Recipe: Seafood dumplings

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 8 (makes 32 dumplings)

1/2 pound peeled, cleaned medium Pacific shrimp

1/2 pound sea scallops

1/2 pound fresh Dungeness crab meat

1/4 cup chopped garlic or regular chives

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch freshly ground white pepper

1 egg white

About 32 round dumpling wrappers

Peanut oil if frying, or oil for greasing the steamer rack

1. Mince the shrimp and scallops almost into a paste. Place in a shallow bowl and add the crab, garlic or chives, ginger, sherry, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper and egg white. Mix well.

2. To stuff the dumplings, mound about 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each wrapper, and brush the outer edges lightly with water to moisten. Fold the wrapper in half, into a half-moon shape, then pinch it together at the center of the top edge. Pleat the edges of the wrapper to enclose the filling. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

3. To pan-fry the dumplings, heat a 10-inch skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and swirl the pan. When the oil is hot, lay 8 to 10 of the dumplings into the pan, leaving room between each, and cook until the bottoms just start to brown, about 2 minutes. Add one-third cup water and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan and cook until the dumplings are soft on top, crisp on the bottom and the filling is firm, 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

4. To steam the dumplings, use a steamer of your choice, and bring 1 to 2 inches of water to a simmer (make sure the water level does not reach the bottom of the steamer). Lightly grease the steamer rack, and place the dumplings on the rack about 1 inch apart from one another (the dumplings will need to be cooked in batches). Place the steamer over the simmering water and cover. Steam the dumplings until the filling is firm and the wrapper is slightly translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the steamer from the water, and gently remove the dumplings to a warm place until all of the dumplings are cooked. Serve warm with a dipping sauce.

Each serving: 185 calories; 20 grams protein; 22 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 2 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 77 mg. cholesterol; 445 mg. sodium.