Making homemade dumplings at Saltbox Farm, from the rolling of the dough, to the chopping of fresh ingredients for the filling, to steaming hand pressed dumplings in the Chinese bamboo steamer, was a culinary adventure to old world China! Dumplings weren’t easy to make, at least for me they weren’t! To fold the skin properly with fan-like indentations-is almost an art in itself. As you go through the process you can’t help but think about generations of Chinese families spending all day Sundays making their own dumpling recipes. The takeaway from this lesson? In your filling use fresh water chestnuts early and often, DELICIOUS! Overall, take your time when you make homemade dumplings and use fresh ingredients to get the best results.
Dumplings with Napa Cabbage, Fresh Ginger, Ground Pork, Scallions
Water dumplings w Napa Cabbage, Fresh Ginger, Scallion, Ground Pork, Delish!
Sui Mai Dumplings w/ ground pork, shitakes, fresh water chestnuts, scallions
- Basic Dumpling Dough:
- 2 Cups unbleached AP flour
- 3⁄4 cup just boiled water
- Water Dumpling Filling:
- 2 cups finely chopped napa cabbage
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1⁄4 cup chives
- ⅔ pounds ground pork
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 1⁄4 cup chicken stock
- 11⁄2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 11⁄2 tablespoon sesame oil
- Basic Dumpling Dough:
- In a food processor add flour, with the machine running stream in hot water.
- Dough should be firm enough to hold its shape. Knead the dough with the heel of
- your hand for 30 seconds or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a
- zip-top bag and let rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- Water Dumpling Filling:
- Toss cabbage with ½ t of salt and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain cabbage in a mesh strainer and flush with water, squeeze out excess moisture. In a bowl mix together cabbage, ginger, chives and pork. Season pork mixture with remaining salt, white pepper, chicken stock, soy, rice wine and canola oil. Blend all ingredients into a cohesive mixture. To develop the flavors, cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Steam until tender and cooked through and Enjoy.
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