Chinese Chopsticks for Chinese Dumplings
24 February 2009
During our stay in Japan we’ve been getting around quite a bit - mostly within the country, but we’ve also travelled to South Korea and China for long weekends. We’ve been bringing home small but special souvenirs from some of our destinations, which again and again make us remember all the exciting new places we’ve seen over the past year. We often drink out of our tea mugs from Korea, for example, and indulge in memories of a leisurely afternoon in a cozy teahouse in Seoul, where we had fled from a sudden downpour of rain.
This weekend was the first time, however, we took our Chinese chopsticks out of their pretty cases, although it’s already been nine months or so since we bought them on our trip to Shanghai (…time has passed unbelievably quickly since!). We got two beautiful sets, one with mother-of-pearl inlays, the other one ornamented with dark-green jade, but as our kitchen drawer is also full of nice Japanese chopsticks which we’ve been mainly using so far, we completely forgot about our Chinese souvenirs. I recently stumbled over them though, and have since been looking for an occasion to inaugurate them.
And what would be more suitable than a supper of Chinese dumplings? They are very popular here in Japan, too, especially the half-moon-shaped ones, which are known as "gyoza" here. I love making them, as they are really convenient to prepare and always give you a great opportunity to tinker around with different fillings. The fresh dumpling dough skins are readily available in every supermarket here. I assume elsewhere in the world you can buy them in Asia markets – at least I hope so, as I really don’t want forego this pleasure once we move back to Europe!
Salmon-Zucchini Gyoza
| yields about 16 dumplings |
for the dumplings |
| 16 Chinese dumpling dough skins (about 10 cm diameter) |
| 120g salmon filet |
| 150g zucchini |
| 1 egg |
| 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds |
| 1 teaspoon curry powder |
| some dark sesame oil |
| some soy sauce |
| some garlic powder |
| optional: a pinch of yuzu-flavoured salt |
for the dip |
| ponzu sauce |
| a dash of dark sesame oil |
| a few drops of chili oil |
Wash the zucchini and "julienne" them into about 3cm long, very fine strips. Slightly salt and set aside until they soften. Before further processing them, drain the water they have released and add a little bit of garlic powder.
Remove skin and bones (if any remaining) from the salmon filet and chop it into coarse pieces. In a food processor, blend the chunks of salmon, an egg, a tablespoon full of crème fraîche, a teaspoon of curry powder as well as a dash of sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce. Without further blending, combine with the zucchini and add a spoon full of toasted white sesame seeds. Season to taste with more soy sauce, if necessary, and optionally with some yuzu salt (alternatively you can add some grated lemon zest, or you can just leave it away).
Place a heaped-up tablespoon of the salmon-zucchini mixture into the center of each dumpling skin, fold in the middle and squeeze the two edges together, forming half-moon-shaped "ravioli".
Quickly sear the dumplings in a little bit of sesame oil, slightly browning them on both sides (this will also make the stuffing firm and keep the dumplings from falling apart when later cooked in water). Move the dumplings on into a pot of hot water and let them simmer lightly for about 5 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and shake the sieve a bit so the water drips off well, then briefly toss them again in the hot pan, adding a few more drops of sesame oil.
Serve with a dip – for example yuzu ponzu sauce refined with a dash of sesame oil and a few sprinkles of chili oil. (Of course, you can also just take soy sauce instead, or anything else you like!)