I grew up in Southern China, where watercress was a familiar vegetable in my youth. My mom often used them when making soup with herbs. According to Chinese folk remedies, the soup helps cool one in the heat and detoxify. Watercress soup was a staple in many Cantonese households when the weather was hot and humid. When we first immigrated to Humboldt about 40 years ago, we had a hard time adjusting to many things, especially food. We missed all the fresh Chinese produce from our garden and our farmers markets.

Some years later, we discovered there was plenty of wild watercress growing around here. You couldn't imagine how excited we were, especially my parents. Watercress connected them with home. I remember the first time we encountered the lush green and endless watercress, we jumped with joy. After gathering bags of the greens, we made watercress with pork bone soup, stir-fried with garlic and blanched in water and drizzled with oyster sauce. It was as delicious as we remembered and brought back old memories. For years, my parents enjoyed picking them and sharing them with new Chinese friends and their families. Since my parents moved, it's become my turn to forage for them and share with others.

I love being in the kitchen and exploring new dishes made with what's in season. After reading online about the benefits of watercress, l decided to make some dumplings as my friend suggested. After the first bite, we were hooked. I found that around April and September are the best times to harvest them, when they are tender and healthy. Sometimes you can find some during November in the Willow Creek area. I hope you find time to get out and forage, and have fun making this nutritious treasure of a dumpling recipe.

Chinese Dumplings with Wild Watercress

Makes about 36 wrappers; you also can use store-bought. l've found the easiest dumpling form for beginners is making it a crescent shape, pinching or folding like a hand pie with a fluted edge, if feeling fancy. The homemade wrappers are stretchy and easy to work with, so you can make any forms you wish. You can always freeze uncooked dumplings, spaced apart in a single layer on a sheet pan with parchment paper.

For the filling:

1/3 pound grounded pork or chicken

1/3 pound shrimp meat, peeled, deveined and chopped

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon oyster sauce 1 tablespoon cooking wine (optional)

2 stalks of green onion, finely chopped

1 cup prepared watercress, about ½ pound raw

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

For the dumpling wrappers:

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 large egg, beaten ¾ to 1 cup warm water A pinch of salt

To prepare watercress:

Select the tender top parts of the watercress and clean well. Boil a pot of water with ½ teaspoon of baking soda, add watercress and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and rinse, then immediately put in a bowl of ice water. After a few minutes, remove the watercress and squeeze out any extra water. Chop finely.

With a gloved hand, mix the pork and shrimp in a bowl until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and mix evenly. Keep the filling covered and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to use.

While the filling chills, make the wrappers. Mix the flour, egg, water and salt, and knead until the dough does not stick to the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and rest the dough for 30 minutes to ensure elasticity. Knead it once more until the dough is soft and smooth. Divide dough in half, rolling each portion into a small log. Cut each log into 18 pieces.

Roll each piece into a ball and, with a rolling pin, roll it outwards to a 3.5-inch circle. (You can also roll the entire dough out by a rolling pin or a pasta machine as thin as possible, then use a biscuit cutter for perfect circles.) Fill each wrapper with a tablespoon of filling in the center and pinch closed.

Once the dumplings are fomed, you can pan fry or boil them. To fry: Heat a non-stick pan, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and arrange dumplings in one layer. Reduce heat to medium and fry until just lightly brown on the bottom before adding ½ to ¾ cup of water and immediately covering with a lid. Cook over high heat until the water evaporates and the dumpling bottoms are golden and crispy. To boil: Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop in 8-10 dumplings at a time. Boil until the dumplings float to the top, about 4 minutes. Use a strainer and remove them to a plate before adding the next batch. Fried or boiled, garnish with chopped scallion and serve with garlic chili sauce. Or serve with a sauce of 1 teaspoon rice vinegar with 2 teaspoons soy sauce and ½ teaspoon minced ginger.

You can find Home Cooking with Wendy Chan (she/her) classes benefitting local charities on Facebook.