This dish was inspired by a similar dumpling soup from our favorite Thai joint down the street, One Thai.  That, and I love dumplings, don’t you?  I’ve been wanting to make something along these lines since I saw the wonderful Chinese foodie movie Eat Drink Man Woman. With the extended spring (lol) we have been having in the PNW, this was a perfect stomach warming treat.

Dumplings

1 pkg. Square Wonton wrappers (about 20)
1 lb. shrimp, shelled and minced (shells reserved)
1 egg. white
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. chive oil
2 sm. shallots, minced

For the dumplings, just mix the ingredients together in a bowl to make a chunky paste filling. Spoon about 1 Tbs. of the filling into the center of each Wonton wrapper and pinch the four corners together. Pinch the resulting other four folds of the wrapper shut, and fold them in on two sides of the dumpling like you are wrapping a present. Dust the bottom of each dumpling with a bit of starch and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Broth

1/4 c. grapeseed oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 shallots, minced
2 Thai red chilies, seeded and minced
6 c. water
2 stalks lemon grass, peeled, chopped diagonally and bruised
6 Tbs. fish sauce
4 tsp. raw sugar
3 Kaffir lime leaves, slivered
2 green onions, whites and greens seperated

few handfuls of broccoli florets
3 carrots, slivered diagonally

In a small skillet, heat the oil through on a low flame and slowly simmer the garlic, shallots and chilies to infuse the oil with their flavors. Next add the reserved shrimp shells and gently fry these until they turn pink. Transfer the shells to a large stock pot with the cooking liquid and simmer. For this particular batch, I had the backbone of a Copper River Salmon in the fridge that I had filleted the day before, so I began by boiling that down along with the shrimp shells for about 30 minutes to make the initial stock.

Once you’ve got the stock made, strain out the shells and fish bones and add in the lemongrass. Return to a boil and then cook, covered on low heat, for about 20 minutes. Strain out the lemon grass and add the oil/garlic/shallot/chilies infusion, along with the fish sauce, sugar and kaffir lime leaves and cook covered and bring to a boil.

Separately, blanch or steam the broccoli florets and slivered carrots and quickly shock and set aside.

Add the dumplings into the boiling broth, along with the white parts of the onions. Cook the dumplings until they begin to float, no more than 2-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Divide the broccoli and carrots between two large bowls and ladel the broth and dumplings over top. Add the cilantro springs and green parts of the onion on top and serve.

 

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