The only remedy was to make my own at home, with plenty of leftovers to store in the freezer. A few months ago I brought you a with pork and cabbage dumplings. Today you get a pea and shiitake version, which a honey dipping sauce to enhance the subtly sweet pea puree.

Final notes to the cook: always, always keep your wrappers and wrapped dumplings covered with a damp towel. Otherwise, the skins will dry out, become brittle, and crack. And leftovers can always be frozen, but just make sure to first freeze them on a plate in a single layer for the first hour or two to prevent stickage, before throwing the bunch in a Tupperware or Ziploc.

1. Soak the dried shiitakes in water for about 20 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water, then finely chop.
2. Bring the water to boil in a medium-sized pot. Add a pinch of salt and sugar (better to bring out the color.) Cook the fresh peas for about 1 minute (2 minutes for frozen), until they are a bit pumped and bright green in color.  Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Once the peas are sufficiently cooled, puree in batches with 1 tablespoon of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. In a wok, heat 2 teaspoons of peanut oil. Cook garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shiitakes, soy sauce, the remainder of the salt, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of water and stir-fry until mushrooms are cooked through, about 4 minutes.
4. Unwrap dumpling wrappers and keep them covered under a damp towel. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and keep some extra flour within hand’s reach.
5. If you’re just starting out with dumpling folding, follow this step-by-step guide that shows a basic method with 3 pleats per dumpling. If you’d like to work your way up to 5 pleats, start in the middle and do 3 pleats towards the middle from one direction and and 2 pleats toward the middle from the other. (See these photos for reference.)
6. Mix together the ingredients for the dipping sauce.
7. Bring another pot of water to boil. Add dumplings and simmer until they float to the top, about 3 minutes (this method of assuring doneness works if your dumplings have no air pockets; otherwise, they float to the top immediately.) Drain well, transfer to serving plates, and serve with dipping sauce.