Mushroom Dumplings

Mushroom Dumplings (蘑菇餃子 -- Mógū jiǎozi)

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1-1/4 cup shredded cabbage

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 green onion, light and dark green part thinly sliced

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic, and cook until all liquid has left the mushrooms, about 8-10 minutes. If there is still liquid left in the pan, carefully drain it out.

Add the carrot and cabbage and cook another 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, black pepper, and green onion.

To wrap: Place 1 teaspoon of filling (about 1 teaspoonin the center of a wrapper. Wet the top edge of the wrapper. Pleat the edges to crimp closed. Place finished dumpling on a baking tray. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat. Add 8-10 dumplings (don’t overcrowd the pan) and brown on bottom side, about 4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and reduce heat to medium. Cover pan and let pot stickers cook another 3 minutes. Remove lid from pan and if any water then continue cooking until water has evaporated.

Serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Shrimp Won-ton

Shrimp Won-ton (蝦仁餛飩 -- Xiārén húntún)

3/4 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 sprigs coriander, leaves only, minced

2 whole water chestnuts, peeled and finely chopped, optional

3 dashes ground white pepper

20 square Won-ton skins

1/2 beaten egg, for sealing won-tons

Ginger Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

2 teaspoons peeled, grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped green onion

For dipping sauce: Combine ginger, soy sauce, vinegar and green onions. Reserve.

Coarsely chop the shrimp into pieces and combine well with salt, oil, ginger, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, coriander, water chestnuts and pepper. Reserve.

To wrap: First lay a piece of the won-ton wrapper on your palm and add 1 teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. Dip your index finger into the beaten egg and trace it on the outer edges of the won-ton wrapper. Pinch the edges of the won-ton wrapper and seal the won-ton tight. It should look like a small onion with a bit of the top left on.

Boil the won-tons in boiling water for a couple of minutes or until they float to the top.

Serve hot with ginger vinegar dipping sauce.

Chicken Shu Mai

Chicken Shu Mai (雞舒嘸嗌 -- Jī shū fǔ ài)

1/2 lb chicken thigh

8 medium shrimp

2 black fungus (chopped into thin threads)

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped scallion (white part only)

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper

1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 tablespoon egg white

Pinch of salt

1 package round Gyoza wrappers (Dynasty brand)

Garnish: finely chopped carrot and peas

Skin and debone chicken thighs; peel, devein and dice shrimp into small pieces.

Using a mini food processor, coarsely grind chicken. In a bowl combine the chicken with shrimp, black fungus, ginger, green onion, sesame oil, pepper, bouillon powder, corn starch and egg white. Cover the bowl and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Place about a tablespoon of filling on each wrapper, gather up the sides and leave the center open. Garnish the top with some chopped carrot and a pea.

Steam in a bamboo steamer for about 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Steamed Dumplings

Steamed Dumplings (蒸餃 -- Zhēng jiǎo)

1/2 pound ground pork (ground chicken or turkey)

8-10 medium-sized shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into small pieces

1 green onion, finely chopped

3 dashes white pepper

1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or sherry, optional

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

1 pack Gyoza wrappers (Dynasty brand)

Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar

Combine the ground pork, shrimp, chopped green onion, ginger, white pepper, wine, salt, soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Reserve.

To make dumplings: Place a small spoonful of the filling in the center of a wrapper. Dab a little water with your finger and circle around the edge of the skin, and then fold in-half and pleat the dumpling. Repeat until all the filling is used. Dumplings should appear like fat hall-moons with pleats.

Arrange the dumplings in a bamboo steamer (lined with parchment paper at the bottom) and steam for 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately with soy-vinegar dipping sauce.

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings (蝦和韭菜餃子 -- Xiā hé jiǔcài jiǎozi)

12 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 ounce chives, snipped

1 teaspoon egg white

1/2 teaspoon tapioca starch

1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fish sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

3 dashes white pepper powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon oil

20 square white Won-ton skins

Cooking oil for pan-frying

Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar

Clean and rinse the shrimp with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Mix the soy-vinegar dipping sauce and set aside.

Cut the shrimp into small pieces (about 3-4 pieces per shrimp). In a bowl mix well cut shrimp and chives. Add egg white, starch,, bouillon powder, salt fist sauce sesame oil, white pepper, sugar, oil and mix well. Marinate the filling for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Lay a won-ton skin on a flat surface. Dab your index finger with some water and trace it along the four outer edges of the won-ton skin. Add a teaspoon of the filling and fold the won-ton skin towards the middle. Dab some water to the won-ton skin to seal tight. The dumplings should look somewhat round. Repeat the same until the filling is used up.

Heat a pan on medium, add some oil and heat. Transfer all dumplings into the pan and cover. Pan-fry the dumplings on one side until golden brown and then turn over to pan-fry the other site. (Add more oil to the pan if required.) Repeat to make sure that both sites are equally done.

Place on serving platter and serve immediately with soy-vinegar dipping sauce.

Sichuan Red Oil Won-tons

Sichuan Red Oil Won-tons (四川紅色油餛飩 -- Sìchuān hóngsè yóu húntún)

20 square won-ton wrappers

1 small bowl water, to seal the won-tons

2-3 cups water, to boil won-tons

White sesame seeds, for garnishing

Filling:

8 ounces ground pork

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 dashes ground white pepper

Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar

2 tablespoons Sichuan chili oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

Some cilantro leaves, chopped

In a bowl, combine ground pork, green onions, sesame oil, sugar, sar and white pepper. Reserve.

In another bowl, combine soy sauce black vinegar, chili oil, sesame oil and sugar. Reserve.

To wrap the won-tons, place about a teaspoon of the filling in the center of a won-ton wrapper. Dab your index finger into the small bowl of water, and then trace the outer edges of the won-ton wrapper to seal the won-tons.

Fold the won-ton up to form a triangle shape. Pinch the won-ton wrapper to seal tight and make sure there is no leakage. Using the thumb and index finger of both hands, pinch and fold both corners of the won-ton downwards. Then, lift the right corner over the left corner, pinch to seal tight.

Transfer the won-tons to a floured surface or a plate lined with parchment paper tp ensure that the won-tons don’t stick to the surface.

Bring the water to boil. Gently drop all the won-tons into the water and gently stir the won-tons with a ladle to prevent sticking. Boil the won-tons until they float to the top, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer the won-tons out immediately with a strainer or slotted spoon. Shake off the excess water and transfer the won-tons to bowl.

Add the desired amount of the Sauce to the won-tons and gently toss them to coat evenly. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with some sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Green Onion Pancake

Green Onion Pancake (蔥花餅 -- Cōnghuā bǐng)

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

1/2 cup water

4 green onions, green parts only, trimmed and cut into small rounds

2 tablespoons oil, for brushing

Additional all-purpose flour, for dusting and rolling

Oil, for frying

Sift the all-purpose flour into a big bowl and then add the salt and chicken bouillon powder into the flour. Combine well and set aside.

Heat the water to a boil. Slowly add the water to the flour and knead the dough until it becomes soft, no longer sticky and the surface becomes smooth and shiny, about 15 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of water to the dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Add the green onion into the dough and combine well.

On a flat and floured surface, divide the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball using your palm.

Working with one dough ball at a time, roll the dough to a thin disc using a rolling pin. Dust the rolling pin with some all-purpose flour as you go. Brush the surface of the pancake with the oil.

Roll the dough into a cylinder. Coil it up like a snail.

Dust the rolling pin with the flour and roll the dough until flat, measuring about 6 inches (15cm) in diameter. Set the dough aside on a baking sheet.

Repeat with rest of the dough until you have eight pancakes.

Add about 1/4-inch of oil into a stir-fry pan or skillet over moderately high heat. Place a piece of pancake onto the pan or skillet. Shallow fry each side of the pancake to a light golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip the pancake over and shallow fry the other side. Add more oil, repeat the same for the remaining pancakes and serve immediately.