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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Dim Sum for Dinner: Recipe


My family loves dumplings. At this stage we might all turn into a dumpling after the amount we eat! But we love them - Japanese style Gyoza or Shumai or Chinese style steamed or fried. In fact, I love all dumplings and truthfully it seems that all nationalities have a version: Jews have Kreplach, Indians have Samosas, Italians have Ravioli! Ultimately it's the same concept and likely they all started the same way: a cook with left over meat and/or fish needed a way to ensure no waste...and voila! Why not stuff it inside of something!

We had steamed and fried dumplings last night for dinner. I have a large bamboo steamer. Here are two versions: pork steamed and shrimp fried.

You can serve these as dinner or as an hors d'oeuvre. They can be made well in advance and frozen and then dropped into the steamer basket.

If you don't have a bamboo steamer, don't fret! You can place the dumplings on an elevated heat proof plate on top of a bowl on the bottom of a large pot. Fill the bowl with water, place the plate on top of the bowl, cover and steam.

Steamed Dumplings
3/4 lb. ground pork
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 large napa cabbage leaves + extra leaves for the steamer basket
2 scallions, minced
4 shiitake mushrooms, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 large leek, minced
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tsp. sesame oil
1 large carrot, shredded
pepper

25-30 square wanton wrappers

Slice the stem ends off the cabbage and mince the remaining parts. Squeeze out any excess water and add to a large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and set aside.

On a dry work surface, spread out as many wrappers as possible in a diamond shape. Add a small amount of filling to the center of each one. Fill a small bowl with water and with your index finger, lightly wet the four sides of each wrapper. Fold the top corner to the bottom, forming a triangle. press the sides together to seal the filling inside. Next fold each side in toward the middle. Place on the prepared sheet and repeat until all wrappers are finished.

If there is left over filling, you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days or you can freeze it up to a week.

Next, line the steamer with cabbage leaves. Place the steamer basket in a large pot -like a wok - and fill the wok with water stopping just under the bottom of the basket. Do not allow water to come into the basket. Place the dumplings on top of the cabbage leaves (and repeat if you have two basket trays) and cover. Turn on the heat on high for about 12-15 minutes.

Be VERY careful opening the steamer basket - steam can burn.


Fried Shrimp Dumplings
3/4 lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 large scallions
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
1 large carrot, shredded
2 Tbsp. water chestnuts, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. spicy mustard
1 tsp. sesame oil

In a food processor, pulse the shrimp several times until completely minced. Place in a large mixing bowl and add all other ingredients. Mix well.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and set aside.

On a dry work surface, spread out as many wrappers as possible in a diamond shape. Add a small amount of filling to the center of each one. Fill a small bowl with water and with your index finger, lightly wet the four sides of each wrapper. Fold the top corner to the bottom, forming a triangle. press the sides together to seal the filling inside. Next fold each side in toward the middle. Place on the prepared sheet and repeat until all wrappers are finished.

If there is left over filling, you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days or you can freeze it up to a week.

In a large frying pan, heat 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil. Fry dumplings (in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan), seam sides down, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and serve.



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