Pan Cooked Shrimp Dumplings

OK, sometimes we like a little Asian. Lisa thought shrimp dumplings would be the perfect thing to start with, she made these and she was right. They make great appetizers but we had them as the main event with chewy brown rice and sauteed bok choy as sides. Good combination, very tasty. 

These things have a lot of flavor on their own but you could put out hot Chinese mustard, duck sauce or Oriental chili sauce for dipping. We made a simple dipping sauce of Chinese mustard mixed with apricot jam. It worked.

Here's how they're made. You can increase the ingredient amounts easily to make a big batch and freeze them.  

Ingredients for 24 dumplings:

1/2 pound raw 16/20 shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup chopped Savoy or Napa cabbage

1 bunch scallions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

24 wonton wrappers

Cornstarch for sprinkling

1-2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1-2 tablespoons butter divided

Cut 12 of the shrimp in half lengthwise. Add the rest of the shrimp to the cabbage, scallions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper and pulse in a food processor until finely chopped.

Set out wonton wrappers, a small bowl of water and a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornstarch. Place 4 wrappers at a time on a clean work surface and spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling and a shrimp half onto the center of each. Wet your finger and run it around the edge of a wrapper, fold two opposite corners toward the middle of the filling just until they overlap, then fold the other two corners over the top to form a square. Press to seal in the middle. 
Make triangular shaped dumplings by folding two opposite corners together and pinching the edges closed.

Place on the prepared baking sheet, not letting them touch. If all the dumplings won’t fit in one layer, place parchment paper between layers.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add enough dumplings to make a single layer, seam-side down and not touching. Cook uncovered until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn them over and cook until brown on the other side, about 3 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining dumplings adding more oil and butter as necessary.

To freeze: Freeze uncooked dumplings, uncovered, on the parchment-lined baking sheet until solid, at least 8 hours. Once frozen, transfer the dumplings to an airtight container or freezer bag and return to the freezer.