Lisa Chune's Chinese Dumplings

Like most of the Jews in my family we harbor a secret desire to be Chinese. My Brighton Beach grandparents Nat and Sophie ate at the Chinese restaurant on 'the avenue' every night. Grandma drank clear tea at home in her depression glass mug, sipping it through a sugar cube.

When I got my first job illustrating on site for the Boston Globe I was hired by intern Lisa Chune from Queens NY. Her dad had a Chinese restaurant. Lisa and I also coincidentally had the same art teacher growing up! We became fast friends and when she stayed with us, she taught me how to make these.

Steamed Chinese Dumplings

These are so simple and fun to make. We chopped small bunch of scallions with dark greens included, about four chopped mushrooms, grated one large carrot, chopped a few cloves of fresh garlic, chopped two ribs of celery, added two tablespoons of sesame oil, a few splashes of soy sauce, salt, chili garlic sauce, and mixed it all well with clean hands. Then we taste tested for spice balance, then added 1 pound ground lean raw pork and mixed it with my hands (you could also use 1 pound of firm tofu crumbled). We microwaved a teaspoon of the raw filling for 25 seconds to cook our pork sample and adjust the seasonings. Then we folded a teaspoon of the raw stuffing into each dumpling skin and glued them shut with water. We steamed 6 to 8 dumplings at a time for 5-6 minutes. Enjoy with warm dipping sauce~ rooster sauce and soy sauce combined. A few rounds add up to a dozen per person and makes a nice meal. 

UPDATE: I use my 1950's electric frying pan and fry them in a tiny bit of oil. This is a pan I also use for pancakes because it never overheats, just gently cycles.