When it comes to serving diners at House of Nanking or its sister restaurant, Fang, chef-owner Peter Fang loves to do the ordering for his loyal clientele.
When it comes to serving himself, though, he defers to a few family traditions.
Every Monday, his wife, Lily, makes a huge pot of soup - a tonic, really - that includes whole chickens, goji berries and an assortment of Chinese herbs. Over the next day or so, they'll enjoy the broth straight up, as a base for noodle soups or mixed into morning oatmeal.
"That soup literally feeds our entire family," says daughter Kathy Fang, who helps run Fang in SoMa. "My parents adopted an English bulldog and my mom spoils him. He eats all of the leftover meats that go into the soup. He knows on Monday, two or three hours beforehand, what's coming. He can smell it."
The Fangs have been a part of San Francisco's culinary scene since Peter Fang opened House of Nanking in Chinatown in 1988. His version of Shanghainese food soon commanded lines out the door, and 25 years later, continues to attract a curious mix of locals and tourists.
The family remains in the middle of the action. Lily oversees House of Nanking, while Peter and Kathy look after Fang, a modern spin-off that opened in 2009. They'll frequently regroup between lunch and dinner shifts at House of Nanking, which is where we're currently gathered for another Fang family tradition.
About once a month, Lily will make a filling for dumplings - on this day, it's pork and spinach - and take the filling home after work for an epic late-night wrapping session.
Or maybe not so epic: the Fangs are such quick wrappers that a hundred perfectly formed and plump dumplings appear in a matter of minutes.
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Dumplings are a personal favorite of Peter Fang, who says he can scarf down as many as 20 dumplings at a time, two or three days a week. And with House of Nanking just blocks from Chinatown's fresh produce markets, the seasonal combinations for fillings are endless.
Fang likes pairing red meat with lighter vegetables like pea shoots or chopped bok choy. For fish, he might fold in green beans for added texture. Chinese yellow chives are a treat, although best used for pan-fried dumplings rather than boiled ones.
As an added bonus, especially for busy families, dumplings can be wrapped ahead of time and frozen for later use. Kathy Fang says the freezer at her parents' home is almost always filled with dumplings. If her mother is out of town, her father will dip into the dumpling reserves, pan-frying them one night, perhaps adding them into a soup another night.
"My dad doesn't eat a lot of vegetables, so this is the best way to sneak them in," she says with a laugh.
Shanghai-Style Pork & Spinach Dumplings
Makes 40 to 60dumplings
This recipe is adapted from Kathy Fang, whose family runs House of Nanking and Fang restaurants in San Francisco. Fang prefers the thickness and more al dente texture of the dumpling skins instead of the thinner, square wonton skins. Generally, 8 to 12 dumplings are considered a full meal; 4 to 5 dumplings can be served as part of a multicourse meal. The filling and sauce can be made a day ahead. The dumplings are best made right before serving, but can be made ahead and frozen.
- Dipping sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoons chili paste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
- Dumplings
- 1 1/2 pounds conventional (not "baby") spinach
- 1 pound ground pork, 70%-80% lean
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 12- to 14-ounce package of round dumpling skins, about 60 skins (see Note)
For the sauce: Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl; set aside or refrigerate.
For the filling: Blanch the spinach in salted, boiling water for about 30 seconds.Drain, then rinse in cold water or plunge into an ice bath. Use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop the spinach finely then let drain in a colander for about 5 minutes more. You will have about 1 cup pressed and packed spinach. Turn the spinach into a medium bowl, then use your hands to loosen and "fluff" it up; set aside.
Place the pork in a large bowl and mix with the sesame seed oil, soy sauce, wine, ginger, sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add the spinach and mix until fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until ready to wrap.
To wrap: Have ready a small bowl of cool or room temperature water.
Place 2 teaspoons of filling the middle of a dumpling skin. Wet a finger and thoroughly dampen the half of the circle's edge. Fold the dumpling into a half moon, sealing the dry and the damp edges together. The dumplings are best wrapped and cooked the same day. However, they can be frozen for up to 2 months. To freeze, place freshly wrapped dumplings in a single layer on a plastic- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet - do not allow them to overlap or they will freeze together. Place in the freezer. When fully frozen, move the dumplings to a freezer-safe container or ziptop freezer bag.
To finish: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully place several dumplings in the pot but don't crowd them. Cook until they float, 4-6 minutes. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon or spider; drain. If cooking from frozen, allow 8-10 minutes.
Serve plain with the dipping sauce or in your favorite soup.
Note: Dumpling skins, such as the Wing Hing Pot Sticker Wraps brand, are thicker than wonton skins, which are square.
Per dumpling: 54 calories, 2 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat (1 g saturated), 6 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
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Janny Hu is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jhu@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janny_hu
|Updated
Janny Hu
Assistant Sports Editor
Janny Hu is The San Francisco Chronicle’s assistant sports editor, directing coverage of the Warriors/NBA and Major League Baseball. She was The Chronicle’s Warriors beat reporter from 2004-09 and also spent four years with the Food & Wine team. She has covered everything from the Olympics, Super Bowl and World Series to the latest Bay Area food trends. Her first book, The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food, a collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef Charles Phan, was published in 2014.
