UPSIDE-DOWN MINI FILLO SHELL DUMPLINGS

Courtesy of Eric D. Aber, Chef/Owner, Home Grown Café, Newark, DE

Ingredients

40 ounces Ground pork
1 ounce Fresh ginger, grated
1 ounce Chives, minced
1 ounce Cilantro, minced
.5 ounce Chili paste (sambal oolek)
1 ounce Soy sauce
45 Athens Mini Fillo Shells
2 ounces Oil
1 ounce Sriracha
6 ounces Mayonnaise
<.5 ounce Black sesame seeds
16 ounces Prepared seaweed salad (optional)

Mix the ground pork with the ginger, chives, cilantro, chili paste and soy sauce. Tightly pack phyllo shells just over level with ground pork mixture. Over medium high heat sear meat side down in a little oil to brown the underside of the meat filling. Finish in 350°F oven, keeping phyllo shells upside down. Cook until phyllo is golden brown and the filing inside is fully cooked, about 6-10 minutes. Mix the sriracha with the mayonnaise.

Serve the dumplings inverted (phyllo side up) with a small amount of the sriracha aioli piped on the top of each “dumpling”. Sprinkle on a few black sesame seeds.

TIPS
If desired, garnish with an ounce of seaweed salad in the center of the plate. As a passed hors d’ oeuvre, dumplings may be served resting in a pool of sauce as the phyllo shell will not get soggy!

Any number of variations can be done: seafood mousse, any ground meat, mushroom duxelle, quail eggs, crab cakes etc. These have a great texture because the outer phyllo shell gets crispy and brown, the inner phyllo gets steamed by the meat, and the bottom of the meat gets a nice caramelized crust. They can also be decorated for children and filled with a surprise. The idea for this came about by thinking how to flip the standard stuffed shell idea on its head, so I literally did!