TIBETAN STYLE MOMO'S OR DUMPLINGS
These are so incredibly good and you can't eat just one. The first time I ever ate a MoMo an entire family of Tibetans sat and waited to see what was going to happen. For appetizers you can make them smaller and put one onto a ceramic spoon. I'll post some photographs soon. By the way, you will need a steamer to make these. You can get a large bamboo steamer or an aluminum one with two tiers; they're made in Thailand.

1 pound ground beef or chicken
3 finely chopped scallions
1 tablespoon of freshly ground ginger
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sesame oil, optional
pinch of salt, optional
3 tablespoons cold water

2-3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
warm, not hot, Water

For Vegetarian MoMo’s: make a mixture of potato, finely chopped cabbage, garlic, ginger, scallions, grated carrots, or whatever you like, and put that into the dumpling instead of the meat. Use the potatoes to hold the mixture together.

To make the dough:
Put the flour into a medium sized bowl and gradually add the water while mixing. Keep adding water until the flour holds together without making strands. About ½ cup of water should be enough depending upon your climate and if the flour is dry. Just add the water gradually. Knead the dough until it is smooth and feels like your earlobe. Cover and let stand about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pinch off about a handful of the dough and pull into a snake shape. Cut off about one-inch pieces. Roll each piece out to about 4-inch rounds. Alternately, roll out the dough as thin as possible on a well-floured surface and cut into rounds. If you want to make appetizer-sized momos, roll out to about 2-3 inch rounds and use less filling.

Filling:
Mix the meat, scallions, ginger, garlic and soy sauce together until everything is well-blended. Use your hands. Then mix in a small amount - about 3 tablespoons - of water. Let stand covered about 15 minutes.

Start boiling water in the steamer.

Put a teaspoon or more of the mixture on each round and fold over into a half-moon shape, pinch edges tightly to seal. Or, for the more classic MoMo, pull the dough up over the filling and using a turn-and-pinch motion go all around, leaving a hole in the center. This takes some practice and best to actually see someone do it. The half-moon shape is easier to do initially.

Smear oil on the inside of the steamer, or line with Napa cabbage leaves. Put MoMo’s in the steamer; make sure they don’t touch each other. Cover and steam for 15-20 minutes or until the steam feels sticky to your palm.

Serve with chilli sauce and a dipping sauce mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar and roasted sesame oil, to taste.


** 1 pound of meat makes 25 MoMo’s (or Momos).
If you are in a rush, and who isn’t when making MoMo’s, you can proceed to make these without the waiting times indicated. You can also eliminate the ginger and garlic or anything else..