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Xiuzhen
Xiong's Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)
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Makes about 5 dozen
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FILLING:
3 stalks Chinese cabbage,
Þnely chopped
2 scallions, Þnely
chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 pound lean ground pork
1/4 pound shrimp, Þnely
chopped
1/8 pound mushrooms,
Þnely chopped
1 10-ounce package
prepared dumpling wrappers
SAUCE:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
optional seasonings:
hot chili oil, grated
ginger, scallions
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Combine all Þlling
ingredients in a large bowl. Place 1teaspoon Þlling on each wrapper.
Fold the wrappers into half circles. Moisten the inside edges
with water and press them together to seal. In a large pot, bring
2 quarts of water to a boil. Drop in 12 dumplings and cover. When
the water resumes boiling, add 1 cup cold water. Repeat this step
twice.
When the water boils
for the third time, the dumplings will be done. Combine soy sauce
and vinegar to make sauce, adding seasonings like hot chili oil,
ginger, and scallions if desired. Serve the sauce on the side.
Repeat the cooking method until all the dumplings are cooked.
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Elaine
Light's Spicy Groundhog Cookies
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Makes
3 to 4 dozen small cookies, or 12 to 15 large ones.
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On
my Þrst magical trip to Punxsey, I walked around town after breakfast
and looked at the
ice sculptures outside the Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Academy of Culinary Arts.
The students were handing out these little cookies shaped like
groundhogs, and they were excellent! Subsequent trips, however,
have failed to track any of these down. There are plenty
of groundhog-shape cookies, but they are of the supermarket quality—thick,
pale, and overly sweet. Elaine Light developed this recipe after
a dozen attempts. These cookies are distinctive and well worth
the effort.
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2
cups sifted all-purpose
flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
1 egg, slightly beaten |
Sift together the
flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside. Cream
butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Blend in molasses
and egg yolk. Stir in flour mixture and mix well. Form into a
ball. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill for at least 1
hour.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper
or spraying them with cooking spray or greasing them. Roll out
a small amount at a time on plastic wrap or a pastry cloth to
a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out the cookies with a lightly floured
cookie cutter, groundhog-shape if possible. Place the cookies
on prepared baking sheets. Brush with the lightly beaten egg.
Decorate with currants for an eye, buttons, etc. Bake for 8 to
10 minutes in preheated oven. Cool slightly before removing from
the baking sheet.
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Tips:
Elaine's advice for success: Be sure to use a dark molasses for
the dough. Chill the dough overnight before rolling out. Roll
the dough out over plastic wrap, or on a pastry cloth.
Don't forget to brush the cookies with egg wash. The Þnished product
has a wrinkled, furry appearance when you do this. If you forget,
the cookies stay smooth and do not look as interesting. Experiment
by leaving one or two unbrushed to see the difference. Groundhog
cookie cutters can be purchased from the Easter Seal Society in
Punxsutawney. Cook's Note For a dessert in the spirit of the celebration,
buy vanilla ice cream in a round quart container. Cut the container
along the side, slice off a round disk of ice cream, and put it
on a serving plate to suggest the frozen landscape at Gobbler's
Knob. Place a cookie on the ice cream and drizzle chocolate sauce
behind it to suggest a shadow.
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