Chicken Dumplings in Green Curry

By Perry Washburn

My son Daniel rang me midday from college. "I'm coming home tonight to get winter clothes. Let's cook."

After much debate, and on a quest for something "new", he found this recipe for dumplings - perhaps better called meatballs - in The Complete Asian Cookbook. Luckily we have one great and several good Asian groceries in town. As I teach Thai classes, I keep more basic Asian ingredients on hand than most people, and know where to find the rest. Daniel marveled at my fav Asian grocery, and the Asian ladies pulling lively blue crabs out of a bushel basket, barrel-full-o-monkeys style. (Double Dragon on 2nd Ave. for Des Moines locals.) The lemon, lemon grass, curry and basil flavors in this dish were stellar.

Here's the recipe, with my additions or changes in parentheses.

1 lb chicken minced
3 green onions, diced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 stalk lemon grass, white part only, finely diced
1 tsp chicken stock powder (I used 1 tsp Penzey's chicken soup base)
1 1/2 cups cooked jasmine rice
1 egg plus one egg white (I used 2 whole eggs)
(1/2 cup bread crumbs)
2 Tbs oil
2 Tbs Thai green curry paste
3 cups coconut milk (or 4)
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
1/2 cup basil
1 Tbs lemon juice

Mix together the chicken mince, spring onion, cilantro, lemon grass, 2 Tbs fish sauce, the stock powder (I mixed in the Penzey's soup base with the fish sauce before adding), and some pepper. Add the rice and mix well with your hands. (I found my "dice" or "mince" was not fine enough, so I threw it all in the food processor. Much easier.)

Beat the egg and the white (or in my case both eggs) with a mixer until thick and creamy, then fold into the chicken mixture. (I had NEVER tried to beat whole eggs. Didn't know it would work. A revelation! You don't quite get to soft peaks, but close. Because I used the extra yolk, and Penzey's paste, these may have been slightly more soupy than normal. I wanted the binding power of the extra yolk. But they were too loose to roll, so I added bread crumbs to get to meatball consistency.) With floured hands (I used lots) roll tablespoon sized balls, and place on a tray. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. (I cheated, and we put them in the freezer for 15 minutes).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan (I used my 18-inch cast iron skillet for this, and needed all of it). Add the green curry paste, and stir over medium heat for 1 minute. (I added some of the thick cream from the coconut milk at the beginning, as this is the traditional way to start a curry. Make sure you DON'T shake the coconut milk, or you will mix it all up. It naturally separates; use the thick part first. Don't ever buy "light.") Gradually stir in the remainder of the coconut milk, and reduce to simmer. Add the lime leaves and the dumplings, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I used a stiff spatula to turn them. I found in my cast iron skillet, these actually browned; I had to get under them to turn them. They would have broken with a spoon. I turned them often.) (If the sauce gets too thick, add more coconut milk. As the cans are commonly 19 oz each, you will have extra.) When the dumplings are done, stir in the basil, remaining fish sauce and fresh lemon juice. Serve over rice.