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La Belle Cuisine
Shrimp Dumplings
The Wisdom of the Chinese
Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes
for Celebration and Healing
by Grace Young,
1999, Simon & Schuster
“When we were children, shrimp dumplings were our favorite dim sum dish.
The
classic filling is shrimp and bamboo shoots. The dough is not difficult
to make,
but it is very important that the water be boiling hot. If it is not
hot enough, the wheat starch will not cook and the dough will not work.
Wheat starch (dung
fun)
is only available in Chinatown; regular white
flour is not a substitute.
The tortilla press used here is excellent for making the dough into thin,
uniform rounds, but you can also make the dumplings by hand: Roll the
dough into
scant 1-inch balls. Place one ball between your lightly floured
hands and press
to form a circle. Press the dough evenly with your finger-
tips to make it as thin
as possible, about 3 inches in diameter and a scant
1/8-inch thick.”
Makes about 40 dumplings. Serves 6 to 8 as part of a multicourse lunch.
8 ounces
medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 1/2 teaspoons plus 1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 large egg white, beaten
1 teaspoon thin soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice cooking wine
3/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 cup canned shredded bamboo shoots,
rinsed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely minced bacon fat
1 1/2 cups wheat starch (dung fun)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 large, flat, Napa cabbage leaves, about 1 pound
In a
medium bowl, combine the shrimp and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Let
stand for 10
minutes. Rinse in several changes of cold water and drain well.
Finely chop the
shrimp and place in a medium bowl. Add the salt, egg
white, soy sauce, rice
wine, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and 1 1/2 teaspoons
cornstarch. Stir in the
bamboo shoots and minced bacon fat. Loosely wrap with plastic wrap and set
aside.
In a
large bowl, combine the wheat starch and remaining 1/4 cup corn-
starch, and stir
to combine. Make a well and add 1 cup boiling water,
immediately stirring with a
rubber spatula as you add the water (the mix-
ture will have a faint fragrance of
wheat starch). Stir in the vegetable oil.
Carefully begin working the mixture
for a few seconds at a time by hand,
as mixture will be very hot. Add an
additional 1 to 2 tablespoons boiling
water if dough is dry, and knead an
additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until
smooth and still hot to the touch.
Divide
the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder about
8 inches
long. Place 3 rolls in a plastic bag so they will not get dry. Cut the remaining
roll into 10 pieces. Place each piece of dough between 2 sheets of lightly oiled
foil, place the foil in a tortilla press, and press into a thin round. Peel off
the round of dough; it should be about 3 inches in diameter and a scant 1/8 inch
thick.
Place
about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of a dough round.
Fold in
half to form a half-moon and pinch one end of the half-moon together. Using your
thumb and index finger, make 4 or 5 small pleats
in
the front piece of dough,
then pinch together the remaining end of
the
dough to seal the dumpling. Place
dumpling on a plate. Continue
making dumplings.
Line a bamboo steamer, metal
tier, or rack with 2
cabbage leaves.
Place
the dumplings on the leaves 1/4 inch apart. The dumplings should
be
cooked in
batches; the size of your steamer rack will determine how
many dumplings can be
cooked at one time.
Bring
water to a boil over high heat in a covered steamer. If using rack,
the water
level must not touch the cabbage leaves. Carefully place the bamboo steamer,
metal tier, or rack into the steamer, cover, and steam
5 minutes on high heat,
or until the shrimp is orange and visible through
the translucent dough, and is
just cooked. Check the water level and
replenish,
if necessary, with boiling
water. Carefully remove dumplings
from the steamer. Dumplings should be served
immediately. Continue
steaming
the remaining dumplings using fresh cabbage
leaves and re-
plenishing the steamer with more boiling water.
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