Ginger Chicken Flowers

It's not often that I make Asian inspired meals, mainly because I don't have the ingredients or I can't make it taste as good as the restaurants or my friends do. I saw a recipe in my new cook book that look pretty simple so I thought I would give it a shot. Worse case it didn't make a whole lot so I didn't feel bad if we had to toss it out. Out of the 12 it make, I only had 3 by the time my hubby polished off the rest. To say the least I have found a good recipe that's a keeper.

As usual I had a couple of changes, but it's super easy to substitute anything you want. I didn't have fresh ginger so I used dried and I swapped the lean ground chicken with lean ground turkey. The recipe says it makes 8 dumplings, but I ended up with 12, which is because I didn't fill them as much as they did or else I had smaller dumpling wrappers, who knows. I also steamed them the alternative method instead of with the cabbage and bamboo steamer.

Ginger Chicken Flowers
(Adapted from Practical Gourmet - Small Plates For Sharing)

6 ounces lean ground chicken
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
1 tablespoon finely grated carrot
1 tablespoon minced red pepper
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger root
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
8 round dumpling wrappers
water
3 suey choy (Chinese cabbage) leave
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon water

Combine first 9 ingredients.

Spoon chicken mixture onto centers of dumpling wrappers. Dampen edges with water.

Gather up edges around filling, leaving tops open. Tap dumplings gently on work surface to flatten bottoms slightly.

Line bottom of a large bamboo steamer with suey choy leaves. Arrange dumplings so they do not touch each other or the sides of the steamer. Place steamer on a rack set over simmering water in a wok or dutch oven. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes until filling is no longer pink and temperature reaches 175 degrees F.

Alternative method -
If you don't have a bamboo steamer, arrange dumplings in a parchment paper-lined 9x9 inch baking pan, making sure they do not touch the sides of the pan or each other. Place a wire rack in the bottom of a roasting pan, and pour in water until 1 inch deep. Bring to a boil on the stove top, then set the baking pan on the wire rack. Steam, covered, for about 15 minutes until the filling is no longer pink and temperature reaches 175 degrees F.