"These aren't just a treat, a meal, a stereotype. These are the embodiment of all the good in the world, from my grandmother to me. No matter how old I got, how far I traveled, how long our separations, these were a guarantee as soon as we were reunited, every part from dough to sauce from scratch. She is not just the reason I am the best of who I am, she is also the number one reason I love to cook. No words, embrace, gift, or notion could be filled with simpler, deeper, truer love. Now at 86, her hands shake, she can't stand or walk very well, her sentences come out broken, and even her eyes don't always focus, but every single dumpling still says I Love You Forever and Always as loudly as she could ever tell me since the day I was born. I'll always be chasing that same language one bite at a time- hoping to find it in the food of others and transcribe it through my own."
Chicken Dumplings
0
- ★★
- ★★
- ★★
- ★★
- ★★
INGREDIENTS
Dumpling wrappers
1 pound ground chicken
1 box tender tofu
1/4 of a head of napa cabbage
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp pepper
3 large eggs
1 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup water
2 cup granulated white sugar
DIRECTIONS
Combine ground chicken, tofu, cabbage, grated ginger, salt, pepper, corn starch, and 2 large eggs in a food processor. Blend until completely smooth.
Beat remaining egg and set aside. Scoop melon ball size amount of filling into each dumpling wrapper. Swipe edges of wrapper with beaten egg and fold in half to close, careful to not trap any air pockets in the dumpling. Press gently along edges to make sure they are firmly sealed.
Bring large pot of water to boil. Once water is at rolling boil, drop in dumplings (just enough to float one even layer, don't overcrowd the pot) and bring down heat to medium simmer. Once all the dumplings float and skins are no longer translucent, scoop out dumplings with a slotted spoon and set aside.
To make sauce, simmer soy sauce with garlic and white sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Add the water gradually, sauce should be light but still thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You can adjust sweetness to taste by adding a little more sugar or soy sauce as you wish.