2.177

1 (Fri) July 2011

Cook & Sell Dumplings

3.0

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W and DJ

According to the cookbook Dim Sum, these dumplings are called “cook & sell dumplings” because, at the street-side food carts where they originated, the dumplings are cooked and sold (I suppose the idea is that they’re easy to cook, easy to sell).

Etymological obviousness notwithstanding, the dumplings were surprisingly good in their simplicity.  The addition of oyster sauce to the pork and shrimp filling, which now seems like a no-brainer, provided a distinct Chinese flavor.  That Chinese quality was somewhat offset by the Korean wonton wrappers, which left the impression of mandu, but the ease of use and availability was worth it.  The pinching technique not only gave them a dim sum-esque appearance but also made construction a snap.  Dipped in the soy-mustard-sambal dipping sauce served at American dim sum joints, the dumplings tasted pretty close to the real thing.

The recipe (as shown above) needs a few adjustments, however.  First, even though the dumplings were fine when dipped in a separately prepared sauce, they were a bit bland as is; thus, more salt and/or oyster sauce.  Second, the shrimp flavor was virtually undetectable; thus, an increased proportion of shrimp, perhaps to match the amount of pork in a 1:1 ratio.  Finally, whereas the recipe calls for just 12 wonton wrappers, I used large skins (about 10 cm in diameter) and managed to make well over 20 fully stuffed dumplings (each with about 2 teaspoons of filling); thus, more wrappers or less filling.

(See also FOODS.)

(See also PLACES.)