Foodbuzz 24×24: How to make a dumpling

Two years ago I was living in China. It was on a lark, really. I decided I needed a change in my life and wanted to learn a new culture, a new language, a new food. So I moved to Beijing for six months with this awesome boy I like. While I was there, traveling to far flung provinces and climbing Great Walls and studying Mandarin, I was forever on a quest to find authentic food and cooking experiences. The country did not disappoint. In no particular order, some top favorite culinary experiences included: exploring Beijing’s street food; eating Peking duck; learning to make kung pao chicken; eating kebabs on the streets of Kashgar; exploring Beijing’s ancient tea district.

My personal favorite, however, likely owing to my long-standing love affair with the food, was learning to make dumplings.

With the Chinese New Year coming up this week, I thought it would be a perfect time to celebrate the time we had in China with friends and dumpling-making.

For the evening, I prepped all the filling veggies ahead of time and then laid everything out so that guests could have their own dumpling-making station. I think the process worked great and, truth be told, dumpling-making is way more fun en-masse. I have tried to make 200 dumplings on my own and whilst the Chinese grandmothers make it look easy, I tell you it is no small feat. There is power in numbers and that holds very true for dumpling making.

Pork Dumplings

Serves 2 (or maybe 1, if you’re me)

minced pork, 1/4 pound
chinese cabbage, 1 1/2 cups, chopped
ginger, 1 tsp. finely minced
scallions, 1/5 tsp. chopped
salt
soy sauce, 1 tsp.
sesame oil, 1 tsp.
peanut oil, 1 tsp.
chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp.

1 cup flour
1/4 cup water (to start, add more as necessary)

1. Finely chop the cabbage and add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt. Let stand 15-30 minutes until cabbage is wilted and water has drained from cabbage. Squeeze excess water from cabbage and set aside — cabbage water will be used later.

2. While cabbage is sitting, make dough. Mix flour and water. Add water until dough begins to come together into a ball. Knead lightly for five minutes until dough forms into a smooth ball. Let dough rest for 10 minutes while finishing the filling.

3. Place minced pork in bowl. Add ginger, scallions, soy sauce, and wine. Slowly add in the cabbage water, mixing well after each addition. Mix with chopsticks or a spoon, stirring mixture continuously in one direction. The meat will slowly incorporate the water and come together. Note, you may not need all of the cabbage water. Mixture should not be too liquid. Add cabbage, peanut (or other cooking oil), and sesame oil. Continue mixing until well combined.

4. Finish preparing your dough for the dumplings by rolling your dough into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (A trick: to keep the log from flattening excessively, roll the log 90 degrees after each turn). When you have finished cutting the dough, flatten each dough ball into a disc with the heel of your hand. With a small rolling pin, roll out each disc into a wrapper 2-4 millimeters in thickness. You are now ready for filling! You can fill your wrappers anyway you like, but I have provided a little video below with some instructions on how to roll out, fill, and crimp your dumplings. See the photographs below for more details on rolling and cutting the dough, and of course feel free to comment with any questions.

5. To cook the dumplings you have several options.

- Steaming: For the dumplings below I steamed them using traditional Chinese steamers. To use these, line the bottoms with cabbage or other leaves (aluminum foil works, too!) to prevent your dumplings from sticking. Fill a wok or shallow pan with 1-inch of water and bring to a boil. Place steamer baskets in water and steam for 15-18 minutes or until done (note: be sure the water does not come through the steamer and reach the dumplings). Your water may run out; I keep a kettle of boiling water handy to refresh the pan when it gets low.
- Boiling: In the past I have boiled my dumplings. Place dumplings in boiling water. When dumplings float to top, add 2 cups of cold water. Let dumplings come to water once more and add an additional 2 cups of cold water. Repeat this once more, and your dumplings will be complete!
- Pan-frying: For pan fried dumplings, steam or boil as in the above steps. Steam for 10-12 minutes or boil, adding cold water twice. Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a pan and transfer boiled/steamed dumplings to the hot pan. Pan fry until golden brown, turning to brown each edge.

6. Enjoy your dumplings with soy sauce or, my personal favorite, a dipping sauce of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part aged Chinese vinegar, 1/2 part garlic, and 1/4 part ginger.

Note: You can also purchase dumpling-skin wrappers at specialty or Asian grocery stores, to save you the step of creating your own dumpling wrappers.

The Chefs! For the record, I had an awesome night. I am so grateful I have such a group of loving and dumpling-loving friends who are excited about spending the night learning new things and eating to our hearts’ content. Thanks for coming, friends. Wishing you all the happiness you deserve in the New Year.

P.S. Note the abundance of Panda Hat. No, we are not just really big Giants fans. Pandas are the pride and joy of China and panda hats are sold abound on the streets of Beijing. Clearly we purchased many on our travels.

P.P.S. A HUGE thank you to Foodbuzz, an online community of food bloggers that helped to support this evening of dumpling-feastery for their 24×24 Event!

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