Pork dumplings (饺子) are a must-have in the North during Chinese New Year. Between us, they look a little like ravioli… in case yours turns out like ours, a little misshapen. We tell ourselves that it’s the taste that counts.
You can cook in the Cosy / Normal mode, and just buy the dough already rolled out to nice round sheets; or you can go Pro and make and roll the dough yourself. In any case, it’s the filling that counts. For beginners, we really don’t recommend the Pro mode; for the pros, we recommend making the dough yourself, rolling it out, but also keeping a bag of wrappers as a backup.
Ingredients
- 400g ground pork (20–30% fat preferred)
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- half teaspoon of sugar
- half teaspoon of salt
- half teaspoon of white pepper
And for the Cosy / Normal mode wrapping:
- A bag of round dumpling wrappers 😏
- Small bowl of water (for sealing)
Method
We start with the filling. In a large bowl, mix the ground pork, spring onions, ginger, soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, and white pepper. Mix until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture becomes a little sticky.
This is the easy step. The harder step is to actually form the dumpling so that it looks a little like a Chinese dumpling, and not a ravioli. You want to place the wrapping in the palm of your hand and use your thumb to seal in the back / bottom of the dumpling. Once sealed, squeeze the dumpling in your hand so that it creases a little.
Once filled, put in a pan of hot water; once the dumplings rise, add a little cold water and wait for the dumplings to rise for the second time. Then fish out.
Serve
Serve hot and with chilli paste / sauce and vinegar for dipping.