Delicious Dumpling Delight!
Shrimp Dumplings, floating in a light and luscious dashi broth! Yes, please. By the way, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a delicious dumpling. These delightful little gems are filled with shrimp, herbs and crispy little vegetables, then set afloat in a flavorful umami broth. Ready to jump in?
It’s so easy to make dumplings. You can make them using ready made wonton wrappers. Make your filling, and you’re almost finished. It’s a super easy way to make a flavor filled soup that will impress anyone. Shrimp Dumplings in Dashi Broth features the fifth flavor, umami. Bitter, Salty, Sour, Sweet and Umami!
By the way, don’t let waiting to become a master dumpling maker stop you. As you can see, it didn’t stop me! These are easy and fun to make they don’t have to be “instagram perfect”. As Nike says, just do it!
About The Broth
Dashi (出汁, だし) is a class of soup and cooking stock used in Japanese cuisine. Dashi forms the base for miso soup, clear broth, noodle broth, and many kinds of simmering liquid to accentuate the savory flavor as umami.[1] It is also mixed into flour base of some grilled foods like okonomiyaki and takoyaki.
My version uses a combination of kombu (dried seaweed sheets) and wakame, a sweeter variety of dried seaweed. You can buy various types at Asian markets, Whole Foods or try on line at Amazon Prime.
Fish King Time
My sister lives near the greatest fish market! I’ve written about it before, but I love any occasion that that takes me there. I took a little road trip to visit and we planned to make lunch for our mom. So, what’s got to be on the menu? Anything from Fish King. Just like her daughters, she loves everything that comes from the sea.
For the Dumplings
Into a food processor, add 1/2 pound of cleaned and deveined shrimp.
Pulse to combine. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions, 1/4 cup finely chopped water chestnuts, 1/4 cup each of fresh chopped basil and cilantro. Next, add 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Pulse to combine but do not over mix.
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
For the Broth
Into a medium sized pot, add 8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth. To make a very light but flavorful broth, add the shells from the shrimp. Add the dark green portions of the onions.
Add 1 to 1/2 sheet of kombu. Kombu is a dried seaweed which will bring another layer of flavor to the broth. Add 3 tablespoons of either dried bonito flakes or 3 tablespoons of wakame. Wakame is another form of dried seaweed. It’s a bit sweeter in flavor.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low for about 1 hour.
Strain the broth though a fine sieve, careful to remove any shell and all the other ingredients, discard the solids. You should be left with a light amber to light green dashi broth.
Return the broth to the pot and heat on low. Add the shelled edamame.
For the Dumplings
Fill the wonton wrappers with a heaping teaspoon of the chilled filling mixture in the center. Using your a small brush or your finger, moisten the edges of the wrapper with water. Gather the edges together and twist to close completely.
Place the finished dumplings onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Once completed, cover with plastic until ready to cook.
Fill a large pot with water heat on high to boil. Once boiling, add the dumplings to the water and cook for about 5 minutes, until they float to the top of the pot. Drain the dumplings then add them to the broth.
To Serve
Into a serving bowl, ladle soup. Garnish with fresh cilantro and some freshly chopped scallions.
Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe makes about 30 small dumplings.
Ingredients
For the Dumplings
- 1/2 pound fresh shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions (green onion) (plus extra for garnish)
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (plus extra whole leaves for garnish)
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 30 wonton wrappers (1 12 ounce pkg)
For the Broth
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1/2 to 1 sheet of (3 X 5 inch sheet) of kombu
- 3 tablespoons wakame
- shells reserved from shrimp
- 1 cup shelled edamame
Garnish
- freshly chopped cilantro and scallions
Instructions
For the Dumplings
- Into a food processor, add 1/2 pound of cleaned and deveined shrimp. Save the shells for the dashi.
- Pulse to combine.
- Add 1/4 cup each of finely chopped scallions, finely chopped water chestnuts, basil and cilantro leaves.
- Next, add the egg, finely grated fresh ginger, low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil and the cornstarch.
- Pulse to combine but do not over mix.
- Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
For the Broth
- Into a medium sized pot, add 8 cups of vegetable broth.
- Add the shells from the shrimp, the kombu and the wakame
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low then simmer for about 1 hour.
- Straining though a fine sieve, discard all the solids from the broth. You should be left with a fairly clear amber colored broth.
- Return the broth to the pot and heat on low. Add the shelled edamame. Simmer while the dumplings cook. (see below)
For the Dumplings
- Fill the wonton wrappers with a heaping teaspoon of the chilled filling mixture in the center. Using your a small brush or your finger, moisten the edges of the wrapper with water.
- Gather the edges together and twist to close completely.
- Place the finished dumplings onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Once completed, cover with plastic until ready to cook.
- Fill a large pot with water heat on high to boil.
- Once boiling, add the dumplings to the water and cook for about 5 minutes, until they float to the top of the pot. Add to the dashi.
To Serve
- Into a serving bowl, ladle soup. Garnish with fresh cilantro and fresh shopped scallions.
Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
