Exotic adventures and sweet potato & ginger dumplings

The last week my dearest boyfriend has been visiting me here in the Big Apple. We've had a great time so far, mostly just taking it easy and walking around some of the different neighborhoods. I've started to see a pattern in the stops I plan for our explorations though. They are almost always related to food. I find strange small food shops, cafés and restaurants, and of course, multiple exotic grocery stores that are hidden away on shady streets. To me, entering any kind of ethnic grocery store is like entering a new enchanted world. There is so much to see, foods I've never even heard of and have no idea how to use. Our last tour led us to an Asian grocery store where we got the following three things: a box of sweet and strong tamarind candy, a glass bottle of fruit soda sealed by a glass marble that you broke loose before drinking and a big package of dumpling wrappers. Can you guess which one of them is starring in this week's last recipe? May I present: Sweet potato and ginger dumplings with a miso-sesame dipping sauce!

I was surprised by how easy dumpling making was. The filling goes fast to make, as does the dipping sauce. It takes some time to put together the dumplings, but this is a fun project to do together with someone you like. You get the hang of it pretty fast and then you're like a dumpling factory. We pan-fried our dumplings, but if you want to you can steam or boil them as well. A little bit of googling will tell you how it's done. Also, why not check out fun ways to wrap your dumplings on Youtube! If you want to you can be quite the dumpling artist!

Makes about 40 dumplings

The dumplings
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 leek, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
260 g sweet potato
200 g firm tofu
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 tbsp. Chinese soy sauce
2 tbsp. vinegar
½ tbsp. chili sauce, such as Sriracha
2 tsp. mirin or sugar
1-2 tsp. sesame oil
About 40 dumpling wrappers (round, approximately 10 cm in diameter)

The dipping sauce
3 tbsp. Chinese soy sauce
3 tbsp. mirin (you can use sugar too)
1 tbsp. tahini
1 tbsp. miso (I use red)
2 scallions, minced
1 tbsp. vinegar

Mix all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and let it sit so that the flavors can mingle until your dumplings are done.

Roast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat. Remove the seeds and add a lug of oil. Fry the scallions and garlic until soft. Peel and grate the sweet potato coarsely and crumble the tofu. Add this to the pan. Mix the rest of the ingredients, except for the dumpling wrappers, in a bowl and pour over the filling. Fry for another minute or two, then remove from the heat.

To make the dumplings, place about 1 tablespoon of filling on a wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper with your finger and either just fold it over the middle and pinch it together or make nice pleats along the edge. I leave it up to you to use your googling skills to learn more about different wrapping techniques. Place the finished dumpling on a cutting board. Continue until you've used up all filling.

Heat a large pan to medium-high heat. Add a lug of oil and then place the dumplings in the pan as close as possible without them touching too much. Fry for about 3 minutes until golden on the underside. Add about 5 tbsp. of water to the pan and cover with a lid. Lower the heat to medium and steam for 3-5 minutes.

Enjoy your dumplings with the dipping sauce. Eat with your fingers or be proper and use chopsticks.