Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

We have the pleasure of welcoming KP’s parents to New Orleans and on my first day off in two weeks, we had a leisurely breakfast of eggs and toast to follow last night’s feast of shrimp and pork dumplings. Ralph and Marilyn are fantastic examples of how wanderlust and a sense of adventure should ripen as we age. They make me want to grow up to be young, just as they are. With great costumes.

Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

Adapted from Food and Wine

3/4 ounces dried shiitake mushroom caps

1/2 pound fatty ground pork, preferably pork butt

1/2 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp, finely chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup finely chopped bamboo shoots

2 tablespoons (or 6 if you let your spouse go at the mincing unsupervised) minced peeled fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine

1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon cornstarch

36 Wanton wrappers

Olive oil, for frying

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, cover the mushrooms with boiling water and let stand, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain well, then squeeze out any excess water. Finely chop the mushrooms.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms with all of the remaining ingredients except the cornstarch, dumpling wrappers and canola oil and fold gently until well blended. Fold in the cornstarch just until incorporated.  
3. Lay a wrapper in the palm of one hand. Using your finger, brush the outer edge with water. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Fold the wrapper over the filling to form a half-moon; pinch at the top to adhere. Fold a pleat in the wrapper on the top left, angling back toward the center. Press with your fingers to adhere. Repeat the pleating on the top right of the wrapper to meet the first pleat in the center. Transfer the dumpling to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap; repeat with the rest of the wrappers and filling.
4. Pour enough canola oil into a large nonstick skillet to cover the bottom. Arrange some of the dumplings in the skillet with a non-pleated side down (you will need to work in batches). Cook over low heat until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
5. Carefully pour in enough water to reach halfway up the dumplings. Cover and cook until almost all of the water is absorbed and the filling is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Uncover and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated and the dumplings are crispy on the bottom, about 2 minutes longer. Carefully invert onto a plate. Repeat the process with the remaining dumplings. Serve warm.

And Happy Birthday to Lighthouse for the Blind– KP’s employer and a wonderful provider of services to the disabled in this state. You throw a mean block party with a killer photo booth.

Haiku #267 Sept 24^th

Ten days have passed like

useless widgets on a steel

time conveyor belt.

Haiku #268 Sept 25^th

I failed to haiku

for ten days and now I am

looking for a theme

Haiku #269 Sept 26^th

to unite the days

that have lost separateness

afforded by three

Haiku #270 Sept 27^th

discrete lines that

mark the starting and stopping

of one day’s efforts.

Haiku #271 Sept 28^th

It is cheating to

write ten haikus at once—as

they cannot help but

Haiku #272 Sept 29^th

talk to each other

like young girls bundled into

dumplings at their first

Haiku #273 Sept 30^th

sleep over. The words

whisper into the shape and

sound of other words

Haiku #274 Oct 1^st

so that the poems

emerge like cookies baked too

closely together.

Haiku #275 Oct 2^nd

Chrysanthemums gold

in a bronze watering can

brought by silver loves.

Haiku #276 Oct 3^rd

A lighthouse for blind

after a century stands

rounded and tactile.