My roommate and I decided to make dumplings. It just so happens that the creation of said dumplings fell right around the time of Chinese New Year, a happy accident that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy with tradition.
According to an unverified online source, dumplings signify family reunion during the New Year. I’m just going to also assume that they symbolize prosperity, because lets be honest, Chinese people are all about prosperity.
This was my first time making dumplings, and I will definitely be making more. They’re so adorable, sculptural, freezable, and giftable (not a word, but it should be).
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Going to go ahead and start with the glamor shots. Oooooo….
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Ahhhh…..
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The uniformity and repetition reminds me of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
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We made 3 kinds of filling.
1. Tofu, spinach, mushroom
2. Pork, shrimp, Chinese celery
3. Pork, shrimp, Chinese chives, rice noodles, water chestnuts
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My ex-roommate, Chris. He just moved to DC for a job :(
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We steamed the ones on the left and pan fried the ones on the right.
The verdict? Both cooking processes yielded excellent results. All 3 flavors equally delicious. A good dipping sauce is essential.
I just followed this link from Apartment Therapy. All I have to say is that I just ate lunch, but I’m still drooling over that last pic of the dumplings!