Aug 22

Aug 22 Pork Dumplings

Recipe for the Stuffing:

1lb Ground Pork
1 quarter of a Cabbage, shreadded
1 bunch of scallions
1-inch long thumb of Ginger, minced fine
4 cloves of Garlic, minced fine
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Fish Sauce
Sugar
Baking Soda
Corn Starch
Salt

In a Bowl, Mix all those ingredients together with your hands. Really squish them up fine. I don't really ever measure. It's all by taste for me. Just don't go overboard with the Fish Sauce, or you're regret it. A few drops is enough.

For the Dough:

300 grams of Flour
Salt to taste
220 milliliters of Boiling Water

Knead those ingredients together for 10 minutes (but let the dough cool first, so you don't burn yourself with the boiling water). Portion into 2 halves. Turn those halves into Rings. Divide each ring into 2 Logs. Then Divide all 4 Logs into 36 equal pieces. Everybody got that?

I like to roll the pieces of dough in flour before rounding them out in my hands, then rolling them out on a floured surface. I give each piece a little roll, then I flip it over and give it a quarter turn. I roll it out and repeat until I have a nice, flat, wrapper.

To Steam:

Wrap each dumpling as shown, and place them in the bottom of a pan (I use Non-Stick) that has been brushed with Oil. Let them fry until the bottoms are nice and brown. Then add about 1/2 cup of water and immediately cover. Let them steam on Medium-High heat until the water is completely evaporated. Once the water has evaporated, remove them from the heat, but keep the lid on for a few extra minutes to let them steam a bit more.

Be sure to remove them from the heat the moment the water evaporates, though. Otherwise the flour in the water will dry to the bottom of the dumpling. It's not really a bad thing, but if you're serving them to guests you want to make sure they look nice.

I like to dip mine in a sauce made of equal parts Soy sauce, Rice Vinegar, and Chili Sauce. And if you don't like to Steam/Fry them like I did here, you can also Boil them, Steam them, Deep Fry them, or whatever!

You may have noticed I placed many of them on a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap. You may have also noticed I put that sheet pan in the freezer. After they're frozen, you can put these in a plastic bag and just pull them out of the freezer as you need them. You'll never buy frozen dumplings again.