New Year’s ideas

seafood dumplings

For New Year’s Eve, our thoughts turn to a wintery outdoor activity followed by a cozy night in with friends.

We swoon for trendy Asian bites or our still as yet unfilled dreams of chicken hash or creamed sherried mushrooms on toast points with Champagne.

How about steam baskets of seafood dumplings (above. And yes, they were amazing. Baby Duck joke bottle unopened, FYI), chicken and green onion yakitori on skewers, and these babies:

Thai Beef Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce
Click here to see how amazing they look!
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons Sriracha

For the filling:
1 pound ground chuck (80% lean)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped Thai chilis
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch of Thai basil
12 wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved.

2. In a large bowl, gently combine the ground chuck with the rest of the filling ingredients.

3. Shape a tablespoon of the filling into a small log. Wrap 1 basil leaf around the beef and thread onto a skewer. Repeat until all of the filling is gone.

4. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals out evenly over the charcoal grate. Clean and oil the cooking grate. Grill the rolls until the filling is fully cooked and slightly firm, about 6 to 8 minutes, turning once during cooking. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
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YAKITORI
New York Times Published: May 4, 2005
Time: 1 hour for soaking skewers, plus 45 minutes for preparation and grilling

1½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
1 large bunch scallions, 1 reserved, others trimmed and cut into 1½-inch lengths
1 cup soy sauce
¾ cup sugar
½ cup mirin
1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1 ¼-inch slice of fresh ginger, lightly crushed
1 ½-inch-by-2-inch strip lemon zest
Vegetable oil to brush on grill
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish.

1. Soak 16 6-inch bamboo skewers in cold water for 1 hour, then drain.

2. Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into uniform 1½-inch pieces. On each skewer, thread alternating pieces of chicken and scallions, pressing them together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.

3. Lightly crush white part of reserved scallion. Slice green part into thin rings and reserve. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar, mirin, scallion white, garlic, ginger and lemon zest. Place over medium heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes. Strain into small bowl and cool to room temperature. If desired, reserve some as a dipping sauce.

4. Heat a grill or hibachi. Brush and oil grill rack, and place yakitori on grill so that ends of skewers are not over direct heat. Sear meat by continually turning skewers for about 2 minutes. Baste with sauce and turn occasionally until chicken is cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. When chicken is done it should feel firm and be coated with a shiny glaze.

5. To serve, place skewers on a platter and sprinkle with scallion rings and sesame seeds. If desired, serve reserved sauce in a small bowl as a dipping sauce.

Yield: 4 to 6 appetizer servings or 4 main course servings.

New Year’s dumplings

seafood dumplings

New Year’s Eve is coming and there’s one thing we know for certain: we want to master the mothertrucker out of seafood dumplings.

What could be more lovely than pinching chopsticks around some luxurious lobster or scallop potstickers and washing them down with bubbly pinot grigio or a Marlborough sauvignon blanc?

A ginger sesame dipping sauce is mandatory. But how about a chardonnay/lemongrass buerre blanc or sake-scented ponzu sauce? We’ve also seen them deep fried and served with mayonnaise, but unless it is a lemon/sesame/ginger number, we’re terrified by it.

Update: Ming’s TikTok shows he purées shrimp with egg salt and pepper and then frozen cubes of butter til they are small bits. Then adds garlic ginger and green onion.

MING TSAI MASTER SEAFOOD MIXTURE
1 pound rock shrimp, diced
1 pound Chilean sea bass, diced
1 pound bay scallops, diced
1 egg
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and white pepper

In a food processor, add shrimp, bass, scallops, egg, ginger, and sesame oil. Pulse only a little bit to bring ingredients together. Transfer to a large bowl and fold in scallions and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
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SEAFOOD DUMPLINGS
LA TimesMarch 05, 2008
Servings: 8 (makes 32 dumplings)

1/2 pound peeled, cleaned medium Pacific shrimp

1/2 pound sea scallops

1/2 pound fresh Dungeness crab meat

1/4 cup chopped garlic or regular chives

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch freshly ground white pepper

1 egg white

About 32 round dumpling wrappers

Peanut oil if frying, or oil for greasing the steamer rack

1. Mince the shrimp and scallops almost into a paste. Place in a shallow bowl and add the crab, garlic or chives, ginger, sherry, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper and egg white. Mix well.

2. To stuff the dumplings, mound about 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each wrapper, and brush the outer edges lightly with water to moisten. Fold the wrapper in half, into a half-moon shape, then pinch it together at the center of the top edge. Pleat the edges of the wrapper to enclose the filling. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

3. To pan-fry the dumplings, heat a 10-inch skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and swirl the pan. When the oil is hot, lay 8 to 10 of the dumplings into the pan, leaving room between each, and cook until the bottoms just start to brown, about 2 minutes. Add one-third cup water and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan and cook until the dumplings are soft on top, crisp on the bottom and the filling is firm, 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

4. To steam the dumplings, use a steamer of your choice, and bring 1 to 2 inches of water to a simmer (make sure the water level does not reach the bottom of the steamer). Lightly grease the steamer rack, and place the dumplings on the rack about 1 inch apart from one another (the dumplings will need to be cooked in batches). Place the steamer over the simmering water and cover. Steam the dumplings until the filling is firm and the wrapper is slightly translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the steamer from the water, and gently remove the dumplings to a warm place until all of the dumplings are cooked. Serve warm with a dipping sauce.

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LOBSTER DUMPLINGS2 each 1½ pound lobsters, cooked and meat removed
¼ cup water chestnuts, minced
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoons dry sherry
3 each scallions, minced
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ cup canola oil

Pick the meat from lobsters and reserve the shells for the dipping sauce. Finely chop meat or process briefly in a food processor. Mince the water chestnuts and then combine with ingredients.
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SCALLOP AND LOBSTER DUMPLINGS1/3 pound scallops
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Zest and juice of one lemon

2/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sweet butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 pound lobster meat, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sliced chives or scallions
2 tablespoons ginger, minced finely
1 clove garlic, minced finely
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 package wonton skins
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Place scallops, salt, pepper, and lemon zest and juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse these ingredients together a few times. With machine running, slowly add the olive oil and continue processing until the mixture is smooth.

Add the butter and process until smooth again. Remove the mixture from the food processor and fold in the remaining ingredients.
To assemble the dumplings, lay out several of the wonton wrappers on a flat surface and brush the edges with the beaten egg mixture.
Place a small amount of the lobster/scallop filling in the middle of each wonton wrapper and fold the wrapper over the filling and carefully seal the edges of the dumpling.

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150g Peeled Prawns, diced
150g Scallops, diced
100g Crabmeat, picked
2 Stalk Scallions, finely chopped
½ tsp Minced Ginger
1 tsp Soy Sauce
¼ tsp Sesame Oil
½ tsp Sugar
¼ Sea Salt
A few dashes White Pepper
½ of Egg White (about 2 Tbsp)
1 tsp Corn flour

1 Packet (about 50 pcs) Dumpling Wrappers

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