recipe: vegetable dumplings

I admit, I have a little bit of an obsession with steamed vegetable dumplings. They're one of my go-to meals, and whenever I get home late or have a bad day, Chad orders them for me from our favorite take-out place. And a few years ago, when I went to China, I pretty much ate them straight for two weeks, and um, no complaints there from me.

But I've had trouble attempting them at home -- I usually prefer dumpling shells made of real dough, but when I saw wonton wrappers at our grocery store, I figured this could be a fun, easy alternative. And I've never managed to get the filling absolutely right, but this combination of super easy frozen veggies, sesame oil, garlic, shallot and soy sauce is definitely delicious. You could saute these too and they'd be terrific -- my recipe, below, calls for steaming them on some parchment paper (a little trick, so they don't stick to the steamer). Delicious!

Steamed Veggie Dumplings

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

2 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

24 wonton wrappers

DIRECTIONS

Microwave the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with 1/4 cup of water until thawed and heated through, about five minutes. Drain and reserve.

In the meantime, saute the garlic and shallots in olive oil until cooked and fragrant. Add to the vegetables and toss with 2 tbsp sesame oil and 2 tbsp soy sauce. Wet the wonton wrappers with a little water, then fill them with one heaping teaspoon of filling per dumpling, and fold the wonton wrapper into a triangle. Repeat until you have 24 dumplings.

Steam the dumplings in batches (use parchment paper if you're using a metal steamer). Serve with additional 2 tbsp of soy sauce.