If you frequent this blog with any hint of regularity, then you know that authentic Asian recipes are not one of my specialties. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Asian food it’s just that cooking it is down right scary to me. Seems like every time I try to prepare something Asian, it turns into some sort of stir fry goop. Tasty, but not at all like anything you can find in even a moderately successful Asian restaurant.
Well this weekend I decided to face my fears and get a little inspiration and direction from Andrea Nguyen and her new book Asian Dumplings. Turns out, Asian cooking isn’t all that scary. This was a pretty easy recipe although wrapping the dumplings does take a little practice. I adjusted the finishing oil mixture in her recipe after tasting the first batch. Believe it or not, the original recipe was even too much heat for yours truly. Spicy chili oil!INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed, drained of liquid and chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of fresh ground white pepper
- 1/4 lb ground pork
- 1 small green onion, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- cornstarch
- 24 – 30 wonton wrappers
- 1 teaspoon chili oil (careful)
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
PREPARATION
1. Mix 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce with the sesame oil, sherry, sugar and white pepper. Fold in the pork, green onion and ginger and chill in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
2. Spread a thin layer of cornstarch over a cutting board or a clean counter like I did. Working in small batches, (4 is a good number) place the wrappers on the surface and add a 1 teaspoon of the pork spinach mixture in the center of each. Brush the edges with a bit of water and fold into a dumpling. Check the wonton wrapper packaging for wrapping instructions. Note: You will want to keep the unused wrappers covered while you work in batches to keep them from drying out and becoming difficult to work with.
3. When done wrapping, drop the dumplings into a large pot of slow boiling water. Watch them and when they begin to float, cook them for another 3 minutes then carefully remove to a strainer and drain well. Finally carefully transfer to a large bowl.
4. Mix together 3 tablespoons soy sauce, the peanut oil, the chili oil and the garlic. Pour this mixture over the dumplings, add the cilantro and gently toss to coat being careful to not break the dumplings open.
