Shrimp and Scallion Dumplings

I love dumplings - boiled, steamed, or pan-fried.  I love eating them, I just don't particularly like making them (although every time it does get a little easier/better).  Usually when we try to make dumplings we end up making a HUGE mess of the kitchen.  I am talking flour and filling all over the place, and stuck under my nails.  Gross.  And we usually end up with at least a few dumplings that weren't sealed properly and thus explode in our pot of simmering water.  I don't know if that has ever happened to any of you, but it isn't pretty.  The same thing tends to happen when we try to make ravioli, which means that we give dumplings and ravioli a shot about once a year each - maybe twice if we're feeling really ambitious.  That is actually kind of sad considering we almost always have wonton skins in the freezer, which makes it all so much easier.

I've actually been thinking about buying Andrea Nguyen's new cookbook, Asian Dumplings, for awhile now but seeing as we make dumplings so infrequently, it just seems like a waste of good shelf space.  Then again, if we had a book full of delicious dumpling recipes we would probably try at least a few of the recipes out this year...

Speaking of dumpling recipes, I have been dying to make these shrimp and scallion dumplings ever since I saw the recipe in Gourmet last year.  I think I actually emailed the recipe to myself 3 times from Gourmet's website.  Side note - have I mentioned recently how absolutely bummed I am that Gourmet didn't make it through 2009?  I really loved that magazine.  Anyway, these are some delicious dumplings.  We usually make pork and chive dumplings, but I figured we should try something new this evening.  These dumplings were much lighter than our usual pork dumplings, and were just as flavorful.  Maybe this will be our year of the dumpling!

Recipe after the jump!

Shrimp and Scallion Dumplings

Gourmet

May 2009

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and finely chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
3/4 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
3 scallions, finely chopped
About 36 dumpling or wonton wrappers

Stir together all ingredients, except wrappers, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Put a rounded teaspoon filling in center of each wonton wrapper. Lightly brush edge of wrapper with water, then fold in half (diagonally if square) and press to seal.  Form remaining dumplings.

Cook dumplings in 2 batches in a large pot of gently simmering water drizzled with a tablespoon of vegetable oil until filling is just cooked, about 3 minutes per batch.  Transfer with a slotted spoon to a platter.  Don't pile dumplings on top of each other or they might stick together.  Keep warm, covered.

Serve with dipping sauce (soy, vinegar, scallions and sambal in whatever proportions you like).