Vegetables may be more colorful and chocolate is arguably more cravable, but when it comes to the cuteness stakes, few foods have anything on the dumpling. Rotund, pillowy, sometimes squishy, sometimes crunchy—heck, even the word dumpling is cute. And judging from the popularity of these bite-sized treats, adorability clearly counts for something.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that dumplings just taste good. And, in the case of the filled variety, there’s that added element of surprise. Will it be pork? Mushrooms? Cheese? Butternut squash with an undercurrent of smoky ancho chile? Peanut butter and jelly? I’ve tasted all of these and many more, but surely there are an infinite number of fillings I’ve yet to try. (And I could pop dumplings every day for the rest of my life, and I’d still never get around to all of them.)

 

But I can make a dent in the dumpling universe. And on Sunday, I took a good step toward that goal by attending a dumpling party—the offbeat but utterly delicious brainchild of my new acquaintance Nicole.

 

Think of it as the next evolution of the cookie exchange. About fifteen food lovers gathered in Nicole’s living room, where we folded dumplings with fillings we had brought from home. After eating several rounds at Nicole’s place, each of us left holding a container packed with our own dumplings as well as those of other attendees.

 

I brought to the party my own improvisation of my mother’s gyoza (I kept forgetting to e-mail her for the real recipe) and, to be equitable, a dumpling that would reflect Brian’s Jamaican heritage. Hence, the “Jamaican beef patty dumpling” was born.

 

GYOZA

 

½ pound ground pork

½ pound ground shrimp (give it a good whir in the food processor)

3 finely sliced scallions

1 clove finely minced garlic

2 teaspoons grated or very finely minced ginger

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Pepper to taste

1 package round gyoza wrappers

 

Combine all ingredients except for the wrappers. To make a dumpling, place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Lightly moisten edge of half the wrapper with a little water, and fold other edge over to seal. If you want, pleat the sealed edge.

 

 

JAMAICAN BEEF PATTY DUMPLINGS

 

1 pound ground beef (not too lean—you want ‘em juicy!)

3 finely sliced scallions

1-2 scotch bonnet or habanero chiles, seeded, white pith removed, and finely chopped*

2 teaspoons curry powder

¼ teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 package round gyoza wrappers

 

Combine ingredients except for the wrappers. To make a dumpling, place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Lightly moisten edge of half the wrapper with a little water, and fold other edge over to seal. If you want, pleat the sealed edge.

 

*Be very careful with these off-the-charts-hot chiles. Use rubber gloves when handling, or do as I do: cover the hand that will have the most contact with the juices with a thin plastic produce bag. Alternatively, you could use scotch bonnet or habanero hot sauce as a substitute.