Valentine's Day Dim Sum - Rose dumplings
For this year’s Valentine’s Day, I decided to abandon my sweet tooth for something more savory. Dumplings are something my mom taught me when I was young, and it’s always been a humble and nostalgic dish in my mind. But because it’s Valentine’s Day (annnd because I’ve been binging a lot of Bachelor recently), I decided to make a more sophisticated rose-shaped version that’s a little bougie-er than usual (perfect for impressing your dinner date!).
Instead of being filled with the usual pork and cabbage, these contain a fancier shrimp and shiitake filling. If you want to make the more humble, classic version, you can check out my recipe for pork + cabbage and as well as chicken + shiitake dumplings here.
Can’t resist my fillings for you.
You’re the one that I wonton.
You’re all that and dim sum.
… okay I’ll stop, but I can guarantee after one bite of these dumplings, you’ll be wonton more.
What you’ll need:
Meats/Seafood: 16 oz peeled and deveined shrimp (or any other ground meat, or tofu if you’re vegetarian)
Vegetables: 2 scallions, 1 cup minced shiitake mushrooms, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
Seasonings: 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp black or white pepper, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
Dairy: 2 eggs
Other: Around 50 - 72 dumpling wrappers (1 - 1.5 packs), 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, water
Step 1: Prep
To prep the ingredients for the dumpling filling, start off by squeezing water out of the shiitake mushrooms. Removing the water from vegetables prevents the dumplings from becoming soggy and falling apart during the cooking process. Then, mince the mushrooms and garlic and chop the scallions into small pieces, setting aside a portion of the green stems for garnish later. Mince the shrimp until the texture resembles ground meat. Feel free to use a food processor to help you finely chop all of your ingredients in this step.
Step 2: Mix it and mix it and mix it and mix it
Combine the minced shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, cornstarch, eggs, salt & pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions in a large bowl. (Optional: you can heat up a tablespoon of oil in a pan till smoking and drizzle it over the ingredients to bring out the flavor of the scallions.)
Mix everything in a circular motion, going in one direction to keep the shrimp tender.
Step 3: Folding the dumplings
Prepare a small bowl of water before you start (you’ll need dabs of water to seal the dumplings). Arrange 4 dumpling wrappers in a line, slightly overlapping, and use some water to stick them together on their sides. Spread a thin strip of filling in the middle of the wrappers, wet the top and bottom rounds of the wrappers, and fold the wrappers upward so they’re sealed on top.
Tip: Squeeze the filling so it gathers at the bottom of the dumpling, ensuring that the top is completely sealed. This will make the filling less likely to seep out when you’re rolling the dumpling into shape, and make prettier rose petals.
Step 4: Rolling the dumplings
Carefully roll the dumpling from end to end, making a flower shape. Use a dab of water to close the dumpling off by sealing the edge with its side.
Note: if you want smaller roses, use 3 wrappers instead of 4.
Step 5: Shape the dumpling (optional)
Gently fan out the edges to create more realistic petals to the dumpling rose.
Step 6: Pan frying the dumplings
To pan fry the dumplings, start by heating a drizzle of vegetable oil in a pan. Lay the dumplings down and fry for about 2-3 minutes until the bottoms start to brown. Turn off the heat and add water to the pan, covering about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dumpling. Put a lid over the pan and steam for 4-6 minutes (shrimp cooks pretty fast, but if you’re using meat, you may need to steam the dumplings for longer). Cook without lid for about 1-2 minutes or until all the water has evaporated to form a golden crust. Remove from pan and garnish with leftover scallions.
Note: if you have a steamer, you can also steam the dumplings as well. I would not recommend boiling these since they have a pretty complicated shape and might fall apart in the water unlike standard dumplings.
The golden crust at the bottom is the best part! Plus, it pairs really well with the soft texture of the dumpling on top.
Step 7: Dipping sauces
Spicy mayo dipping sauce: combine 1 part sriracha with 2 parts Japanese mayo (or regular mayonnaise if you can’t make your way to a Japanese grocer). I added some pink food coloring to make it more festive for Valentine’s day 🥀
Classic dumpling dipping sauce: combine 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, or anything you’d like.
If you don’t want to cook all of your dumplings right away, you can freeze them and eat them throughout the week. Just make sure you arrange them in a flat layer when you’re freezing them so that they don’t stick together.
Shrimp and Shiitake Rose dumplings
Ingredients (makes 12-18 dumplings)
- 16 oz shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 2 scallions
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
- 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black or white pepper
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 eggs
- 50-72 dumpling wrappers (1-1.5 packs)
- water
- 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
Takes , Makes enough for 4-5 people.
Instructions
- To prep the ingredients for the dumpling filling, start off by squeezing water out of the shiitake mushrooms. Removing the water from vegetables prevents the dumplings from becoming soggy and falling apart during the cooking process. Then, mince the mushrooms and garlic and chop the scallions into small pieces, setting aside a portion of the green stems for garnish later. Mince the shrimp until the texture resembles ground meat. Feel free to use a food processor to help you finely chop all of your ingredients in this step.
- Combine the minced shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, cornstarch, eggs, salt + pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions in a large bowl. (Optional: you can heat up a tablespoon of oil in a pan till smoking and drizzle it over the ingredients to bring out the flavor of the scallions.) Mix everything in a circular motion, going in one direction to keep the shrimp tender.
- Prepare a small bowl of water before you start (you’ll need dabs of water to seal the dumplings). Arrange 4 dumpling wrappers in a line, slightly overlapping, and use some water to stick them together on their sides. Spread a thin strip of filling in the middle of the wrappers, wet the top and bottom rounds of the wrappers, and fold the wrappers upward so they’re sealed on top. Tip: Squeeze the filling so it gathers at the bottom of the dumpling, ensuring that the top is completely sealed. This will make the filling less likely to seep out when you’re rolling the dumpling into shape, and make prettier rose petals.
- Carefully roll the dumpling from end to end, making a flower shape. Use a dab of water to close the dumpling off by sealing the edge with its side. Gently fan out the edges to create more realistic petals to the dumpling rose. Note: if you want smaller roses, use 3 wrappers instead of 4.
- To pan fry the dumplings, start by heating a drizzle of vegetable oil in a pan. Lay the dumplings down and fry for about 2-3 minutes until the bottoms start to brown. Turn off the heat and add water to the pan, covering about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dumpling. Put a lid over the pan and steam for 4-6 minutes (shrimp cooks pretty fast, but if you’re using meat, you may need to steam the dumplings for longer). Cook without lid for about 1-2 minutes or until all the water has evaporated to form a golden crust. Remove from pan and garnish with leftover scallions. Note: if you have a steamer, you can also steam the dumplings as well. I would not recommend boiling these since they have a pretty complicated shape and might fall apart in the water unlike standard dumplings.
- For a Spicy mayo dipping sauce: combine 1 part sriracha with 2 parts Japanese mayo (or regular mayonnaise if you can’t make your way to a Japanese grocer). I added some pink food coloring to make it more festive for Valentine’s day 🥀
- For a classic dumpling dipping sauce: combine 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, or anything you’d like.
Hope you try this recipe out this V-day season with someone special 💖 Or even better—make these with your besties for a Galentine’s night in.
♥ Cindy