, head on over to my Instagram for the video tutorial and full recipe!

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