Traditional Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
Dumpling is the ultimate comfort food in so many cultures and families. When I was traveling through the ancient Silk Road driving from Turkey to China, I had some form of dumplings in every country! They were called different names with different sizes, shapes, and fillings. But they were all dumplings and I enjoyed all of them. What I’m sharing here is my family’s recipe for a Traditional Chinese Dumpling, or 餃子. My Mama has 12 siblings so when they make dumplings, they don’t make tiny or delicate ones, they make large dumplings that can fill you up!
Five of these large dumplings are enough to fill me up as a complete meal with protein, vegetable, and carbohydrate.
A few extra tips on the recipe:
When making the dough, it’s important to use hot water because it helps dissolve the flour’s starch molecules to absorb more water so the dough is firmer and less sticky. Both are important for making the wrappers. Hot water also decreases the elasticity of the gluten network so the dough is less prone to snapping back.
There are many different ways to wrap a dumpling. You can also develop your own system to use different styles for different fillings. Whichever style you decide to use, I always make sure the fillings are completely enclosed so no matter how I decide to cook the dumplings (boiling, steaming, or pan-frying), the filling won’t escape. If your wrappers are thin or prone to breaking, then steaming and pan-frying are your best bet.
No matter how you wrap a dumpling, it’s always delicious.
This recipe is very versatile so you could substitute minced pork with any ground meat or even mock meat to make a plant-based version.
You can enjoy these dumplings in any dipping sauces you like. Here are a few that I love to mix and match depending on my taste that day: Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp, Chinese Black Mature Vinegar, Japanese Ponzu.
Create your own special dipping sauce by adding finely sliced ginger or chopped garlic too.
Here’s the illustrated recipe. Scroll down for a text version of this same recipe.
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
(Same recipe but in text)
Prep to Serve: 2.5 hours
Cleanup: some work
Makes 24 large dumplings
Freezes really well
Dumpling fillings:
Minced pork 1lb
Cabbage 4 cups (chopped into small pieces, dry before marinating)
Salt 1/2 Tbsp
Fresh ginger juice 2-3 Tbsp (from ~2 inches chunk)
Light soy sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp
Wine 1Tbsp
Sesame oil 1/2 tsp
White pepper 1 pinch
Optional:
Sugar 1/2 Tbsp
Chicken seasoning powder 1/2 tsp
Egg 2 Tbsp
Dumpling wrappers (makes 24-28, 4" diameter circles)
All purpose flour 2 cups
Salt 1 pinch
Hot water 2/3 cup
Steps:
Add flour and salt to a medium bowl, make a hole, pour boiling water and quickly mix with spatula or chopsticks to make into a dough. Cover with clean towel and rest for at least 20 min.
Wash cabbage. Cut into small (1/8") pieces. Put in a medium bowl. Mix with salt to marinate and sweat for 30 min.
Meanwhile, grate ginger to extract the juice. In a large bowl, combine pork, ginger juice, soy, wine, sugar, chicken powder, sesame oil, and white pepper.
Dough should be ready. Knead for a few minutes to make it smooth and not sticky. Make 2~1" diameter cylinders. Divide into 24 equal parts.
Cabbage should be ready. Squeeze extra liquid out and add to pork. Whisk egg and add 2 Tbsp to mixture. Mix well. Filling is done!
Take a piece of dough. Roll into a 4" diameter circle. Take ~1 Tbsp of filling to make one dumpling. Place it on a cookie sheet dusted with flour. Cook or freeze immediately.
Three ways to cook dumplings (fresh or frozen):
Pan-fry. Turn heat on medium-high. Once hot, add oil, add dumplings flat side down. Add enough water to cover ~1/3 of the filling. Once boiling, cover, turn heat to medium, and steam cook for 20 min. After 20 min, uncover the lid to let all the moisture evaporate to brown the bottom. TIP: Don't try to move the dumplings until the bottoms are browned and crispy.
Boil. Add water to a pot and bring to a full boil. Add enough water for all the dumplings to float freely. Add dumplings and boil for 20 min.
Steam. Bring water to a full boil in a wok or large pot with lid. If using a steaming basket, place dumplings on parchment paper. Or put dumplings on a plate and then steaming rack. Steam dumplings for 30 min.
It's okay:
To replace cabbage with other green and leafy vegetable, like bak choy, spinach, chinese chives, or chrysanthemum leaves.
To make smaller dumplings as you get better with wrapping
It's not okay:
To use dough without letting it rest first.
To marinate cabbage for much longer than 30 min because it'll make the cabbage too salty.
To defrost frozen dumplings before cooking. They will become soggy.
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