Shrimp Dumplings with Apricot Soy Sauce

Dice/grate all of the vegetables and throw them into a blender or food processor (celery through leek) along with the ginger, soy sauce, lime juice, and lime zest. Pulse until the mixture is almost paste-like. It’s not pretty, but it’s going into a dumpling, so who cares? Not we! Drain any excess liquid from this blend. Set aside.

Mix the chopped shrimp and water chestnuts into your vegetable blend along with the bamboo shoots.

Time for wonton wrapping! Combine the egg and water in a small bowl.

Lay the wontons out across a baking dish or large cutting board so you can work in an assembly line style. Scoop approximately one tablespoon of the mixture into the middle of each of the wontons.

Then, with a pastry brush, brush the egg wash along the outer edges of the wonton wrappers for sealing.

Take two opposing corners, pull them together, and pinch them shut. Grab another corner, bring it up to the sealed corners, and pinch to join. And again, with the last corner.

Once all of your corners are pinched shut in the centre, pinch all of the edges to seal the wonton perfectly. You don’t want anything getting in, nor do you want any filling escaping! Do this with all of the wontons. Get into the zone. Before you know it, a tray full of delicious little bundles will be present in front of you.

Heat 1 to 2 inches of water in a pot and place a steamer basket above the pot. I have a bamboo steamer, so I place spinach leaves along the bottom to keep the dumplings from sticking to the bamboo. You can definitely boil the dumplings if you wish. They are delicious either way. If you do boil them, you definitely want to ensure that all of the edges are sealed shut because water filled wontons aren’t appetizing at all.

Steam the dumplings for approximately 10 minutes or until they are transparent. As the dumplings steam, make the dipping sauce.

While the dumplings are steaming, prepare the dipping sauce. Whisk together the apricot jam, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, freshly grated ginger, and diced scallions.

This recipe will make approximately 20 delicious dumplings.