SHRIMP DUMPLINGS WITH UMAMI DIPPING SAUCE

Asian|Appetizers|Seafood

Ingredients

The Dumplings:

1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped (almost paste-like but some texture)

⅓ cup water chestnuts, finely diced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

⅓ cup scallions, chopped

2 tablespoons ginger root, grated on a microplane

3 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg white

1 package wonton wrappers (at least 50 wrappers)

The Dipping Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar (or sub rice wine or red wine vinegar)

2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped (plus more for garnish

Instructions

Combine the shrimp, water chestnuts, cilantro, scallions, ginger, garlic, and salt in a large bowl and mix well with chopsticks (or a fork). Add the egg and mix again, creating a paste-like consistency.

Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling on a wrapper and wet the edges of the wrapper with some water using your finger. Fold the wrapper over the filling, corner to corner, and press the edges to seal. Repeat until all of the filling is gone. This recipe should make about 50 dumplings.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine until the sugar and chili sauce are dissolved. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a bowl. Reduce to a low boil and cook the dumplings in batches of 10-12, stirring occasionally with a spider. Cook for 2-3 minutes until they get a ‘wrinkled’ appearance and you can see through the wrapper that the shrimp have turned pink. Remove to a platter and repeat with the remaining dumplings.

Serve the dumplings topped with sauce and garnished with chopped scallions. Serve more sauce on the side for dipping. Devour!

Note – these dumplings also freeze well and you can cook them straight from the freezer. Give them an extra 1-2 minutes of cook time!