Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!
Recipe? Please?
Hi, ewe!
Shrimp and Vegetable Jioazi
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and de-veined, chopped into pencil eraser-sized pieces or so
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 tbsp thinly sliced scallions
1 cup diced mushrooms (shiitake, white, whatever you like)
1 cup finely chopped cabbage (Napa or savoy, cut into thin ribbons then chopped)
1/2 cup shredded carrot (use the largest holes)
1 package Dumpling wrappers (round, storebought; we used Twin Marquis round dumpling wrappers, and they were great)
1 tsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar if it's easier)
2 tbsp soy sauce
Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 unseasoned rice vinegar, or white vinegar
Chile-garlic sauce, or Sriracha
1) Wrap the chopped cabbage in a kitchen towel, and wring the heck out of it. You should get quite a lot of water to come out, which is good, because if that water's inside your dumpling you've got problems.
2) Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the shrimp and stir until it's cooked through. Maybe two minutes.
3) Add the ginger and scallions, stir for about 1 minute.
4) Add mushrooms, cabbage, and carrot, cook for about 5 minutes, until extra water evaporates.
5) Remove from heat and stir in the 1 tsp rice vinegar and 2 tbsp soy, mixing well.
At this point you can let it cool for using later. We did this, making the filling mid-day, then we had to run errands, then we did the assembly just before dinner.
6) Get a big pot of water gently boiling.
7) Stuff your dumplings. See the links below for great advice on how to do this if (like me) you're nervous about botching the whole thing. Rest filled dumplings on a baking sheet and under a lightly damp towel until all are made. You probably won't use all the wrappers.
8) Drop a batch of them in the boiling water. Stir so they don't stick together. Here's a Chinese trick: When they all float and the water returns to a boil, add 1/2 a cup of cold water to the pot. This slows down the cooking, and helps the dumplings cook all the way through without disintegrating the wrapper. When they come to the surface the 2nd time, scoop them out with a strainer and serve. Spoon a little soy-and-vinegar sauce over the top, adding as much chile sauce as you want. I'd suggest eating the first batch while you cook the 2nd.
We did a lot of reading before doing this. This site
http://www.asiandumplingtips.com/ and this recipe with accompanying videos
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pork-and-Chive-Dumplings-with-Dried-Shrimp-241625 were really helpful.
The meat, by the way, could totally be ground pork if you prefered, or half pork and half shrimp; if you wanted to go vegetarian it could be pressed tofu; or even really well-cooked scrambled eggs.
Anyway, like I said, I was pretty intimidated going in to this by the whole assembly process, but that turned out to be pretty easy, and pretty fun, too. Especially if you can cook the filling ahead of time. That's by far the largest part of the process. The stuffing, the cooking, and the eating were a really fun time.
