Lucky Foods for Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is a special time for many Asians. Growing up, we would prepare by cleaning the house from top to bottom, getting special foods ready and then just celebrating for days to come with family and friends. Dumplings are a traditional dish to prepare that are tasty and symbolic. They represent gold packets of wealth, and the more you eat, the more prosperous your year.  Add in some noodles for long life, and you’re good to go!

Now that I’m married, I still try to keep many of these traditions alive. Although you can easily spare yourself the trouble and buy frozen dumplings, this year, I decided to make fresh homemade wonton dumpling soup for our first meal of the day.  This way, not only can you customize them, you will also guarantee fresh ingredients and being able to know exactly what’s going into your body (no MSG, please!)

Dumplings can be prepared with a variety of fillings, from traditional to vegetarian to fusion. Since I was making a wonton dumpling soup, I chose to make a more traditional style made from ground pork, onions, green onions and shrimp for slight crunch. You can buy the wrappers pre-made in the freezer section of any Asian grocery store. (This I would highly recommend you do to save time).

Ingredients (for the filling):

Dumpling prep

• 1 lb ground pork or ground chicken
• 1/4 lb peeled/deveined shrimp cut into fourths
• 1/2 medium chopped white or yellow onion
• 3 green onions chopped
• kosher salt
• pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (yeah!)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 packet of round or square wonton wrappers
• Egg Noodle (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
   

   Dumpling packets

2. Lay out your dumpling wrappers and scoop about a small teaspoon of the filling onto each.
3. Wrap them into little packets and make sure to give a little pinch to where the meat hits the wrapper to try and seal it when it gets boiled.
4. Boil a large pot with water, then gently place in your dumplings to cook for about 6-7 minutes. That’s why it’s important to not put in too much meat, or your meat won’t cook. In another pot, you can also boil your egg noodles.
5. Drain and divide into bowls.

Ingredients (for the soup):

• 2 quarts of chicken/vegetable stock
• 6 pieces of ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4″ thick coins
• 1/2 medium onion left peeled, but left intact
• 1/2 c of fresh shitake mushrooms sliced
  

  Wonton dumpling noodle soup infused with ginger, onion & shitake mushroom & topped with baby spinach, shallots & green onions

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• garlic powder
• kosher salt
• pepper

• 1 small lump of rock sugar
• 3/4 c of baby spinach leaves
• 3 green onions chopped for garnish
• 1 tbsp fried shallots for garnish

1. In a medium pot, bring the stock to a low boil with the ginger, onion, white part of the green onion and sliced shitake mushroom to infuse the flavors for about 10 minutes.
2. Season with soy sauce, garlic powder, kosher salt, pepper, rock sugar and sesame oil to taste.
3. Remove from heat and ladle broth over bowls of dumpling.
4. Sprinkle in the baby spinach (the steam will cook it through just right).
5. Garnish with green onion, shallots and a dash of pepper.

Prep time: 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on how fast you wrap)

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 6-8