PAUL F WESLEY
Dumplings
by Diana Cercone
Ask Julius Facenda about comfort food and he’ll tell you the best ones come in small packages. Like little presents, each of his comes wrapped in its own handcrafted covering. To be more precise, Julius’ wrappings are deliciously edible. He blends a mix of flour and water for his perfected dumpling doughs—with a smattering of other ingredients depending on the type of dumpling. (But I’ll get to that later.) For now Julius is concentrating on Asian-style dumplings and Polish pierogi. But that’s just the beginning for him. He won’t stop, he says, till he’s mastered and conquered every dumpling known to mankind—and then added his own riffs to the mix.
Julius is the owner/chef of D’town Dumplings located in the Stockton Market in Stockton, NJ. That’s where I first sampled his dumplings. Looking over his mouth-watering menu on the chalkboard hanging on the wall next to his kitchen/food stall early last fall, I ask him which of his Asian offerings I should try first. Taking a quick glance at me and registering that I was not one of his repeat customers—at least not yet—he says, “Start with the traditional Asian. You can never go wrong with the traditional. If it’s good, you’ll know the others will be too. Same with the pierogi. Start with the traditional mashed potato and cheese.”
His traditional Asian dumpling, Gyoza (pronounced gee ow zuh), is a thin, delicate dumpling wrapper filled with a savory mix of pork, scallions, soy sauce and sesame oil. It’s served with Julius’ take on the traditional Gyoza dipping sauce. As I had other shopping to do at the market, I hadn’t planned on eating his Gyoza there and asked for reheating directions.
“Uh-uh,” he says, pulling himself up to his full six-ft height, a warm smile shining through his mask. “You don’t want to do that. Traditionally, Asian dumplings are street food. They should be eaten hot and right out of the pan.” The disappointment on my face was not lost on him. Not to worry, he says, walking to the back of his kitchen and pulling out a bag of freshly frozen Asian pork dumplings from a freezer. As if reading my mind, he says, “Cooking directions are in the bag and are very easy.” Still, he walks me through them: Over medium high heat, carefully place frozen dumplings into a non-stick fry pan containing 1/2 tbsp of neutral cooking oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover pan with a lid. Cook until water is absorbed and the bottom of the dumplings become golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Total cooking time about 7-8 minutes.
True to his word, his dumplings were easy to cook. But before I set dumplings to pan, and since the weather was still warm, I invited a friend over to enjoy Julius’s dumplings on my patio. To round out our feast, we also dived into a side of Julius’ Udon noodles, dressed in a spicy mix of Gochujang, black bean paste, garlic and sesame oil, and liberally laced with crisp edamame beans. In a toast to Julius and his scrumptious dumplings and noodles, we raised our glasses of Sappora beer and said “Kanpai.”
As Julius expected, I was back for more, as well as to interview him for this story. There was only one caveat. In order for me to write about his dumplings, he said, I needed to sample them all. I didn’t argue.
It’s 1 p.m. on a Wednesday and, for the most part, the Stockton Market is closed, with only Market Pizza firing up its oven for take-out orders. Wednesdays and Thursdays are Julius’ prep days at his kitchen/stall. And that’s where I find him.
To begin he offers me three of his plump Buffalo Chicken Pierogi, each a popping pouch of flavors. Here the dough is slightly denser than in his Asian dumplings, and, rather than a mix of flour and water, are made with sour cream, flour and eggs. The thicker dough is also better to hold the heavier mix of chicken breast and thighs, he says, which also imparts more flavor than just all-white meat. The pierogis pair well with the heat of his buffalo sauce and coolness of his bleu cheese dressing. As with his other dumplings/pierogi, stand back with napkins in ready for your first bite will send an explosion of juicy flavors. (And, if you’re not careful, merrily dribbling down your chin.)
Next up are his Bang-Bang Shrimp Dumplings. Rich in flavor, the shrimp are first fried to perfection then topped with a spicy aioli sauce before wrapped in dumpling dough and served with his sauce of sriracha, mayo and sumac. “The sumac has hints of lemon,” he says, “so goes nicely with seafood.” A true gift for your taste buds.
These are followed by his Cheeseburger Pierogi still sizzling hot straight from the pan. After one bite, I lament that my burger lovin’ friend CeCe isn’t here to share them with me. For each pierogi holds a tender, juicy Angus ground chuck patty topped with Colby cheese and served with Julius’ mix of sweet pepper and hot cherry pepper relish. “Colby is similar to cheddar,” he says. “I like it better plus it’s better for melting.”
As he deftly hand forms dumplings and rolls out crimped-edged pierogi, using a hand-cranked machine similar to that used to make pasta, he tells me how he first became interested in food. Simply put, he says, he grew up in an American Italian family “We did all the traditional Italian dishes, including handmade pastas and the Feast of the Seven Fishes.” His father, who was half Arminian, would often bring home Arminian food from Philly, such as baba ganoush, tabbouleh and lahmacun. But it was on the trips with his parents from their home in Warminster to the city’s Chinatown where Julius fell in love with Asian dumplings. He was eight years old.
And pierogi? Laughing sheepishly, he says, “Like most American families, from Mrs. T’s.” But, then, hastily adds that he had tasted the pierogi made by the ladies of St Anne’s Ukrainian Church in Warrington years later and his taste buds were transformed. For now, Julius offers three types of pierogi, including the traditional potato and cheese pierogi, which he scoops onto a plate for me. They are topped with melted butter and Colby cheese and served with a dipping sauce of caramelized onions, bacon and sour cream. (The ladies at St. Anne’s would be proud.)
For my last tasting, Julius made his Vegan dumpling. Wrapped in a butterfly-wing thin spinach dumpling is a savory mix of roasted broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and spinach and seasoned with Herbes de Provence and served with a truffle oil, soy sauce and spice sauce. All of his colorful dumpling wrappers are made with pure vegetable juice, such as beet and spinach. No artificial anything.
From his grandmother, MomMom, he says, he learned the art of making ravioli. Look for his traditional ravioli and inspired creative takes on them this winter, as well as a special Chinese New Year dumpling. Sure to be delicious if not bring you good luck!
D’town Dumpling is located in The Stockton Market, 19 Bridge Street, Stockton, NJ; dtowndumplings.com; 267-576-2003; Fri. 12-7 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m.