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2.09 Prawn & Shitake Dumplings w/ Pickled Vegetable Salad – Low-Fuss – Sides & Starters

Who doesn’t love dumplings? This is the one that I make when the mood takes me. You don’t have to make the salad to go with it (Low-Fuss is about doing as little as possible), but I find that they work well together.

Don’t be fooled by the number of steps or ingredients in these recipes, they are actually very, very simple.

PART A – PRAWN & SHITAKE DUMPLINGS

Ingredients:

200g raw peeled prawns

200g shitake mushrooms

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

1 spring onion, sliced

1 tsp rice wine

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch

½ tsp sesame oil

Gow Gee wrappers

I prefer these dumplings steamed, but you can also fry them after steaming to get a bit of extra texture.

Unlike my San Choy Bow recipe from earlier in the season, go for the fresh shitake mushrooms in this.

Use whatever dumpling wrappers you want, I just use Gow Gees because they’re round and fit into my dumpling-crimper.

Method:

1. Place mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, then place into a mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Place prawns into food processor and pulse until minced, then add to the mushrooms and mix well.

3. Add the garlic, ginger, spring onion, rice wine, soy sauce, cornflour and sesame oil and mix until combined.

4. Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a dumpling wrapper, wet the edges and fold over to seal. (As I said, I use a plastic dumpling crimper because it’s just easier, but you can do this by hand, it just might not look as neat.)

5. Repeat Step 5 as many times as you need to, then place the dumplings aside until it is time to steam them.

6. Place a steamer tray over a pan of simmering water. (I use a bamboo steamer basket, but I used to use a metal steamer and the result was just as good.)

7. Arrange the dumplings on a plate that has been lightly greased with some oil, then place into the steamer, cover, and steam for 5-10 minutes. (You may need to do this in batches. You should be able to tell when they are cooked as the dumplings will become slightly translucent and the prawn will have an orange colour.)

8. Either serve as is, or fry them in some oil until crispy. (Deep fry or shallow fry, it’s up to you. Just be careful when you add them to the oil, as any leftover moisture will make the oil spit and it could get messy and/or painful.)

Can make up to 20 (or more).

PART B – PICKLED VEGETABLE SALAD

Ingredients:

1 large carrot

1 large cucumber

½ white radish (Daikon)

¼ cup chopped mint leaves

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp fish sauce

Sesame seeds (to garnish)

When I first made this I was just looking for something that would counterpoint the prawn dumplings, and I think I succeeded.

If you don’t want to make this, then I understand. Not everybody has the same tastes!

Method:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot lengthways until you have turned the whole carrot into ribbons. (Not really sure how else to describe it.)

2. Repeat the process with the radish and the cucumber, then place all of them into a bowl. (Stop shaving the cucumber when you get to the core as it is mostly just seeds and water.)

3. Toss together until distributed, then add the chopped herbs.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce until the sugar has dissolved.

5. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and herbs, and toss together until everything is coated. Cover with cling film, and place aside for 5-10 minutes. (This is the best time to steam the dumplings.)

6. Pour the salad through a sieve and drain away as much of the liquid as possible. (If you want, save the dressing as a dipping sauce for the dumplings!)

7. Place onto a plate (with the dumplings), sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top, and serve.

Serving sizes are at your own discretion.

A video of the full recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/xCZ0emavLc4.