Dumplings are a must for Chinese New Year. Representing prosperity and wealthy, these little purses filled with all sorts of ingredients ranging from various meats to vegetables look like the gold and silver ingots of old.
What I find fascinating is that many cultures have their own variation of dumplings ranging from perogies to momos to shish barak; some savory, some sweet.
They are not difficult to make and with dumpling wrappers being widely available, you don’t even have to make your own wrappers. Making them at home also gives you the ability to add whatever you want to them.
To freeze, make sure to lay them out in a single layer on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag. If you put them all into a freezer bag before freezing them, they will freeze in a giant clump. Cook them in the same way from frozen. They don’t need to be thawed.
Makes approximately 80 dumplings
Ingredients
1 pound (approximately 9 large leaves) napa cabbage, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound lean ground pork
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 packages dumpling wrappers
Bowl of water
For the Marinade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons chicken bouillion
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
For Serving
black vinegar
chili oil
Instructions
- Finely chop napa cabbage. Put it in a colander. Add the salt and combine. Let the napa drain in the sink while you prepare the pork mixture.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. Mix well. Add pork and stir gently in one direction.
- Drain and gently squeeze liquid out of the napa cabbage, one handful at a time. Add the cabbage to the pork mixture. Add green onions, ginger and sesame oil. Continue to stir in one direction until the mixture is well combined and sticky.
- Fill each dumpling wrapper with 2 teaspoons meat mixture. Dampen the edge of the wrapper with water and fold in half, sealing the edges by pinching down along the edge. You could also pleat the edges to make them look more traditional. Place dumplings on a plate until there are enough to cook. Freeze remaining dumplings as instructed above.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil on high. Drop the dumplings in. Once the water reboils, turn the heat down to medium high and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup cold water. Once the water boils again they are ready. Drain the dumplings and serve with Chinese black vinegar (i.e. ChinKiang vinegar) with or without chili oil for dipping.
Pork and Napa Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 pound (approximately 9 large leaves) napa cabbage chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 3 stalks green onions finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 packages dumpling wrappers
- bowl water
For the Marinade
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillion
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
For Serving
Instructions
- Finely chop napa cabbage. Put it in a colander. Add the salt and combine. Let the napa drain in the sink while you prepare the pork mixture.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. Mix well. Add pork and stir gently in one direction.
- Drain and gently squeeze liquid out of the napa cabbage, one handful at a time. Add the cabbage to the pork mixture. Add green onions, ginger and sesame oil. Continue to stir in one direction until the mixture is well combined and sticky.
- Fill each dumpling wrapper with 2 teaspoons meat mixture. Dampen the edge of the wrapper with water and fold in half, sealing the edges by pinching down along the edge. You could also pleat the edges to make them look more traditional. Place dumplings on a plate until there are enough to cook. Freeze remaining dumplings as instructed above.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil on high. Drop the dumplings in. Once the water reboils, turn the heat down to medium high and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup cold water. Once the water boils again they are ready. Drain the dumplings and serve with Chinese black vinegar (i.e. ChinKiang vinegar) with or without chili oil for dipping.