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Reunited Lovebirds Add Steam Of Their Own

Photo by JADEN HAIR

Pan-Fried Shrimp and Pork Potstickers feature a pleated dumpling, or you can simply fold over a wrapper and press to seal.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 22, 2008

Updated:

My friend Lynne is an assistant at The Rolling Pin, the cooking school where I teach in Brandon. She's often free in the evenings to work because her husband, Kevin, has been serving in Kuwait for the past 11 months. Assisting in the classes is fun for Lynne, and it keeps her busy during the otherwise lonely evenings.

Normally, I have 15 students for my classes, as that is just the right number to fit into the studio kitchen. With hands-on classes, it can get pretty intense for me. I need to be totally on top of everything - working with each student individually, demonstrating new techniques, explaining how to use Asian ingredients, ensuring that students don't hurt themselves with the 22 or so super-sharp knives in the kitchen and, of course, keeping an eye on the food so we can all enjoy a wonderful meal! I would probably call myself an orchestrator of sorts, and some evenings I wish I had another set of eyes mounted to the back of my head to coordinate and keep track of it all.

Last week, smack dab in the middle of the first course, Chef Dave, the owner of the cooking school, yelled over to me, "We have another student who'd like to join the class. Can you fit him in?"

I was in the midst of showing a student how to properly handle a chef's knife and didn't even look up to reply, "Of course, we can fit another in! There's always room for one more. Please just excuse the little steam escaping from the tippy-top of my head as I quickly reassign, recalculate, reassess and re-whatever to balance the class to fit in one more student without upsetting the delicate scale of controlled chaos."

As I glanced over to welcome the new addition, my jaw dropped:

It was Lynne's husband, who had just flown in from Kuwait to surprise her.

I'm tearing up as I write this because it was one of the most heartfelt moments to watch the lovebirds embrace and reunite.

Kevin took off his fatigues and we handed him an apron. He jumped right into class and started pleating dumplings with us.

It was so cute to watch the sweethearts steal kisses, glances and giggles throughout class.

The type of potsticker dumpling wrappers you'll need are round (square wonton wrappers are too thin to use). I've pleated the dumpling so that it creates a crescent shape, but you don't have to (it's more complicated and requires demonstration or step-by-step photos). Just fold over and press tightly to create a nice seal.

PAN-FRIED SHRIMP AND PORK POTSTICKERS

3/4 pound raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

3 stalks green onions, cut into 2-inch sections

1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots

1/2 pound ground pork

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry)

1 package of frozen dumpling skins, defrosted overnight in refrigerator or 40 minutes room temperature (do not microwave or set in water)

For the slurry:

1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water in a small bowl

Water

Cooking oil

Dipping sauce:

1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Wash the shrimp and pat very dry. In a food processor, add the shrimp, green onions and bamboo shoots. Pulse several times until the shrimp is chopped to about 1/4-inch. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp mixture with ground pork, soy sauce, salt, cornstarch, ginger and rice wine. Mix well.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling onto dumpling skin. Brush a bit of the cornstarch slurry all around the edge of the dumpling skin. Fold over and press to secure edges. Make sure edges are sealed tightly. Shape the dumpling so it has a flat bottom. Cover loosely with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.

When you are ready to cook, heat a large nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the dumplings, flat-side down, not touching, to the pan. Let fry for 1 minute until the bottoms are light golden brown. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan and immediately cover with a tight-fitting lid. Turn heat to medium and let the dumplings steam for 3 minutes. Open lid and let the remaining liquid cook off for about 1 minute. Cut into a dumpling to make sure the filling is cooked through. Remove to plate, wipe the pan clean with paper towels (or wash) and repeat with remaining dumplings. Serve with dipping sauce.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Jaden Hair is a cooking instructor and author of the blog Jaden's Steamy Kitchen at steamykitchen.com.

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