This chicken guo-tie recipe was developed during a San Francisco autumn, when apples were in season. I love making dumplings based on the seasonal ingredients of wherever I happen to be in the moment. When I lived in San Francisco, a food lover’s dream full of markets and co-ops filled with vibrant produce from local farms just across the bridge, I loved experimenting with anything I could find. Every market aisle was a playground for locating nontraditional flavor combinations. Back at home, I made dumplings using my grandma’s techniques. I love anything apple paired with meat, a combination used in some of my favorite foods, like Korean bulgogi and grilled chicken apple sausages. In this dumpling, sweet apple and savory chicken merge, and pickled fennel is the lightly acidic bridge that brings the two divergent flavor profiles together. I usually pan-fry these dumplings as a nod to all the roasted sausages I loved during college, but they are just as delicious steamed or boiled.
This recipe was excerpted from 'First Generation' by Frankie Gaw. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.
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