Prawn, fennel and coriander Gow Gee – steamed dumplings

I created these little treats because I was searching for a light, healthy but hot appetiser that would complement an Indian dinner without filling guests up too much.

Steaming these dumplings is easy and quick and you can do this just before or as guests arrive which if you want to use these as canapés which works well.

The ready made “gow  gee” pastry is easy to find in Asian food store refrigerator section and very simple to work with. You will also need a steaming basket or steamer.

I used fennel, ginger, cummin, fresh coriander and ginger to add subtle Indian flavours to the prawn filling. Most steamed dumplings recipes don’t require you to cook the filling beforehand but I decided to so I could roast the fennel seeds and use cooked onion. I didn’t use any chilli in these as I planned to serve with chilli oil on the side.

Ingredients

8 large, green or uncooked prawns – shelled, deveined and chopped into medium dice
1/2 onion very finely diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tspn fresh ginger crushed to a paste
1 tspn fennel seeds
1/4 tspn cummin powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
Water and pastry brush
20 gow gee pastry wrappers
chilli oil or sauce to serve with dumplings

Method

Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat

Add fennel seeds and fry until fragrant but take care not to burn

Add onion and fry until transparent, then add ginger and cumin powder and sauté for half a minute

Add prawns and a pinch of salt and sauté for just a minute or two until they just turn pink.

Remove the prawns, add coriander, mix through and set aside in a bowl to cool completely.

Take one gow gee wrapper at a time and place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle, brush edges of pastry with a little bit of water, fold over pastry pleating and pressing together the edges to seal completely. Repeat until all the filling has been used. Makes approximately fifteen to twenty dumplings.

Lightly oil steamer basket and place dumplings in it spaced without touching each other. Place steamer over boiling water, cover and steam for ten to fifteen minutesIngredients until wrappers are translucent and tender.

Serve with chilli oil or sauce to the side.