Serves 8 as an appetizer and 4 as a main course

10 shiitake mushrooms

10 oz. baby spinach leaves

2 green onions

1 pound raw scallops

1/2 pound raw shrimp

1 tbsp chopped ginger

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp dry sherry

2 tsp dark sesame oil

1/2 tsp  Asian chile sauce

60 won ton skins, preferably round

cornstarch for dusting

3 tbsp cooking oil

Sauce:

2 tbsp minced fresh basil leaves

2 green onions, minced

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup coconut milk

4 tbsp dry sherry

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp Asian chile sauce

dash of agave

Advance Preparation:

Cut off the stems of the shiitake and cut into quarters. Roughly chop the green onions. Add the spinach to boiling water and leave in for one minute until wilted. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out excess water with your hands. Add the mushrooms, ginger, spinach and green onions to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Put in a bowl.

Peel and devein the shrimp. Add the shrimp and scallops to the food processor. Pulse until finely minced. Put in the bowl with spinach and mushrooms. Add oyster sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and chile sauce. Mix well together.

Fill the won ton skins. If round, you can use a dumpling press found at an Asian grocery store. Just wet the rim of the dumpling wrapper. Put the filling in the center and fold in half with the press. Or you can do the same thing by hand but after pinching together the edges, fold them over slightly to seal the dumplings. Lay out on baking sheets covered with wax paper and dusted with cornstarch. Put in a refrigerator uncovered until ready to cook.

Combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well.

To cook, use a large skillet with a tight fitting lid. Put a tbsp of oil in the bottom and heat over medium high heat. Once oil shimmers, add in as many dumplings as will fit in a single layer. Cook until lightly golden on the bottom. Add in enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan and come slightly up the sides of the dumplings. Remember you may have to cook in batches so just divide up the sauce proportionately. Cover immediately and turn the heat down to medium low. Let simmer about 4 minutes or until the filling is cooked. It will feel slightly firm to the touch. Remove the lid and turn the heat back up. Cook until sauce is reduced to very thick and coats all the dumplings. Serve immediately.

Wipe out the pan and repeat the process cooking in batches until all the dumpling are cooked.