There is something about serving a dish where the food itself becomes part of the conversation. Whether it's because the food is different or interesting, or just really good, a dish that prompts conversation when it's served and halts conversation when is it eaten is the best that anyone can hope for.
The secret to these shrimp dumplings lies in the fact that half the shrimp is chopped instead of finely ground. I believe that part of the attraction of shrimp is in its texture and by chopping half and finely processing half, you get to maintain the texture of the shrimp whilst still having the ground shrimp needed to hold the filling together.
500 grams of raw prawns (shrimp) Half processed in a food processor until finely ground and half chopped Handfull of chopped cilantro (coriander) 1 teaspoon finely chopped lemongrass 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon minced ginger 1/4 cup chopped waterchestnuts 1/4 cup chopped bamboo shoots 1 green onion finely chopped 25 wonton skins
Method
Combine all the ingredients except the wonton skins in a bowl and mix until well combined. Put a teaspoonful of the mixture into the centre of a wonton skin and bring two of the opposite corners together. Wet the edges of the wonton wrapper with a little water and bring the remaining corners together to form a package. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. I find that the easiest thing to do with them at this point is to put them into the freezer on a wire rack and freeze for about 1/2 hour. You can then either put them into a zip lock bag if you are not using them immediately or you can cook them. The reason that I find them easier to freeze first is because the bottoms can "melt" a little if you don't freeze them first. Having said that, if you are cooking them within twenty minutes or so of making them you should be ok. To cook you have a couple of choices. You can steam them in a steamer, by which I mean steam them for about 10 minutes (if frozen, less if not). I also find that it is also find that it is a good idea to put them in boiling water for about a minute 8 minutes into the steaming process and the return them to the steamer. For me, this stops the edges drying out, however this may be becasue I am completely inept is some part of the dumpling process, so you may omit this step. The other way to cook them is to boil for about 5 minutes (again from frozen, slightly less if not). One thing to note here is that when I boil them they dont look as pretty, but you may have better luck.
Serve with sauces for dipping, chili, soy, hoi sin, whatever takes your fancy.
