I came home yesterday and found an oddly shaped package stuffed into my mailbox. The postage indicated that it came from Singapore, and on the back the sender revealed himself: Christopher Tan, an Asian food expert, author, and writer whom I luckily call a dear friend. Ha! We are in the Lunar New Year season and I upon tearing open the package, I found exactly what I suspected, a box of pineapple kuih tart, a dumpling/cookie that’s a must-have for Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore. The tarts are fashioned to look like small tangerines, a traditional good luck symbol. The whole clove stuck on top underscores the tangerine effect.
I first tasted the spiced pineapple jam filled treats in New York City at Saveur magazine headquarters, when I was visiting with Editor-in-Chief James Oseland. We were discussing the Asian Dumplings recipe collection and James said, “Here try these.” He opened up a large tin of kuih tart that Chris has sent him. They were heavenly and I unknowingly ate the whole clove decoration and received an extra spicy high. When I returned to California, I emailed Chris about them and he pointed me in the right direction for developing a recipe (see the Sweets chapter, page 195 for the spiced pineapple-filled dumplings recipe). That was in fall of 2007. The book was released in last August. Getting a box of the dumplings from Chris makes me feel like I’ve come full circle, though there is still more to explore in the world of Asian dumplings.
Tips for Mailing Dumplings
If you’re thinking of mailing dumplings, they should be relatively sturdy cooked ones. These little gems travel well, so long as you pack them tightly like Chris did, each one in a little paper cup. There was a layer of parchment between the layers. This year, Chris changed his dough recipe and made it flakier than mine, so the dumplings crumbled a tad during the arduous trip via air mail. They nevertheless tasted great. Every time I eat one, there’s a huge grin on my face.
Which dumplings mail well? If I were to mail dumplings, I’d go for the kuih tart or one of sticky rice dumplings wrapped in banana or lotus leaf. Individually wrap and then freeze the leaf-wrapped dumplings so that they stay fresh, then mail them in the shortest time possible. In the U.S. the all-you-can-stuff priority mail flat rate boxes ($4.95 or $10.70) are fabulous deals. Whatever dumpling you send, the recipient will feel like he/she is the luckiest person on Earth!