Chinese Dumplings

(I am re-posting this because I looked it up yesterday to make it and discovered that I had not included the ingredient list!!  Hellloooo!!? So here it is)

Posted by Lisa

Source: www.allrecipes.com

This was the first time I had ever had or made Chinese dumplings.  I had some ground chicken on hand so I used that instead of the pork.  They were terrific!  I did them two different ways.  The filling and the wrappings were the same but the cooking method differed slightly.  All the kids gobbled them up so I will be making these again.  

Ingredients:

1/2 c soy sauce

1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1 tbsp finely chopped chinese chives

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp chile garlic sauce (such as sriracha)

1 lb ground pork (I have used ground turkey, and yesterday used cooked shredded chicken)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp finely chopped chinese chives

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

50 dumpling wrappers

1 cup oil for frying

* Combine 1/2 c soy sauce, rice vinegar, 1 tbsp chives, sesame seeds and chile sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

* Mix pork, garlic, egg, 2 tbsp chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger in bowl until thoroughly combined.  Place a dumpling wrapper on a lightly floured surface and spoon about 1 tbsp of filling in the middle...see below.

• Moisten the edges and place a small amount in the center

• Take your won ton wrappers and moisten all the edges with water.
• Put a spoon of filling in the center and, draw up all the corners to the middle and press the seams together until they stick.
• Set aside until they are all formed.
• Some of them I just folded over in the shape of a rectangle

**this is a must!  The sauce totally made it**

• Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan.
• Place the filled wrappers into the pan and gently fry until golden on the bottom.
• I flipped them over too, even though they were folded like these above, and fried them some more.
• Then I transferred to a second pan with about 1/4 an inch of water in it and quickly put the lid on and let it steam until I am sure the insides are done.
• the rectangle shaped ones I just browned in the pan and did not steam.  Those stayed crisper and the browned and steamed ones were soft

Serve with a side of rice and a vegie.  I intended to serve them with vegie fried rice, but I didn't get that far this time!

Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe is one to keep somewhere close by. My family just loves it. It is an adaptation from a recipe I found on http://www.foodnetwork.com/ I make it my own way of course but it is soooo delicious.

We made it today because it is the middle of April and we woke up to snow! So, to sooth our cold selves, we needed a warm comfort dish, and this fit the bill perfectly!

I hope you enjoy.

5 stalks celery chopped small

1 large onion chopped small

1/2 bag shreded carrots or 3 lrg carrots chopped small

4 cloves garlic minced (or garlic garlic from tastefully simple...1 tbsp)

3 quarts water and enough chicken paste per directions for that amount of water.

(or just use chicken stock...3 quarts of it)

2 tsp parsley

2 tsp thyme

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour

2 to 3 cups shredded, pre-cooked chicken

Dumplings:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk (I use reg skim milk)

(I add some thyme to this also...maybe 1 tsp)

1. In medium to large stock pot, put in the 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter. Add the chopped onion, celery, and carrot. Stir around to cook evenly. I usually add about 1/2 cup water and put a lid on so the vegies are soft. Cook until they are just barely tender.

2. Add 1/4 cup of flour and stir/cook for about 2 min. to get rid of the flour flavor.

3. Add water..a little bit at a time stirring as you add it. Keep stirring until it is all mixed well.

4. At this point add in the chicken soup base/paste and the shredded chicken.

5. Cover and let simmer for 10 min. Meanwhile, mix up the dumpling mix.

Dumplings:

1. Beat up the eggs and the milk with a fork.

2. Add the dry ingredients and stir together until moistened.

3. Take cover off pot and drop by spoonfuls into the soup mixture.

**they will touch each other and may have to be dropped on top of each other to fit. Don't worry about that.

4. Put the cover back on the pot, turn the heat down to a low simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes. You can peak at it here and there and give it a little stir if you want to.

5. When the dumplings are all puffed up and sort of dry looking, they are done.

Time to eat!