Steamed Dumplings
We used Sue Meng’s mother’s dough recipe to make steamed dumplings for Lunar New Year. The filling recipe is filched from the Internet. Our relatively few leftovers were delicious the next day, fried in vegetable oil and doused with chili crisp.
Steamed Dumplings
For the wrappers:
3 C. flour
1 C. warm water
Dash salt
Mix ingredients, knead for c. 10 minutes, and shape into a ball. Wrap in a wet tea towel or place in a bowl covered by plastic wrap. Let rest for an entire day, kneading the dough a few times throughout the day. When ready to make dumplings, the dough should be shiny and pliable.
Split dough into sections, rolling each section into a long “snake”. Split the snake into c. one inch pieces. (Sue’s mother does this by hand, but she says we can use a knife.) Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten into a circle with your hand. Use a roller (or, better, a beer bottle) to spread into a thin circle (c. 2 inches in diameter).
For the filling:
1 lb shrimp, peeled, de-veined and chopped
8 oz ground pork (we just threw a pork chop into the food processor)
1 C. shredded cabbage
2 scallions, thinly sliced (or more for garnish)
1 T grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp mirin
Salt and pepper, to taste.
Mix well.
To make the dumplings:
Put c. 1 T of filling in each dumpling wrapper, fold it in half, and pleat to seal.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add dumplings and boil for c. 5 minutes.