Today is Chinese New Year and this year we welcome the Year of the Monkey. Celebrations have started for the billion-odd Chinese around the world. The occasion is steep in symbolism and ritual. Even for the food that is served and eaten. Each dish has a symbolic meaning, centered around luck and prosperity.
As Malaysia is a multi-cultural country comprising mainly Malays, Chinese and Indians, we get 2 days public holiday there. It’s business as usual in London but there’ll be a Chinese New Year celebration at Chinatown this weekend, so I heard.
Did you know that Chinese eat dumplings on Chinese New Year because they resemble gold ingots, hence symbolise wealth and good fortune? In the spirit of celebration, I too made my own chicken and prawn dumplings at home for my New Year Eve’s dinner. I have a confession to make though. I took the “cheat” way and used store bought wrappers. As I’m not Chinese, I hope that this won’t mean I’ll be cheated out of luck and wealth in the coming year. Oh my dumplings.
These chicken and prawn dumplings aren’t difficult to make. And as already confessed, using store bought wrappers makes the whole process all the more easier. There are a few ways to cooking dumplings. This time, I simply boiled them.
To make these chicken and prawn dumplings, you’ll need (mainly):
INGREDIENTS:
- 300g ground chicken thigh
- 150g prawns – peeled, deveined and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 3 tbsp minced spring onions
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp rice vinegar*
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- dumpling wrappers
DIRECTIONS:
To make the filling, put everything (except of course the dumpling wrappers) into a bowl and mix until well combined. Cover with cling film and set aside to marinade for ½ to 1 hour.
Covering the rest of the dumpling wrappers to with a slightly damp towel to avoid them from drying out, take one wrapper and spoon about 1½ teaspoons of the filling onto the middle of the wrapper.
Dip your index finger into a small bowl of water and use your finger to moisten the edges of the wrapper.
Fold the wrapper in half pinching the middle part to glue both sides together.
Then pleat the left side, folding it to the centre – 3 times.
Do the same thing for the right side. Remember, 3 times. I’m only showing one photo here but it’s supposed to be 3 times. Yes, 3.
One dumpling is done.
Repeat the process until you’ve used up the filling. Mine yield 28 dumplings.
The pleating needs a little bit of practice. If you’re a beginner, you can start with just folding the wrapper into two to form a half moon shape. Remember to tightly pinch the edges to properly seal them.
To cook the dumplings, fill half a pot with water and bring it to a gentle boil. Season the water with a bit of salt and add a few drops of oil. Add the dumplings into the water (cook in batches, a few dumplings each time depending on the size of your pot). Cook until they float and add another two to three minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon.
Remove the dumplings with slotted spoon.
Serve hot with your choice of sauce.
These dumplings are suitable for home-freezing. Arrange them in a single layer on a plate or baking tray before popping them in the freezer. Once frozen, you can gather them and put them in a freezer bag. These chicken and prawn dumplings are handy to have in your freezer for a quick but still healthy supper. I normally cook from frozen and they work. So you don’t even have to remember to take them out from the freezer in the morning to thaw. You just need to cook them a few minutes longer.
Note (*):
Most Chinese cooking ask for Shaoxing wine. Whilst this particular ingredient could be substituted with dry sherry, I don’t take alcohol in my food. In this recipe, I have used instead rice vinegar and sugar as a replacement. Most recipes only ask for a small amount of Shaoxing wine, so if needed, eliminating it totally from the recipe will not make a huge difference to the overall taste.
Here’s wishing all my Chinese friends: Gong Xi Fa Chai. xo