Chinese New Year 2023 With Chef Manoj's Prawn Spinach Dumplings
Image Credit: Prawn Spinach Dumplings/The Piano Man

The interesting part of the annual Chinese New Year celebrations is that, as per the lunar calendar, the day is decided and then the entire year is marked or dedicated to a particular zodiac sign that is assigned a powerful animal. For 2023, it has been marked as the year of the rabbit. Similarly, those born in that year are associated with certain personality traits that are specific to their zodiac sign. What’s more? The food, of course.

Food is definitely an important part of the occasion. Food is frequently associated with both good and bad fortune in China. In order to attract prosperity and growth, dumplings are usually a part of the feast. This is because dumplings are believed to signify currency, and people believe that eating dumplings on this day can be a good sign for the year ahead.

To make your year fruitful and successful, we’ve got a delicious prawn and spinach dumpling recipe by Chef Manoj Pandey, a Partner Chef at The Piano Man. Filled with juicy prawns and earthy spinach leaves, this dumpling recipe is a must-try this Chinese New Year.

Ingredients: 

20 spinach leaves, large

For The Filling

•    600 g prawns, chopped

•    2 tablespoons Chinese wine or sherry

•    1/2 teaspoon salt

•    2 tablespoons sugar

•    1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder

•    4 tablespoons potato starch

•    30 g of green asparagus spears

•    1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

•    1 egg 

For The Black Bean Sauce

•    1 tablespoon black bean paste (store-bought)

•    1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

•    1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger

•    2 teaspoons of chopped fresh coriander leaves

•    1/2 teaspoon orange zest

•    1 teaspoon salt

•    2 teaspoons of sesame oil

Source: Prawn and Spinach Dumplings/The Piano Man

•    Blanch the spinach leaves for 30 seconds. Drain and shock them in an ice bath to stop further cooking. Drain the water and pat the spinach dry.

To make the filling

•    Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

•    Add 2 tablespoons of the filling to a spinach leaf and roll it into a cylinder (about 2 ½ inches long and 1 inch wide).

•    Place 5 dumplings on a plate and place the plate in a bamboo steamer over boiling water.

•    Steam for 5 minutes and remove the plate from the steamer.

•    Spoon a little black bean sauce on the dumplings and steam again for 2 minutes. Remove the dumplings from the steamer and repeat with the remaining dumplings.

To make the black bean sauce

•    Combine all the sauce ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl. Pour the oil into a pan over medium heat and sauté the sauce ingredients for 1 minute, or until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.

•    Serve the dumplings on an individual plate or in a dim sum basket with black bean sauce.