I saw these fiesty shrimp jumping around in one of the many live seafood tanks at the nearby 99 Ranch Market and I had to take them home with me. Not only were they fresh and definitely alive, they were only $4.99/lb! Shrimp and prawns are one of my husband's favorite foods and if you know anything about the price of live prawns, you know that they are pretty pricey. The Santa Barbara Spot Prawns in a nearby tank were over $20/lb. This peaked my curiosity even more about these wildly affordable underwater acrobats, so I bought a pound, brought them home and did a little research. Apparently we don't see these shrimp around often because their shells are a bit harder and more abbrasive than regular shrimp AND they have this enzyme that causes them to turn an unattractive bruised color when they die so they have to be kept alive. Despite these cons, one big pro is their tasty sweet meat, something between a large crawfish and small lobster. Excited to try them out, I rinsed them with some water and decided on a simple quick braise preparation.
*Note: I wasn't joking when I say they jump! When you bring them home, make sure you place them in some water in a large and deep enough bowl to contain some 6-10 inch jumps.
Julienne a couple ounces of fresh ginger and a couple stalks of scallions. Heat a couple teaspoons of cooking oil in a large saucepan that has a lid. Toss the ginger and scallions (reserve some of the green portion of the scallions for garnish) into the sauce pan and cook for about a minute then put the shrimp in the pan and drizzle with about a tablespoon of soy sauce, a couple tablespoons of rice wine, and cover.
Turn to low heat and let them simmer for only about 5 minutes or until they curl and turn a bright red. DO NOT OVER COOK!
Plate and serve immediately with some of the sauce drizzled on and topped with the reserved julienned scallions. DELISH!
This is one of those classic Chinese dishes that you are likely to find in the freezer of most Chinese families. These dumplings do take time to make and is a feat that should be taken on when you happen to have some time on your hands, but trust me, they are worth it! Usually made in a pretty big batch then tossed in the freezer. Its the perfect dinner solution for the busy parent on a weekday or the student who wants a quick homecooked meal. Grab a portion out of the freezer, toss in boiling water or pan fry and voila! you've got yummy dumplings!
Prep Time: 60 min Cook Time: 10-15 min Yields: 10-12 Servings (120 dumplings)
2 lbs ground pork
1 lb Shrimp (w/o shells and veined)
1 bunch of Chinese chives
2 stalks of green onions
½ a head of Napa cabbage
1 Egg
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Salt
Ginger
White pepper powder
Rice cooking wine
Garlic cloves
Rice wine vinegar
Sriracha chili sauce
Round Dumpling wrappers (available at any Asian or specifically Chinese grocery store in the refrigerated aisle)
Preparation:
Dumpling filling - Ultra finely chop the shrimp, chives, green onions, and cabbage. Use a cheese-cloth to strain/squeeze out all the moisture from the finely chopped cabbage. Add all finely chopped veggies, grated ginger (2 teaspoons), and shrimp to ground pork in a large bowl. Add soy sauce (approximately 3 tablespoons), sesame oil (approximately 1 tablespoon), a few splashes of rice cooking wine (approximately 1 tablespoon), one egg, a pinch of salt and a couple teaspoons of white pepper powder. Mix well.
* You can always substitute the different meats in the filling, you can even make a veggie version but using tofu instead of meat. If you don't want shrimp, you can make it solely from ground pork, or ground chicken, or even ground duck. Make it the way YOU like it.
Dumplings – Have a small bowl or cup of water set aside. Take a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your hand and fill with about 1 tablespoon or less of filling, the amount depends upon the size of the wrapper and just comes with experience. Wet the inner edge of the dumpling wrapper, fold over, and pinch the edges together to form a creased pleat, sealing the dumpling. Continue until the entire filling or all the wrappers are used. This amount of filling should yield about 120 dumplings.
* View a video of "how to make dumplings"
Dipping Sauce – Smash the garlic and remove the skin. Add the garlic, fine ginger slivers, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and chili together in a small bowl. There are no exact measurements, these ingredients are all to taste. The main ingredient should be the soy sauce and the vinegar is generally just a teaspoon or so.
Cooking:
Boiled - Heat a large pot about 2/3 full of water to a boil. Drop in the dumplings, depending on the size of your pot, about 20 dumplings at a time. You don’t want the pot to get too crowded otherwise the dumplings will stick together. Lightly stir the dumplings a couple times just to make sure they aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pot. Let the water come back up to a boil then add 1 cup of water. Let the water come back up to a boil again and add another cup of water. When the water comes to a boil again, the dumplings should be floating to the top, this indicates that they are done. Remove the dumplings from the pot into a serving dish with a strainer or large slotted spoon. Enjoy by dipping into the sauce one at a time.
Pan-Fried (Pot Stickers) – Although it is not necessary, it is usually better to freeze the dumplings when pan frying them. Coat the botton of a large non-stick frying pan with vegetable oil (about 1-2 tablespoons). When the oil gets hot, turn the heat down to medium-high and add the dumplings one at a time with the ruffled/pleated edge facing up. Cover with a large lid and let it fry for a few minutes to slightly brown the bottoms then turn the heat down to medium-low and add about ¼ cup of water and cover again. Give the pan a little shake once in a while just to loosen the pot stickers from the bottom of the pan. After cooking about 5-10 minutes it should be done, the bottoms of the dumplings should be golden brown. Take one and cut it open to make sure it is cooked through. Then remove onto a serving tray and enjoy by dipping into the sauce one at a time.
