On my recent work trip to Yiwu, China, there was one thing that we ate that stood out from most of the others. We may have arrived late at the food station in International Trade City – thinking we’d have nothing to choose from – but there was more than enough for a very decent lunch spread.
My hankering for dumplings resulted in eating some of the most delicious little things I’ve tried for a long time. We had no idea what the fillings were in the two varieties we bought, other than a vague ‘vegetables’ translation when asked.
Dunked into boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drained and tossed onto a hotplate, the initial bite into my first dumpling had me hooked. Silky and hot with a few burnished marks on the pastry, the filling involved two simple ingredients.
Pumpkin and ginger.
How could something so simple be so delicious? Silly question, really, but I am more accustomed to robust fillings like garlic chives, pork and cabbage. The natural, subtle sweetness of the pumpkin paired with fragrant ginger was so addictive that, I swear, I ate most of the large tub we received.
Taking this simple idea, I’ve decided to replicate those pumpkin and ginger dumplings and whip up a batch at home. Talk about an easy task.
To make life a little easier I used store-bought wonton wrappers, rather than make them. I mean honestly, would the average home cook make wonton wrappers from scratch? Nope. My lazy streak strikes again and I just don’t care.
That means all that’s involved is cooking up a bit of pumpkin and ginger and mixing a dipping sauce. Ok, maybe a little hand and finger action to shape these delicious little babies.
Servings |
dumplings
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Ingredients
Filling
Dipping sauce
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