Chive Dumplings

Chive has not always been my favorite leaves. When I was young, I sweated profusely every night. Somehow, through words of mouth, my family thought that chive "essence" would be the cure. My grandmother would steam/cook chives in some way that still remains mysterious to me till this day. Then, also by some mysterious means, she produced a small glass of chive juice. My job was to down it. You know, kids never like doing what they are told. I was no exception, especially when chives do have a fairly strong fragrance (mind you, Vietnamese chives make the American counterparts seem so mild). But I did drink cups of chive "juice" anyway. (I was a very well-behaved child ;) ) I'm not sure if that helped or if I grew out of that phase but I no longer woke up drenched in sweat.

Anyway, I later grew out of my hatred for chives. In fact, I learned to love them. I love them in this Vietnamese "soup" that consists of ground pork, chives, and tofu cubes. I love them stir fried with bean sprouts and curdled blood cubes. (Okay you can run screaming now!) And I especially love them in dumplings. The other day I had a craving for these dumplings and decided I'd keep my words of eating in. So I made them instead of taking the bus and train to Chinatown. I downed those few too quickly for any photos to be taken but I froze the rest so that there's a photo today.

INGREDIENTS:

For the dumplings:

Make about 12 dumplings

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup sticky/glutinous rice flour

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup water

1 Tsp soy sauce

2 cups green chives (more if you use American chives), sliced

2 tsp+ oil

For the dipping: 

2 Tsp vinegar

1 Tsp honey

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp dark sweet soy sauce

Sriracha chili sauce (optional)

METHOD:

To make the dumplings:

Add rice flour, sticky rice flour, and water to a pot over low to medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. If the mixture dry out or become too sticky too quickly, lower the heat. Add more water slowly if needed. Keep stirring until the mixture turns "gluey".

Remove the pot and add the tapioca flour. Mix until a dough consistency is achieve. Let it cool.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over high heat. Add the chives and soy sauce and immediately remove from heat. Overcooking will produce too much water.

Check to see if the dough is too sticky. Add more tapioca if needed. Take a portion of the dough and roll to get approximately an 1-in ball. Use your fingers to turn the ball into a flat disc. Put cooked chives in the middle, fold one side over to seal. You might one to fold the edge in a little to make a tight seal.

Steam the dumplings for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is cooked. You should be able to see the green chives inside. Now, you have the option of serving them steamed or searing them for a bit before serving.

To make the dipping:
Mix everything together.

Bon appetit!