Green Tea Shrimp Dumplings - Re-using Tea leaves

 When I visited Bohyang Dawon(보향다원), a beautiful organic tea farm, the owner kept told me to never throw leftover tea leaves away. Especially, since she feeds gold her plants fertilizer, the tea leaves are just so healthy for you.  (Check my older post for more information. Click)

There are many ways to reuse leftover teas. It depends on tea leaves (and your taste :D ).
If you had green tea or oolong tea, you can reuse them for food. However, you should always make sure that, you either remove moist from leftover tea leaves immediately and as much as possible, or you use them right after you brewed. The reason is because of bacterias may increase in wet tea leaves.


 I had been drinking HS's pan-fired tea for couple of days, so I had quite of leftovers and wanted to use them as soon as possible. Because HS's pan-fired tea is also from that gold tea plants and very mild, I decided to put the whole things in to dumpling dough.

Green Tea Dough

You will need

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup leftover green tea leaves

1/2 tablespoon Matcha (Green Tea Powder)

Directions

 

1. Blend green tea leaves and water with blender until the tea leaves becomes small enough to not bother you when you eat. Doesn't need to be very fine.

2. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and green tea water.

 

3. Once they become one smooth dough, let it rest for more than 2 hours in room temperature. This is very important process, otherwise the dough will be too elastic and very hard to roll it.

 

4. Dust the board with flour. 

5. You can take a small piece of dough and roll one by one(Chinese style), take around quarter amount from entire dough each time, roll it, and use round cookie cutter or small dish(Korean style), or use the knife cut them into square. It depends on what you feel easier.  

Shrimp Dumpling

You will need

1lb uncooked shrimp

1 can water chestnut

2/3 cup edamame

1 cup soaked or fresh shitake mushroom
(2/3 cup dried shitake mushroom, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon soysauce)

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cooking wine

 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 tablespoon good quality sesame oil (1 tablespoon regular one)


Dumpling dough

Directions

 

1. While waiting the dough is resting, soak the mushrooms with sugar,
soy sauce and water(just enough to cover the mushrooms)







2. Steam frozen edamame for 5 minutes







3. Chop all ingredients and mix all together

4. Put the mixture in refrigerator, while waiting for the dough gets soft






5. Put shrimp mixture in the dough, and fold it nicely :)
I found picture directions.

I made similar as third one, but using round dough.

6. Lay lettuce on steamer

I think Chinese style is using sliced lettuce, but just the whole things work fine. 

7. Steam uncooked dumplings for 4 minutes

(If you want to store the dumplings in freezer, make sure you steam them first.

Otherwise, they will all stick together)