Asian Style Scallop and Shrimp Dumplings

(about 30-36 dumplings)

These dumplings are similar to Har Gow, although the wrappers differ somewhat. I ran out of wheat starch, so I added more tapioca starch. The resulting wrappers seemed a bit thicker to me as well as "chewier", but in a pleasant way.

I kind of liked the wrappers and noticed they didn't seem quite as delicate when I steamed them; I wasn't afraid they might fall apart if they stayed in the streamer a tad too long. On the other hand, one of the wonderful aspects of starch wrappers is the ability to see through them, and because of their thickness these weren't quite as translucent as they might have been.

*The dumplings do freeze well. Place them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for about 20-30 minutes. Then bag them for further freezing. I usually double or even triple this recipe to have a good supply on hand for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.



Filling
1/2 lb raw sea scallops, chopped
1/2 lb raw shrimp, cleaned, deveined and chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp glutinous rice wine, or sherry
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2-4 tbsp tapioca starch

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight. If the seafood is quite wet, you might want to add more tapioca starch.

Wrappers
2 cups wheat starch
1 1/4 cups tapioca starch
2 tbsp lard, or shortening, or olive oil
2 cups boiling water

Combine the wheat and tapioca starch in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water; add the lard, shortening or oil. Mix until a ball forms. Knead until the dough feels smooth; a minute or so.

If the dough looks like it might crack easily, knead in a bit more shortening or oil.

Keep the dough under a damp cloth and break off small pieces the size of walnuts and roll them into little balls. Place each ball onto a tortilla press, and press; this makes perfect circular wrappers. If you don't have a press, then roll each piece out by hand with a rolling pin. The ones I make in the tortilla press do make a slightly thicker wrapper, but that's the trade-off for getting them done faster.

Place a small amount of filling into the centre of each wrapper, fold over and pinch together.  Don't be tempted to overfill these; the smallest amount of filling will prevent the edges from sticking together.

*At this point the dumplings can be frozen.

Spray the bottom of a steamer lightly with oil or cover with cabbage leaves, and arrange the dumplngs in one layer with a bit of space between. Steam for about 5-8 minutes. *I add about 2 minutes if I'm steaming them directly out of the freezer. The wrappers will lose their opacity when the dumplings are done.

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp hot chili flakes


Combine the ingredients in a small bowl.

Pass around and spoon over the steamed dumplings