FOOD
Relive your Lunar New Year with DIY dumplings
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by Martin Dunphy
f you just celebrated Lunar New Year on Tuesday (February 1), you might have eaten some dumplings. You might also have asked yourself if you could make them at home, and how difficult that might be. The answers are “yes” and “not at all”. The delicious stuffed dough pockets often served for the national holiday in several Asian countries (which is sometimes called Spring Festival) can be steamed, boiled, or fried (when they are often called potstickers) after assembly. Dumplings (jiaozi in Mandarin) are one of the traditional foods of Lunar New Year (some others are whole steamed fish, spring rolls, and “longevity” noodles). They are usually stuffed with a groundmeat mixture, often pork—though some versions add shrimp and/or finely chopped cabbage, radish, or other ingredients—and served with a soy-based dipping sauce. The plump pork pillows are usually made the evening of the celebration, for the new year dinner, and are sometimes eaten during both the hour before and the hour after midnight. Dumplings are considered to be good luck and a harbinger of wealth for the new year, and some people eat prodigious quantities of them during the celebratory meal in order to guarantee prosperity during the coming months. The Chinese have been making dumplings for at least 1,800 years, especially in the country’s northern regions, where the flexible dough skins are made with wheat flour. (In the south, a more common riceflour covering is often used). In Taiwan, an omelette-style egg-based dough is sometimes used, which gives the dumpling a golden hue. What follows is a somewhat generic pork-dumpling recipe that doesn’t require you to make and roll out the dough yourself. Many supermarkets or specialty stores sell packages of refrigerated premade dumpling or wonton wrappers that work perfectly well. (In Vancouver, Powell Street’s Double Happiness Foods supplies both citywide.) Ingredients for filling 1 cup raw ground pork (or ground turkey or chicken) ½ cup chopped Napa cabbage (or bok choy) ¼ cup green onions (sometimes sold as scallions) 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 ½ tsp cornstarch (Note: fine-chopped celery, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and shrimp can be substituted/added to the mixture if care is taken to keep proportions about the same. Minced fresh ginger and/or garlic cloves can also be added for flavour, as can a 6
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
If you use round store-bought dumpling wrappers, you can fold them in a traditional half-moon shape. Photo by dashu83/Getty Images Plus.
tablespoon of dry sherry.) Instructions Mix the meat and vegetables together in a medium-large bowl until well combined. Mix the sesame oil and soy sauce in a
small separate bowl, then stir in cornstarch until dissolved. (Note: some people prefer to refrigerate the mixed ingredients for a few hours to combine flavours and allow the cabbage to
S avio VOLPE’S NEW CHEF
Fraserhood neighbourhood, as voted by
Straight readers.
d THERE’S A NEW HEAD CHEF making meals over an open fire in one of Vancouver’s most popular restaurants. Andrea Alridge is settling into this position at Osteria Savio Volpe, which won in the best Italian category in the 2021 Georgia Straight Golden Plate Awards. Osteria Savio Volpe also tied Say Mercy! as the best restaurant in the
FEBRUARY 3 – 10 / 2022
“Cooking Italian food with open fire is an absolute joy of mine,” Alridge said in a January 31 news release issued by her employer. “It requires much patience, love, and respect for the ingredients. I believe that working with fire truly brings people closer together, the way it bonds a team, the dishes that come from it, and the presence that fills the room from the hearth of the fire.” Alridge was previously chef de cuisine at Cin Cin Ristorante on Robson Street. Last year, the Vancouver Community College grad competed on Top Chef Canada on Bravo, making it through seven rounds before losing in the “elimination challenge”. Osteria Savio Volpe’s culinary director, Phil Scarfone (photoraphed above with Alridge), described her as “a natural choice” for the position. “With her sterling reputation, strong work ethic, and friendly demeanour, Andrea is the total package of a leader,” Scarfone said in the release.
by Charlie Smith
slightly wilt for ease of stuffing, but this is not necessary to make delicious dumplings.) Pour the liquid over the meat mixture and lightly work it in/toss to coat. (Note: always wash hands after handling raw meat, especially chicken.) Put a large tablespoon of the filling on the centre of a dumpling or wonton wrapper. Wet your finger in a small bowl of cold water and run it around the wrapper edges to help it seal. Then fold the wrapper over the filling (so the dumpling is a halfmoon shape if a round wrapper is used, or corner-to-corner for a triangle shape if you have square ones) and pinch all the edges so it stays sealed. Steam in a bamboo steamer basket for eight minutes (place dumplings on a leftover cabbage leaf or some parchment paper to prevent sticking). Or you can fry them in a pan (do not crowd) with two tablespoons of vegetable oil for one or two minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned. Add one-third of a cup of water and cover tightly, cooking until the water has just about boiled off. Uncover, reduce heat to medium-low, and fry for another minute or two. Serve with a dipping sauce made with four tablespoons of soy sauce and one and a half tablespoons each of rice wine and rice vinegar. (Chopped green onions can be added to this, as can chili sauce/paste to taste.) Enjoy! g
