Chicken Dumplings

I am a big fan of Chinese cuisine and momos are my all time favourite. Shaping the dumplings requires lot of time, patience and work. You may need to start a little early in the evening if you are planning this for dinner. This recipe is taken from Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen from the Chinese section but as I promised in one of my earlier post, I am gonna do it with some changes. With these changes of course the effort is less and taste wise it is equally delicious. Ramsay had used minced Pork and raw Prawns for this dish but I am using stir fried chicken here. And the pastry I am using is Chinese filo pastry which is easily available in the super markets and shops. It is kept in the frozen section. They are very thin and can be used in various dishes such as spring rolls, samosas, puff patties etc. etc...

Pastry

Filo frozen pastry defrosted overnight in the fridge

Water

Filling:

250gm minced chicken. Alternatively you can mince the chicken at home by pressing and hitting it hard by your rolling pin and the chopped in to very fine pieces

2 tbsp Ginger freshly grated

1 tsp Salt or as per taste

1 tsp Pepper freshly grounded

1 tsp soft light brown sugar or regular sugar can also be used

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

1 small onion finely chopped

3 tbsp chopped spring onions

2 tbsp coriander leaves

2 tbsp veg oil

To make the filling, on a hot pan put the veg oil. Add the ginger and onions to it and stir. As soon the onions starts to turn pink, add the minced chicken to it and mix well. Fry the chicken till it turns opaque in colour but soft. We do not need to fry it hard here. Put the other ingredients such as soy sauce, vinegar, sugar to it and mix. Pour in the sesame oil, mix and add salt and pepper to it. Just before taking it out of heat, sprinkle the spring onions and coriander leaves and give it a good mix. The whole process takes around 10-15 minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning. Keep it aside for cooling now.

For shaping the dumplings.

There are various ways in which you can shape your dumplings. You can make small little bags of rice shape and little purses or potlis. If the pastry sheets are big , you can cut it out in four squares. Take 2 squares and place them on your palm, spoon in the filling mixture in the centre, brush the rim of the pastry with water and take all the four ends together and stuck in. Make a potli shape and ensure the edges are stuck together.

Alternatively, you can also fold the sides up over the filling and make little pleats with your finger tips around the rim after brushing it with water. Make the rest of the dumplings and set aside.

For cooking the dumplings.

Put a deep pan, half filled with water on gas and place a deep glass bowl in on the water. Make sure the water level should be low. It is same as double boiler kind of arrangement. You can use the bamboo steamer lined up with parchment paper. We have be careful with the water here to avoid any spillage inside the bowl when covered. Once the water starts to boil, place your dumplings in the bowl and cover the pan. It will take around 2-3 minutes for the dumplings to cook. We will need to cook the dumplings in batches and keep the cooked one under cover to stay warm.

Serve the dumplings with schezwan sauce or with any kind of tomato based sauce. Schezwan is little hot for the kids.

A little tip from Ramsay- Make large batch and freeze some for another meal. Freeze, uncooked, on a tray lined with parchment, then pack into a rigid container. Defrost at room temperature before cooking.
Click here for my quick version of schezwan sauce

Happy Cooking!!!