photo by Darwin Bell
While I am no huge fan of Apple products, I do like my iPhone. It’s a mostly useful device with some entirely useless applications. Some time back I picked up an interesting app - Distant Shore. I liked the company's other app, Koi Pond. Distant Shore is a simple concept - you walk along a beach picking up shells. Along the way you might find bottles with messages in them. When you've collected 5 shells you get an empty bottle you can fill with any message you like. Other users reply to your messages and you to theirs. Simple idea. Distant Shore is the kind of game a four-year-old can enjoy. I know one and he loves picking up bottles and shells.
I send the same message every time; "what's the best street food where you are?" Not everyone replies, and not every reply makes sense. But in the replies come, from all over the world. Its was from Distant Shore that I learned about "garbage plates". Thanks - now I know how bad American food can get if you really try.
By far, the most enthusiastic responses, besides "hot dogs!", are about Xiao Long Bao. The incredibly small number of users out there collecting virtual shells simply love soup dumplings. I can't really blame them - they truly are amazing.
Thinking about soup dumplings got me thinking about an obvious fusion that would be wonderful - Gumbo Dumplings. I make gumbo on a regular basis, so I know what happens to leftovers. When chilled the gumbo becomes fairly gelatinous. A perfect fit for these fantastic little packages.
Unless you have a dinner party that you're working on, I would recommend only making enough gumbo aspic to make the number of dumplings you plan in one sitting. That said, these would be a huge hit at any dinner party, assuming you have the time and energy to make the gumbo.
Gumbo dumplings
2 cups gumbo
Frozen dumpling skins (get these at your local asian market)
Directions
- Strain the solids out of the gumbo and put the liquid in a glass bowl. Put in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer, and allow to gel over night.
- Dice the solids from the gumbo to a small/fine dice. Store in the refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to make the dumplings, put the skins out on a board. Run a wet finger around the edge, making sure the entire skin has water on the edge. Form the skin into a bowl (see picture above).
- Into each skin, drop a bit of the sausage/chicken and a bit of the gumbo liquid. Don’t overfill.
- Seal each dumpling with a little twist. Make sure each dumpling is sealed tight.
- Finish as you would Xiao Long Bao, but cook for just 8 minutes.