Shrimp Dumplings ♥ Week Two, Day One - EatingWell Meal Plan

I know  it seems like I repeat myself constantly, but dumplings really are one of my top food loves. I could eat them every day. There must be 4 cookbooks devoted to dumplings on my newly organized cookbook shelves (When it snows I clean, so five shelves that were overflowing with cookbooks got reduced to two).
It may seem odd that, while I totally adore dumplings, I rarely blog about them. I have this code that I abide by, unless it is something entirely new, if I don't want to read about repeats why would anyone else?

So, why now? Well, I have never made shrimp dumplings and they are part of my series of 28-days of healthy meals from EatingWell.com. For all the recipes and shopping lists, click here.

One thing I noticed that you need to be aware of. Be sure to note the expiration date on the wonton wrapper packages. I found that even the ones with two weeks to go started to show drying on the edges, so check carefully.

The actual dumpling filling is easy, as is most of them, but if you don't have a food processor you could use a nut chopper to mince the ingredients.

Homemade dumpling dough is usually made with rice flour and for a diabetic, would be the best way to go. I have made the hot water dough many times and while very time consuming to roll into thin disks (can use a pasta maker), it can be done. The other option, although not traditional, would be to use spring roll wrappers.

One 8" wrapper (made from rice flour) has only 8.5g of carbohydrates (yay for us), is gluten-free and makes one very large dumpling, that after cooked, can be sliced into (8) 1" slices, sort of like eating Chinese sushi. May not be traditional but still very tasty.  Now that would be something new to post about.

There are many ways to shape a dumpling. There is the wonton soup style, the half-moon pleated way, the flower pot steamer way and this way (above). I call them pyramids but they are really just a square.
To see hundreds of examples, go here.

I used a small scoop (1 tablespoon) to fill the wrappers and that was the perfect amount. I could just steam them in my Chinese steamer but I am obsessed with pot stickers so I am going with that cooking method.

There are almost as many ways to cook a dumpling as there is forming them.

I steamed these on a basic stainless steel steamer insert for 3 minutes.
When The Nudge walked in the door, I oiled a non-stick pan and fried the bottoms, placing the done ones in the oven to keep them warm.

There are a few things I learned not to do, so yours will be perfect......
1. Do not make and freeze the filling without salting the cabbage and squeezing the water out.(like you would for eggplant).
2. Put enough filling into the wrappers so that there are no air pockets (fill them full).
3. I recommend cooking the shrimp, then process the filling or you will get a little meatball in each dumpling (not a good thing).
4. If you have never made a dumpling before, follow the directions below to make the easiest one you could.

Let's get cooking.......

Shrimp Dumplings
Makes: 24 dumplings

EatingWell.com: Serve with reduced-sodium soy sauce or mix up this quick dipping sauce: 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce with 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. To vary the filling, try ground turkey instead of the shrimp. look for wonton wrapper in a refrigerated case, near the tofu.
We made simple dumplings by folding the wrapper as you would a square burrito.

* 3/4 pound raw shrimp (16-20 per pound) peeled and deveined
* 1 cup chopped napa cabbage, salted & squeezed
* 2 scallions, chopped
* 2 small cloves garlic, chopped
* 3/4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 1/8 teaspoons ground white pepper
* 24 wonton wrappers (1/2 package)
* 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
* 1 cup warm water
* cornstarch for sprinkling

1. Pulse shrimp(cooked), cabbage (salted & rinsed), scallions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper in a food processor until finely chopped.
2. Set out wonton wrappers, a small bag of water and a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornstarch. Place six wrappers at a time on a clean work surface and spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into the center of each. Wet your finger and run it around the edge of the wrapper, fold two opposite corners toward the middle of the filling just until they overlap, then fold the other two corners over the top to form a square. Press to seal in the middle. Place on the prepared baking sheet, not letting them touch. If all the dumplings won't fit in one layer, place parchment paper between layers.
3. To freeze: Freeze uncooked dumplings, uncovered, on the parchment-lined baking sheet until solid, at least eight hours. Once frozen, transfer the dumplings to an airtight container or freezer bag and return to the freezer.
4. To serve: Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 12 dumplings in a single layer, seam side down and not touching. Add 1/2 cup warm water to the pan. Cover and cook until starting to brown on the bottom, about eight minutes. Turn them over and cook, uncovered, until browned on the other side, about one minute more. Repeat with the remaining water and dumplings, if desired.

Per serving: 281 calories; 9g fat (1g sat, 4g mono); 129mg cholesterol; 31g carbohydrate; 0g added sugars; 19g protein; 1g fiber; 492mg sodium; 228mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Folate (19% dv).