black dumplings (squid ink dumplings)

one of the most memorable dishes i've had in italy is spaghetti al nero di sepia (spaghetti in squid ink sauce). i think the squid ink adds the pleasant saltiness from the ocean and personally find the black color in food very appetizing (perhaps b/c i associate the color with ja-jarng-myeon, korean-chinese black bean noodle?) one day, i was digging thru my freezer to make some dumplings and found the leftover squid ink i had bought for my pasta and risotto. its expiration date was nearing, and i thought why not add it to my dumplings? so i made my dumplings with it, got the seal of approval from my family and have been making them for years. i call these "black dumplings."

make sure to trim off the base.

use water as glue!

there are many ways to shape dumplings. the subsequent photos show the two ways i learned from my mom and grandma. 
first brush a little bit of water along the edge.

option 1.
fold the wrapper in half forming a half moon.

option 1.
gently bring each end to the center.

option 1.
fold and glue with water.

option 2.
fold the wrapper in half forming a half moon.
brush a little bit of water along the edge.

option 2.
pleat

option 2.
press

option 2.
pleat

option 2.
press and repeat this 4-5 times.

i lay my dumplings on a tray and freeze them for about 30-60 min. before transferring them to a ziploc bag. it prevents dumplings from sticking to each other.  

it takes about 10 min. to steam these dumplings.

black dumplings (squid ink dumplings)

ingredients:
(25) medium shrimps (41-50/lb), cleaned, deveined and shelled
(1) medium large squid, clean and gutted
(1) cups chopped chives
(1) bundle of enoki mushrooms, chopped
(2) tsp. minced garlic
(1) tsp. minced ginger
(1) Tbsp. squid ink
(1) Tbsp. soy sauce
(2) tsp. sugar
(1/2) tsp. ground black pepper
(1) Tbsp. cooking wine
(1) Tbsp. sesame oil
(2) packs of dumpling wrapper (approx. 50 wrappers in 3-1/2" diameter)
water to seal dumplings

direction:
1. wash and chop (1) cup chives and (1) bundle of enoki mushrooms (approx. 1/4" pieces).
2. remove the shells, devein and clean (25) medium shrimps. cut the shrimps into small pieces and pulse them in a food processor for about 20 sec to form a chunky paste.
3. remove the guts, spine and beak and clean (1) medium large squid. cut the squid into small pieces and pulse them in a food processor for about 20 sec to form a chunky paste.
4. in a large bowl, add the chopped chives, enoki mushrooms, shrimps, squid, (2) tsp. minced garlic, (1) tsp. minced ginger, (1) Tbsp. squid ink, (1) Tbsp. soy sauce, (2) tsp. sugar, (1/2) tsp. ground black pepper, (1) Tbsp. cooking wine and (1) Tbsp. sesame and combine well. this is my black dumpling filling.
5. place about 2 tsp. of dumpling filling in the center of wrapper. brush a little bit of water along the edge of the wrapper to seal and make dumplings (see pictures above).
6. dumplings can be steamed, fried, boiled or added in stock to make soup and can be stored in freezer for later use.

yield: about 50 dumplings