So far I’ve had a really good day today :D Decided to try out a new recipe in our slow cooker for a cream cheese corn dish, and I’m currently waiting for it to cook. I’m excited to try it!
I also had some squash today, I love love love squash, it’s one of my favorite vegetables!
Finally, I planted my first batch of seeds in my new indoor germination setup! I planted some sunflowers, forget-me-nots, garlic chives, white bishop’s lace, and swallowtail fennel, I’m hoping I set it up right. Pictures of the tray are below, one with the blue color light I’m using to signify they just were planted, and one with a more natural color so you can see them better :D
This recipe is a variation of Garlic Chive Boxes, savory Chinese hand pies from Shandong Province with garlic chives, baby shrimp and eggs. Most recipes will have glass noodles of some sort in it -- my family only uses mung bean noodles -- and you’ll sometimes see versions with ground pork. I like shrimp so I stuffed it with shrimp instead of noodles or ground meat.
Before you tackle the recipe, the most important step you need to take before you do so is to rehydrate some dried shrimp. You’ll find dried shrimp in Asian grocery stories and they have a specific kind of flavor that makes this dish taste like a traditional garlic chive box. To rehydrate dried shrimp, I use equal parts warm water to dried shrimp and I let it soak for about 30 minutes. Once it’s done soaking, I’ll drain it through a strainer before chopping.
For 15 servings (inspired by):
8 tbsp. vegetable oil (divided)
5 large eggs
1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/2 c. chopped garlic chives
3/4 c. chopped cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 c. rehydrated dried shrimp, chopped
½ tsp. ground white pepper
15 sheets egg roll wrappers
Lukewarm water, as needed
Heat a large sauté pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Meanwhile while the pan is heating, whisk together the eggs, Shaoxing wine and salt. Sauté the egg mixture until the eggs are set and cooked. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
In that scrambled egg mixing bowl, stir in chopped garlic chives, chopped shrimp, chopped rehydrated dried shrimp, and white pepper to make the filling. Set the filling aside and prepare a small bowl of lukewarm water.
Spoon about three tablespoons of the filling into the center of an egg roll wrapper. Dab each corner of the sheet with water. Fold the sides of the sheet so each side meets in the middle. Dab each corner of the sheet again. Fold the opposite side halfway across the sheet. Dab the corners again with water and fold the opposite side of the previous step and letting it overlap halfway. Note: I fold in those edges like a trapezoid so it looks nice (see last pic in the gallery below) but this is a bonus step!
Repeat for the remaining sheets.
Heat the remaining vegetable oil in a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, gently fry each box -- 4-5 pieces at a time -- on each side until golden brown.
Transfer fried boxes into a paper towel-lined baking pan to let it cool. Serve warm.
I will sometimes dip the piece into some kind of hot sauce or a mixture of soy sauce, green onions, and red pepper flakes.
