Lunar New Year is a time of celebration filled with tradition and food. Chef Kevin Ao of Bon Moment joins Jennifer Palma to teach her how to make dumplings and talk about his family’s traditions.
Umami Dumplings with Zhong Dumpling Sauce
Ingredients:
Dumplings:
- 30 dumpling wraps
- 150g lean ground pork
- 150g deveined shrimp
- 150g garlic chive
- 4g salt
- 14g bouillon powder
- 20g neutral oil
- 10g sesame seed oil
- 10g chopped ginger
Zhong Dumpling Sauce:
- 10g garlic
- 10g ginger
- 25g green onion
- 30g soy sauce
- 20g vinegar
- 30g sugar
- 10g sesame seed oil
- 50g water
- 2 pieces star anise
- 1 cinnamon bark
- 2g Szechuan peppercorn
- 2g dried chili
Instructions:
Dumplings:
- Start a pot of water on the stove.
- Place all shrimp in a Ziploc bag and smash with the back of a knife.
- Mix ground pork and seasoning in a mixing bowl until fat starts to emulsify.
- Add smashed shrimp and garlic chive into the mixing bowl and continue to mix until evenly incorporated.
- Wrap dumplings and cook them in boiling water for 6-7 minutes or until floating on water.
Zhong Dumpling Sauce:
- In a pot, lightly sauté ginger, garlic, and green onion with 2 tablespoons of neutral oil at medium heat until golden brown
- Add the spices into the same pot to activate the aroma over medium heat for 5 minutes, keep stirring to prevent burning.
- Add soy sauce, sugar, and water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Turn down the heat and gently simmer for 10 minutes until all flavors are infused.
- Pass the sauce through a strainer and finish it with vinegar and sesame seed oil.