Pork and Chives Dumplings (韭菜餃子)

Dumplings are so damn good. They just are. One of my favorite kinds is the pork and chives dumplings. I can devour on soup dumplings, fried dumplings, boiled dumplings any time of the day. Give me a whole mess of them, and I'll be a happy camper chowing them down quitely in a corner.

Growing up, dumplings are not something my mom would make often. I know Chinese in the North eats dumplings as a staple, and many children learn how to make dumplings from a young age (Im talking about real young, like 5-year-olds). So clearly I got tons of tricks to learn still when it comes to dumpling making. What's the difference between dumplings and wontons, you may ask? Well, the simple answer would be that dumplings are white in color, made with round wrappers, and can be made with any kinds of meat and vegetable you wish. Wontons (雲吞) on the other hand is often made with pork and shrimp, the wrapper could be white or yellow in color, and is thinner and square in shape.

There're so many different kind of dumplings, and generally speaking they're all called jiao zi (餃子) in Mandarin, or shui jiao (水餃) which means boiled dumplings. The pork and chives filling is very common when it comes to Chinese dumplings.

Dumplings that are boiled are usually served with broth but only the dumplings are expected to be eaten and not the broth. You can eat them plain but I think most people like to dip them in common sauces like soy sauce, red vinegar, black vinegar, chili oil or chili sauce. While boiled dumplings are soft and comforting, pan-fried dumplings can be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It's rare that I'd make anything less than twenty dumplings at once. I love freezing a whole mess of them as they're quick to thaw and cook, healthier and way cheaper than the store-bought frozen ones. I've also seen dumplings being filled with ingredients like chicken, shitake mushroom, shrimp, bok choy, or fish. Different local culture adapts the recipe differently. It might seem time-consuming the first couple times you make dumplings but it's fun, and you'll soon get better and better at it.

What do you say? Wanna make some dumplings this weekend?

Pork and Chives Dumplings (韭菜餃子)

Prep time: 5 mins  Cook time: 50 mins  Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 30-35

You'll need:

• About 30-35 dumpling wrappers
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 cup of finely sliced Chinese chives (韭菜), discard the root (white) part
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Shaoxing Chinese rice wine
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Approach:

1. Mix together ground pork with the already sliced chives, along with seasoning. Let it marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.
2. Damp a paper towel and cover the wrappers when they’re not in use so they don’t dry out. Set a small bowl of water in your work station.
3. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil. This is where dumplings would go once they’re wrapped.
4. Most dumpling wrappers have flour on one side and smooth on the other. With the flour side down, scoop about one tablespoon of filling onto the center of the wrapper. Dip your finger in some water, then run it through half of the outskirt of the wrapper. Fold the dumpling in half by pinching the top, then make 3-4 pleats on each side. A completed dumpling should sit easily by itself.

5. For boiling, heat a pot of water with some salt. Drop the dumplings in when water is almost boiling. Let it cook for about 4 minutes, or until dumplings have flowed to the top.

   For pan-frying, add oil to a hot pan, cook dumplings for about 2 minutes. Then add 1/4″ of water to the pan, cover, and steam for another 3 minutes (water may evaporate quickly so keep an eye on it and add more if needed).

6. Serve immediately with sauce of your choice.

Notes:

For freezing dumplings, line tinfoil on a cookie sheet, then lay dumplings flat on top. Wrap the entire cookie sheet with plastic wrap, and freeze until dumplings are very firm. Then transfer dumplings to a big ziplock bag.

Buffalo Chicken Dumplings

Well, here's something you don't see everyday – Buffalo Chicken Dumplings! Good to snack on, better to share. These dumplings can be cooked in soup or pan-fried. Make a whole bunch, and store some in the freezer using my tip on how to freeze dumplings at the end of the post.

Making dumplings is quite fun, and can be done as a group activity. There're 3 things that are very important here: 1) over-stuffing your dumplings would make it difficult to close and that could get messy; 2) use water to seal the edges; 3) you're not selling dumplings for a living so not every single one needs to be perfectly wrapped. Have fun! If it's your first time making dumplings, watch this how-to video by Julie Deily over at The Little Kitchen.

So in the process of writing this post, I found out that Buffalo Chicken Dumplings aren't as original as I thought (I totally had a "that was MY idea!" moment). I love the fact that dumplings are so easy to make, and you can be as creative as you want with the filling. Every time I make dumplings, I always freeze at least half of what I make, and they freeze very well.

The trick to freezing dumplings is to freeze them right after they are wrapped. Make some room in your freezer, and make sure you can fit a small baking sheet in there (anything flat and non-stick really). You want to line them up, and freeze them in batches as you're wrapping. DO NOT let them touch one another otherwise they'd stick together while freezing. You want a bunch of single dumplings and not a dumpling cluster. 20 minutes or so should be good for the initial freeze, then you can throw them in a big ziplock bag or container. If you do it this way, you won't need to use any flour at all.

Buffalo Chicken Dumplings

Serves: 60

You'll need:

• about 60 dumpling wrappers (white, round ones – Not thin wonton wrappers)
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 8 tbsp hot sauce (I used Frank’s Original)
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots

Approach:

1. Mix together ingredients for the filling.

2. Prepare a small bowl of water for sealing the dumpling edges, and a damped paper towel to cover the wrappers whenever you‘re not using them.

3. Using a spoon, scoop about 1 tbsp of filling onto the wrapper. Dip your finger in the water, and run it around the wrapper creating a “glue” for the edges. Lift one side of the wrapper and pinch it to the opposite side without closing the dumpling all the way. Then, make 2-3 pleats on each left and right side.

4. For pan-fried dumplings, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Place dumplings on its bottoms and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Turn dumplings on its “back” sides, add a little more oil and cook for another minute or two until golden brown again. Drop 3 tbsp of water in the pan, cover and let water evaporate. The steam would soften the outside of the dumplings just a bit making it tender but crispy at the same time.

Notes:

If you’re freezing dumplings, make sure your freezer has room for a baking sheet or something that’s flat and non-stick.

Freeze the wrapped dumplings in batches, and leave enough room in between each one so they’re not touching one another for the initial 20 minutes. When you feel like the dumplings are hard enough to the touch, place them all in a big ziplock bag or container.

To get the dumplings back to life, thaw them for about 20-25 minutes before cooking.