City Geisha

Steamed dumplings!

I went walking around Soho today and ventured into nearby Chinatown. All the hustle and bustle of the various Asian nationalities blended into one huge pot of clashing delight,  Asian delicacies bustling from various shops and the wonderful smells of the cooking wafting out from the many restaurants lining the streets of the heart of Chinatown.  Wandering down Newport Street,  I was instantly inspired to pick up a few vital ingredients to make my own steamed dumplings (or dim sum).

City Geisha hard at work in her kitchen

Making dumplings is super easy and you can get all the vital ingredients (ground pork, dumpling wrappers, etc.) from most Western stores.  There are so many filling options as well from pork and chinese cabbage to shrimp and chinese mushroom. And if you don’t eat pork, you can even substitute it with ground turkey, chicken and even tofu.

My steamed dumplings are filled with a mixture of tofu, shrimps and crab meat. Oh so healthy and oh so delicious. Follow me!

Servings: 24-30 dumplings

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 10-12 mins in steamer

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of tofu
• 16 medium shrimps (cooked, peeled, and cut into small pieces)
• 170 grams of crab meat
• 1 large carrot, grated
• One small bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
• One small bunch of coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1 pack potsticker/dumpling wrappers
• Black pepper for seasoning

Combine all ingredients together and whizz up in food processor. If you don't have one, no fear, you can simply just mix in a large bowl.

....you should end up with a lovely mixture. NB: do not blitz for too long as you don't want MUSH

Place a small spoonful of the mixture in the centre of the wrapper. Dab a little water with your finger onto the four corners and bring the edges together into a pinch.

...you should get this =)

Continue until you have used up the whole mixture.

Arrange the dumplings in a steamer (lined with grease-proof paper at the bottom) and steam for 10-12 minutes.

Serve with dipping sauce of your choice! I made my very own: 2 tbs of fish sauce, juice of one fresh lime, 1 tbs of sugar, chopped chillies, one dollop of sweet chili sauce. Stir and voila.

Bon appetit!