蛋 饺 - Egg Dumplings for Chinese New Year's Eve GF SCD

Chinese Dumplings

Happy Chinese New Year! Did you know that this year is the Year of the Monkey? The Chinese Zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao, is based on a twelve-year cycle and each year in that cycle is related to one of the following animal signs : the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
The preparation for the festivities begins seven days before the New Year's Eve, and the holiday celebrations last until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, 22 February in 2016. On the Eve and the first day, the New Year is celebrated by eating special foods and by lighting fireworks.

It's traditional to eat dumplings during New Year's Eve to bring good luck and happiness and since the oval shape of these dumplings is similar to that of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots, they are also believed to bring wealth. It's suggested that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year.

I was born in the Year of The Monkey and according to Chinese astrology, people in their zodiac year are believed to offend Tai Sui, the God of Age. It is believed to be an unlucky year. However there are ways to prevent this bad luck for example, by wearing jade accessories or by wearing red clothes, especially underwear which should be bought for you by your spouse, a member of your family or by a friend. Red is one of the luckiest colours in Chinese culture, and represents prosperity, loyalty, success, and happiness and red can drive away bad luck and evil spirits. I will therefore be wearing my jade brooch and getting hubby to buy me something nice and red.

The other way to ensure you can avoid bad luck is to face the right direction, the opposite direction to the position of Tai Sui. In 2016, Tai Sui is in the South West so by placing furniture to face North East, people born in the year of the Monkey can face away from Tai Sui and this is supposed to bring luck. Since my bed faces North East and my desk also faces North East, I should be OK, I think.

As you know, my son follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. His lovely girlfriend is Chinese and last night, to celebrate the Chinese New Year's Eve, she made Vegetarian dumplings suitable for the SCD and sent me some photos and her recipe to share with you.

Chinese Egg Dumplings GF SCD

6 eggs
250 g mushrooms
120 g cooked chestnuts (half a tin cooked whole chestnuts in water - not water chestnuts)

3 courgettes
3 spring onions
1 tsp dried rosemary

splash of cider vinegar (optional)
splash of whisky (optional)
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

• Prepare the filling.
• Finely chop the mushrooms, spring onions, cooked whole chestnuts and courgettes.
• Stir in the rosemary, vinegar, whisky and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
• Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and stir fry until soft cooking off the moisture, keep on one side while you prepare the dumplings.
• Whisk the eggs and season with sea salt and black pepper.
• Preferably using a very small single egg frying pan, heat a small amount of extra virgin olive oil.
• Pour a small amount of the mixture into the pan so the mini omelette is as thin as possible.
• Cook until the underneath is cooked but it is still slightly undercooked on top.
• Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of the omelette and fold the other side over to make a dumpling.
• Set on one side while the other dumplings are made.
• Repeat last 3 steps until all the egg mixture is finished, it should make about 15 mini omelettes.
• Steam the dumplings over boiling water for about 5 minutes and keep warm until all the dumplings are cooked.
• You may be left with some mixture, if so, freeze or store in the fridge.

Chinese Dumpling Chestnut Filling