Amazing appetizer: gingered crab phyllo dumplings

Canned water chestnuts usually turn up in stir-fries and salads. Here, they lend fantastic crunch to phyllo-wrapped pastries. You can prepare and refrigerate these up to eight hours before serving; just add a few minutes to the cooking time.

Preparation time 30 minutes

Cooking time 15 minutes

Makes 18

• 1 can (200 g/7 oz) white crabmeat
• 1 can (110 g/4 oz) water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
• 360 g (1 1/2 c) frozen corn, thawed
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 15 g (1 tbsp) finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 fresh red chili pepper, seeded, deveined and finely chopped (wear gloves when handling)
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) Chinese cooking wine (mirin) or dry sherry
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) canola oil
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) toasted sesame oil
• 6 sheets phyllo pastry (50 cm x 30 cm/20 x 12 in)
• 15 g (1 tbsp) sesame seeds
• Bottled chili sauce, preferably Thai-style
• Scallions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Combine the crabmeat, water chestnuts, corn, chopped scallions, ginger, chili pepper and wine in a large bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Mix the canola and sesame oils in a cup.
3. Stack and roll up the sheets of phyllo pastry loosely, starting from a short side. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll crosswise into three equal pieces. Unravel a roll, remove one of the strips and set the rest aside, covered with plastic wrap.
4. Lay the strip of phyllo flat on the work surface, with a short end nearest to you, and brush with a little of the oil mixture. Place a heaping teaspoon of the crab mixture near the bottom, towards the right-hand corner of the short end, and fold the pastry diagonally over it. Continue folding diagonally, over and over, until you reach the end of the strip, making a neat triangular parcel. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down.
5. Repeat with remaining strips of phyllo, uncovering them only when needed, until all of the crab mixture is used.
6. Lightly brush the tops of the dumplings with any remaining oil mixture and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake until crisp and golden, 12 to 13 minutes.
7. Transfer the dumplings to a wire rack and cool slightly. Meanwhile, shred the tops of the scallions to form "brushes." Serve the dumplings warm, on a tray along with the scallion brushes and a little dish of chili sauce for dipping.

For shrimp phyllo dumplings, use cooked, peeled, deveined and chopped shrimp in place of the crabmeat.

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