Naked Shrimp Dumplings in Dashi

We're making dumplings without wrappers, which is why I'm calling these naked. I thought the slightly provocative name would work well as an appetizer for your Valentine's Day menu--if you stay home and cook something from scratch, you increase your chances of getting lots of compliments. You can enjoy the dashi with so many things like eggs, fried tofu, or ramen noodles, just to name a few. Garnish with sliced green onions, thinly sliced red chiles, and toasted sesame seeds.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Calories: 249 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 6 cups cold water
• ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 8 ounces burrata cheese
• 6 (3 inch) pieces kombu (dried kelp)
• 4 cups lightly packed shaved bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
• ½ teaspoon finely grated ginger root

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place kombu into a pan and pour in cold water. Let soak for 30 minutes to an hour.

Step 2

Place the pan of kombu over medium-high heat and wait, stirring once, until water almost starts to simmer and you see bubbles just start to rise to the surface. Immediately turn off heat and remove kombu from the broth into a bowl. Allow broth to cool down to about 150 degrees F (66 degrees C).

Step 3

Stir bonito flakes into the hot kombu broth and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain into a container.

Step 4

Place shrimp, Burrata cheese, salt, paprika, cayenne, ginger, and sesame oil into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until a smooth paste forms, scraping the bowl with a spatula as needed. Transfer to a bowl, wrap in plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, to overnight.

Step 5

Transfer 2 cups of dashi back into the pan; add soy sauce and mirin. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Taste and adjust with more soy and/or mirin as needed.

Step 6

Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the chilled dumpling mixture into a football shape using two large spoons. Repeat with remaining dumpling mixture and carefully transfer 6 to 12 at a time into the simmering broth. Cook until dumplings turn over in the water, about 2 minutes per batch. Ladle about 1/2 cup dashi into warm serving bowls; remove dumplings with a strainer into the bowls (3 per serving).