Shrimp and Bamboo Shoot Dumplings

When writing this post, I searched for a while to find that motivational poster about standing out in the crowd and the image is of red tulips with one yellow one. Well this little green dumpling in the second row is standing out in the crowd, but it is just the same as all the other dumplings on the inside! I'm going nuts, I know. Shrimp and bamboo shoot dumplings are a fond memory of Tong Kian Dim Sum in San Francisco. I love the chunks of shrimp in the dumpling wrapper. We made these with Chinese New Year in mind and as part of the extreme dumpling wrapping extravaganza. These were joined by vegetarian dumplings and of course, pork and chive. Essentially I used the same recipe as pork and chive, but I swaped the pork for shrimp and threw in some bamboo shoots. I think water chestnuts would have also been a good addition as would Chinese cabbage. In the picture above you can see that the first row of dumplings has some fancy little fold at the corner and the others do not...first row is Andy's row. Okay, let's get started with this recipe and I promise no dumplings for a while.

Ingredients:
Dumpling wrappers
0.85 lb fresh shrimp, chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 1/2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cut bamboo shoots, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fake egg

Directions:
1. Combine the shrimp, green onions and bamboo shoots in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and fake egg. Pour the sauce over the shrimp mixture and mix well to incorporate.
2. Place one heaping tablespoon in the center of the dumpling wrappers and lightly moisten the edges of the wrapper to seal close. Place the dumplings on a lightly floured surface until you are ready to cook them. I recommend working on lightly floured wax paper.
3. Heat water in a wok over high heat, bringing the water to boil, place the steamer rack over the water. Steam the dumplings for about 15-20 minutes.

Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings

I had a little dumpling wrapping and eating extravaganza which satisfied our dumpling appetites for a month. I had made three different kinds of dumpling fillings and put three eager wrappers to work. We had too many dumplings to count in pork and chive, shrimp and bamboo shoot and vegetarian. Andy, who has wrapped dumplings since he was a kid, had some fancy little folds that made his dumplings look like they are from a restaurant! Here is a picture of dumpling wrapping in action:

                         

I really liked the taste of the vegetable dumpling wrappers which get their green color from spinach. The tofu mixture for the vegetarian dumplings did not adhere as well as the pork and shrimp mixtures, but it still tasted great! Unfortunately we ran out of wrappers before we finished the mixtures, I thought those little packets of dumpling wrappers from Twin Marquis seemed infinite. We used tofu and mushrooms for this mixture because that is all I had, but I think these would taste great with the additions of Chinese cabbage and carrots.

Vegetarian Dumplings

Ingredients:

Vegetable dumpling wrappers

1 lb tofu, crumbled

1 lb Shitake mushrooms, rinsed and diced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fake egg

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine the crumbled tofu and diced shitake mushrooms.

2. In a separate small bowl or glass, mix the ginger root, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and fake egg. Pour mixture over tofu and mushroom and combine to incorporate.

3. Wrap one tablespoon of mixture into each wrapper and gently pinch sides together to seal (see method in pork and chive recipe post)

4. Heat water in a wok and place steamer on top, cover and let heat until wok is boiling hot. Place the dumplings in a circle, place cover on wok and steam for 10-15 minutes.

This is what the inside of a vegetarian dumpling looks like!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

With Chinese New Year just around the corner (February 14th), I've been on a Chinese food cooking kick! In fact, I've been making a lot of Chinese dishes and my boyfriend has requested that I take a little hiatus, he is stir fried and dumpling-ed out I guess. As a kid, my first experiences in Chinatown in San Francisco involved two things: dumplings and sweet and sour chicken. After about 5 years of only ordering sweet and sour chicken, I ventured into other realms, but I certainly consider sweet and sour chicken a staple comfort food. I served it over brown basmati rice however this is one of those dishes that definitely tastes better with white rice if you have it. Unfortunately this picture doesn't show all the ingredients as clearly but there are some exciting things in here - like pineapple! I wasn't able to find baby corn which I always associate with sweet and sour chicken so this recipe doesn't have it but if you can find it, use it! If you are looking to make this vegetarian, you can swap the chicken for tofu or more vegetables.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup sliced pineapple

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

2 whole carrots, sliced

1/2 onion

1 handful bean sprouts

4 green onions, sliced

2 tablespoons fish sauce (veg: soy sauce)

6 tablespoons oyster sauce (veg: mushroom sauce)

4 tablespoons tomato ketchup

4 teaspoons sugar

4 tablespoons minced garlic

Oil

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a wok and add the garlic and fry until it is golden and fragrant.

2. Add the chicken and stir continuously until it is cooked through.

3. Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup and sugar and stir constantly.

4. Add the pineapple, tomatoes, carrots, onion and bean sprouts to the wok. Stir until all these fresh vegetables are tender and cooked. Add the green onion and serve with rice.