Two Jade Bowls

Chinese dumplings filled with my husband’s Macanese curry.

I’m finally posting the dumpling filling recipe that my husband created from the curry of his Macanese heritage. His background is Macanese (Portuguese from Macau/Hong Kong) and their cuisine is considered the first fusion cuisine, combining Portuguese dishes with Asian and African ingredients from all of the Portuguese colonial ports.

He grew up eating his mom’s Macanese curry which is very similar to Japanese curry. Macanese curry uses the same Japanese curry bricks, but the difference is the addition of coconut milk. My husband also adds a wider variety of vegetables beyond just potatoes and carrots which are the standard veg in Japanese curries. He also adds something crunchy like cashews or water chestnuts for texture. His curry is absolutely delicious. A few years ago, he started making a special finely chopped and drier version of the curry as a dumpling filling, and there was no turning back. It is stupid delicious.

Note that we prefer steaming these dumplings instead of frying them as potstickers. They have a touch of coconut milk, so they are a little rich, and steaming is a lighter way to cook them without added oil.

A note on the potatoes. Macanese curry usually has big cubes of potatoes as well as carrots. When we translate the curry into dumpling filling, we need to chop the filling ingredients small. One trick is using hash brown patties or tater tots. We generally buy the hash brown patties at Trader Joe’s. The hash browns add extra umami to the filling, and they break down small which is ideal for the dumpling filling texture. If you would rather use whole potatoes, boil one large potato, then chop it small and add it to the dumpling filling.

Making Dumplings with ReconciliAsian

We made these dumplings recently for the ReconciliAsian Chuseok fundraiser event. ReconciliAsian is a local peacebuilding nonprofit that I am on the board of. Their recent fundraiser for the Chuseok (Mid-Autumn) Festival included screen-printing, dumpling-making, and other fun activities.

At the event, the board members were asked to speak on why peacebuilding is important to us. I talked about how I lived in China 8.5 years, 8 of those serving with Mennonite Central Committee, and the last 6 of which teaching at the national Seminary in Nanjing. As part of the Mennonite peace tradition, when MCC works in China, it is with the deliberate intention of humanizing the face of the enemy. This is because during conflict, one of the first things that happens is dehumanizing people on the other side. Living in China surrounded by geopolitical tension, we were intentional about being a caring, kind, thoughtful face of the enemy in our communities, while simultaneously valuing the humanity of those around us. Our job was to teach, but also to build deep friendships. Many of the friendships developed over food, especially making dumplings with countless student dumpling parties. I believe it is a spiritual practice to intentionally value the humanity of those we are told by our governments to fear or hate. This spiritual mindset is one of the possible benefits of travel and living abroad.

It is a spiritual practice that I bring home to my life in California. When I make dumplings, I use the dried gourd flour scoop that my friend’s grandma made, and I arrange my dumplings on sorghum stalk boards that my friend’s aunt wove by hand. Memories of cooking together flood my mind. These tactile rituals remind me of beloved people on the other side of the world. This spirituality grounds me in relationships and strengthens my resolve to not be swept away by societal winds of fear and hate.

Macanese Curry Dumplings

Chinese dumplings filled with vegan Macanese curry.

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Ingredients

  

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• an equal amount of ginger, minced
• 1.5 large carrots, finely chopped
• 3 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 2 packages of Impossible or Beyond meat
• 4 ounces water chestnuts, chopped
• entire brick of Japanese curry paste
• 2 hash brown patties (we use Trader Joe's), or 1 large potato
• 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped or crushed with a mortar & pestle
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• dumpling wrappers or homemade dumpling dough

Instructions

 

• Heat the coconut oil in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant.
• Meanwhile, add the hash brown patties to an air fryer. Cook at least 15 minutes at 400F, flipping halfway through. Alternatively, if you are using a potato, peel and quarter it. Add it to a small saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until cooked through.
• Add the chopped carrot and celery. Sauté until soft.
• Add the impossible or beyond meat. Brown in the pan, then use a wooden spoon to break it up.
• When the hash browns are brown and crispy, break them up with a wooden spoon. Add them to the pan along with the water chestnuts. If you are boiling a potato, drain it once cooked, then chop it small and add it to the sauté pan.
• Chop the brick of Japanese curry paste into small pieces. Add it to the pan, along with the coconut milk.
• Add the sugar and peanuts. Taste for seasoning. The curry flavor may seem a little strong on its own, but it will mellow out when it is inside the dumpling wrapper, balanced out by the dough.
• Make the dumplings using dumpling wrappers or homemade dumpling dough.
• We prefer to make steamed dumplings with curry filling because frying them as potstickers makes them extra rich.

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