Pork Dumplings

Let me start by saying that making dumpling wrappers from scratch is a labor of love. If you prefer, save some time and buy pre-made wrappers: you should be able to find won-ton wrappers at your local Asian supermarket.

Mix the flour, boiling water, and salt in a bowl until you have a rough ball shape. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, for about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into two balls. Make a hole in the middle of each ball with your thumb. Stretch them into bagel shapes. Cover the dough with cling film and rest for 20 minutes.

Take one dough bagel and split in half. You should now have 2 ropes. Divide the ropes into eight even parts, so you’ll have a total of 16 evenly sized pieces.

Take one piece and press with thumb. With a rolling pin, gently roll the pin back and forth, flattening the edge of the dough while you rotate the dough with your other hand. Slowly move closer to the center until you have a round flat shaped piece the size of he palm of your hand. Repeat until you have flattened all of the dough pieces.

For the filling, chop the cabbage into about 1/8 inch thickness. Sprinkle cabbage with salt. Let sit for around 30 min to draw out moisture.

While cabbage softens, in a separate bowl combine the pork, baking soda, sugar, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, ginger, rice wine, and sesame oil.

Gently squeeze the cabbage to get rid of extra moisture. Then add to pork mixture. Using a spoon or my personal favorite tool, my hands, mix together filling vigorously. The excessive agitation will tighten the proteins which will make a tighter filling.

Now for the tricky part. Place a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your dominant hand. Apply an egg wash to the edge of half of the dumpling wrapper. Add around 1 T of the filling into the center of the wrapper.

Fold the bottom half of the wrapper up towards the finger of your hand. Carefully use your thumb to fold in the edge of the dumpling. Following from right to left, make small crimps in the dumping wrapper, gently pressing to the egg wash edge.

Note: if you prefer not to cook them right away, you can freeze the dumplings in a sealed container for up to 6 months.

Place a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once pan is hot, add 1 T. vegetable oil and 1 t. sesame oil to coat the surface of the pan. Carefully arrange dumplings in an even layer. Saute until bottoms of dumplings are crisp and golden. Then add 2 T. cold water to the hot skillet. Quickly place a tight fitting lid over the pan and reduce heat to low. Steam until cooked through, approximately 8-10 minutes.

Whisk all ingredients for the dipping sauce together until the sugar dissolves. Serve with the hot dumplings.