I am not an expert in the traditions of Chinese New Year but these New Year dumplings are totally delicious. From all of my reading and understanding, consuming fish, dumplings and other delicious foods at Chinese New Year are thought to bring good luck. Here I’ve put a fish filling into dumpling wrappers, creating a little entree for our Chinese New Years feast.
It can be tricky celebrating traditions but in the opposing hemisphere. All of the traditional recipes can often seem out of kilter with the weather here in New Zealand. Canadian thanksgiving is at the beginning of our summer. Sitting down to a roast turkey dinner when you’re craving lighter salads means we have to find a middle ground. I find the same with traditional Chinese New Year recipes. Designed for the beginning of spring, some of them can seem too heavy for the New Zealand humidity and heat.
These fish dumplings are light and full of flavour. Use a firm fleshed fish such as monkfish or hapuka; it will take longer to steam inside the wrapper so everything is ready at the same time. I’ve kept the flavourings rather simple to let the freshness of the ingredients shine through. Summer is when corn cobs are cheap and plentiful. I like to chargrill corn on the bbq first before combining with the rest of the mixture. It lends a subtle but beautifully smokey flavour that balances with sweetness of the corn.
Ingredients
- 300gm fish fillets, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels
- 3x cloves garlic, minced
- 2x spring onions, sliced
- 3 tsp shaoxing wine
- 3 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 50 dumpling wrappers
Instructions
Into a food processor, add the fish, corn kernels, garlic cloves and spring onions. Whiz together until everything is roughly chopped. Don't blend it together for too long, or you will get a glumly substance. Place in a large bowl and add the shaoxing wine, sesame oil and soy sauce. Stir through and then set aside.
Have a damp tea towel and a little dish of water set in front of you. Working with one wrapper at a time, place a spoonful of the fish and corn mixture in the middle of the wrapper. With one finger, moisten the edges of the wrapper and enclose the mixture. Make sure the edges are sealed and there is no air around the mixture. Place on a lined baking tray and cover with a damp tea towel. This stops the dumplings from drying out. Repeat with the remaining mixture until all made up.
Set a pot of water on the heat, half fill with water and bring to the boil. Set the dumplings in the steamer and place over the top of the boiling water - make certain the water does not touch the steamer in anyway. Steam for 10 minutes until the filling is cooked and the wrapper is slightly translucent.
Serve piping hot and with a soy vinegar dipping sauce.
