CHINESE DUMPLINGS

Ingredients

Ingredients
1/2 lb ground chicken
5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
2 tsps EACH soy sauce and rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 green onion, minced
1 1/2 tbsps minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
16 oz. round dumpling wrappers

Dipping Sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Dumplings

Squeeze liquid out of spinach then finely chop spinach. In a large bowl, combine spinach, ground chicken, soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, green onions, ginger, cilantro and garlic. Mix well.

Work with a small number of wrappers at a time. Leave the remaining wrappers in the package and keep them in fridge until needed. This prevents the wrappers from drying out too quickly.

Using wet fingers, moisten a dumpling wrapper. Put about 1 tsp of filling in the centre of the wrapper. Don’t overfill – it will be harder to seal the dumpling.

Bring the edges of the wrapper together to form a semi-circle. Pinch the wrapper along the edge, starting in the middle and working toward each end to seal the dumpling. At this point the dumpling should look like a perogie. For a more traditional presentation, pleat the edges of the wrapper as you seal the dumpling.

Place sealed dumpling on a foil or wax paper covered tray. Repeat until all the filling has been used.

Line a steamer with lettuce leaves and add a single layer of dumplings so that no dumplings are touching.

Place steamer over boiling water, cover and steam for 10-12 minutes until wrappers are transparent and filling is no longer pink. Remove from steamer and keep warm. Repeat until all dumplings are cooked. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce: Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until needed.  Can be made a day ahead.