making (and eating) dumplings

When we first moved to Lexington, one of TJ's fellow grad students invited us to her home for some homemade dumplings. She and her fiance are Tibetan and have been making dumplings (momos) since they were kids. They made both the filling and wrappers from scratch, and it was amazing to watch how fast their fingers flew as they formed perfect pleats to fold each dumpling together. Needless to say, the finished product was delicious and inspired me to try dumpling-making myself.

So far, I'm still much slower and sloppier in dumpling assembly and I haven't attempted to make the wrappers from scratch yet. Of the ready-made wrapper brands that I've used, I think I like Wing Hing the best. (The LA Times compared nine different brands and rated Gyoza No Kawa, which I haven't tried, number one.)

I learned basic dumpling techniques from Use Real Butter, which has a fantastic photo tutorial for Chinese dumplings (similar to momos) and a tasty, tasty recipe for pork filling. (Someday I'll have to try the shrimp filling recipe, too. And when I'm feeling braver I'll attempt the recipe for dough.) This site also clarified for me that steamed = dumplings while pan fried  = potstickers. I love the crispy, golden bottoms that you get from the pan frying method, but the healthier steamed version—which we went with today—is pretty tasty, too.

These are also great because you can make a ton in one sitting and freeze for later the ones you don't cook right away.