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Xin Nian Kuai Le! A Chinese dumpling recipe


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Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window, Recipes

Remember way back at the beginning of the pandemic when we were all jockeying for yeast and discussing sourdough starters? It seems like a distant memory. Lately, I feel I’m thinking more about which local restaurant I want to support tonight.

I can still find my way to the stove, though, and I love to cook when I have time. I realized this weekend that my sons—who are 11 and 13—didn’t recall that I had ever made dumplings, which are an important part of any Chinese New Year celebration. So, I dusted off a recipe and tweaked it to match what I had in the house.

Many dumpling recipes call for letting the meat cook inside the dumplings while they are boiling, but I find it easier—if less authentic—just to cook it ahead of time. For me, the hardest part is kneading the dough for 15 minutes. But 15 minutes when you can’t do anything else and not even touch your phone can feel like a respite.

You can, of course, buy dumpling wrappers at the store. When I am willing to invest a little extra time, though, I like the consistency of homemade wrappers better, and I like that I can roll them as thick or as thin as I want them to be.

Making homemade dumplings with your own dough might sound intimidating. But, if you can think back to last March, maybe so did cutting your children’s hair, navigating remote schooling, binge-watching whole Netflix shows in a matter of a few days, and adding pandemic pets to the family.

Be strong, confident, and certain that there are few things as glorious as a plate full of steaming dumplings you just made yourself. And if you start and decide it’s not as much fun as it seemed, remember dumplings (and Chinese take-out) are always only a phone call away.

Pork and Scallion Dumplings

Wrappers

2 cups flour
½ cup water

Filling

The filling

1 pound of ground pork
4-5 scallions, sliced, white separated from the green
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Directions

Sauté the white parts of the scallions in olive oil, salt, and pepper for a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is fragrant. Add the ground pork, salt and pepper, and sauté until cooked. Try to stir so the pork crumbles since you’ll want small pieces inside the dumplings. Add the other ingredients, including the green parts of the scallions, and feel free to use a little extra to taste. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Set a large pot of water on to boil.

The dough will be smooth and firm.

Mix the flour and water in a bowl. You can try to stir it with a spoon, but you’ll be kneading it with your hands soon enough, so I usually just plunge right in. You might need to add a few extra tablespoons of water to get it to come together in a uniform dough.

Knead the dough on the counter for about 15 minutes. It will be a smooth but firm ball of dough.

After you’re finished kneading, slice the ball in half and form each half into a snake that’s about 1 1/2 -2 inches in diameter.

Two snakes of dough

Put the two snakes of dough under a wet towel to keep them moist while you’re working.

Slice about a 1 1/2-inch piece off the snake of dough and roll it with a rolling pin into a circle. I make the circles as big as I can, within reason, maybe 4-5 inches if the dough will cooperate.

They do not need to be perfectly circular. Just do your best and trust that each dumpling will be uniquely shaped and tasty.

You don’t need to put much inside.

Take the dumpling wrapper and put a small amount of the pork filling in the center. That’s probably too much, so take a little out. You actually need very little inside to make a perfect dumpling. Less is more for dumpling filling, and you want lots of room to work with the wrapper edges.

You can just pinch the wrapper closed, and squeeze the pieces together at the top, and that will be perfectly fine. There are many ways to fold dumplings—this site gives four.

Especially if this is your first time making dumplings, I would suggest not worrying about how it looks, and just doing your best to close the wrapper, whether that involves pressing or folding or pleating. I mean, you only need one that is Instagram-worthy. The rest just need to taste good. 😉

These are ready to eat!

Roll and fill and fold all the dumplings, one at a time.

By the time you have a whole plate full of dumplings ready to cook, your water will be boiling, and your children will likely be prowling the kitchen like the king of the beasts in China—the tiger.

Drop your dumplings into the water gently. I use a Dutch oven, and the whole batch fits in at the same time. I let the water come to a boil, boil the dumplings for about 3-4 minutes, and pull them out with a strainer.

They’re best served immediately, though I have saved them overnight and enjoyed them the next day, microwaved in water and then drained. I like mine with a little soy sauce, but you might prefer yours plain. Enjoy!

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