Hello everyone & happy Mash-Up Monday!
Hope things are swell as they say (who are they?) & uh.. yeah. Let's get started!
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| image uploaded from goodreads |
**Disclaimer: I received this cookbook via Netgalley by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review**
While I know how to cut up a chicken and understand the basics of soup and stock making and doing all the basic kitchen essential thing with chicken, a lot of people don't. And yeah, I'm not cool or anything (just paid a lot of money to learn how to do this in culinary school).
This is the main reason I love Chicken. It is THE essential chicken cookbook. For any beginner or non-beginner, Chicken provides step-by-step pictures for how to cut-up, truss and cook chicken.
What I also enjoyed is the variety of recipes provided. You have soups and sauces, stocks, appetizers containing chicken with cuisines varying internationally as well as entrees and salads.
Basic info. about this book:
Name: Chicken: A Fresh Take on Classic Recipes
Author(s): Marcus Bean
Review Source: Provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Publishing Company: Watkins Publishing Limited
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
Genre: Cookbooks, Food & Wine
Rating (out of 5): 4.5
Recommend? Yes!
Where it can be purchased: Book Depository | Amazon
&& here is the recipe I adapted from Chicken:
Chicken & Shrimp Dumplings with Soy Dipping
Sauce
Ingredient List for dumpling filling:
1 cup ground chicken
9 ounces (roughly 1 1/2 cups) raw peeled tiger shrimp, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt *Strongly recommend not to go over on the salt as we are also adding soy sauce which is high in sodium
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (can be omitted if you are averse to cilantro)
3/4 cups water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions plus 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
7 ounces wonton wrappers
For the Soy Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese rice vinegar
4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 clove of garlic, minced (optional)
Yield: Makes approximately 24-30 dumplings ; 4 servings
I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but it is SO worth it. I made the recipe initially for myself and ended up only making half and freezing the rest. When I defrosted the second half and made them for a get together I was having, everyone was wowed. This is a delicious recipe and might just be a staple of mine for future house gatherings.
You want to start off by mixing together all of the dumpling filling ingredients minus the chopped scallions for garnish and the wonton wrappers in a bowl. You want to make sure that all of the ingredients are well-incorporated.
You then want to cover this up and let it sit in your refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes. This is essential to maximize flavor in a 1-2 bite portion.
Once the 30 minutes have passed, you can take the filling out of the refrigerator and begin to line up your wonton wrappers and place approximately a teaspoon full of filling on to the center of each one.
I think I may have placed a bit more than that and was rewarded with approximately 24-30 dumplings.
To close the wrapper, simply bring up the ends on 2 opposite sides, and then repeat the same with the remaining corners of the wrapper. Honestly, you just want to make sure that the wonton wrapper is pressed up against the filling.
Essentially, this is a "homemade" product so a bit of rustic-ness in the unevenness of the dumpling size is to be accepted (and appreciated)!
Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers and you are ready to cook these bad boys.
The recipe recommends to steam the dumplings. To do this, you place a large pot of water on the stove and wait for it to come to a simmer with a steamer insert on the top. These then cook for 5-10 minutes until the filling is cooked through but still tender. If you are looking for a cooking temperature, you are looking for 165 degrees F.
For those of us without steamers:
I, unfortunately, do not have a steamer. Instead, I placed about 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the bottom of a medium saute pan under medium-high heat and waited for it to heat up.
As soon as it was hot enough (that means a sizzle when placing the wontons in), I placed the wontons in the pan and let them caramelize on the bottom which took approximately 1-2 minutes.
I then grabbed a 1/4 cup of water splashed it into the pan (making sure it did not fall inside any of the wontons but around them) and immediately covered the pan with a tight lid and decreased the heat to medium-low (more towards low).
5-8 minutes, you have seared and steamed wonton (however unconventional, it works).
Same with the steamed dumplings, you are looking for 165 degrees F.
Once cooked through, remove them off the heat, place on a pretty plate/platter and sprinkle with the remaining scallions you had thinly sliced.
For the Soy Dipping Sauce, simply place all of your ingredients into a bowl and whisk. :) Done!
So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed yet another Mash-up Monday post. I love making these and enjoy hearing about people loving the recipes and their interest at trying these at home.
Please let me know if you do! OR if you have any recipes for me to try, too :)
I know it has been a bit crazy lately with the lack of posts but I'm moving (if you didn't know!) and life is just busy at the moment. Looking forward to reading and catching up with reviews.
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Until next time-
❤❤❤
-Jannelle
*Excuse the poor quality of the photos in this post; my fancy camera is currently on hiatus.
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