Every family has their own dumpling recipe - whether the ingredients are slightly different or the ratios or if your family buys pre-made dumpling wrappers, this is just a guide to what my family does. Play around with it (although I know mine is always going to be the best)
(First published on spoon.com)
Dumpling Wrapper Dough
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 0 Minutes
Rest Time: Rec’d 30 Minutes at least
Total Time: 5+ Minutes (depending on rest)
Servings: About 50-75 Dumpling Wrapper (depending on how big you make them)
Ingredients
3 cup flour
1-1 1/4 cup water
Measure out flour and water. Pour the water into the flour and slowly work it all together until it turns into a ball of dough. If the dough feels too sticky, add more flour and if it isn’t sticking together, try kneading it more to a ball but if it still doesn’t come together, add more water!
Ma Family Dumplings
Prep Time: 60 Minutes
Cook Time: 10-20 Minutes
Total Time: 70-80 Minutes
Servings: About 50-75 Dumplings (Depending on how big you make them)
Ingredients
1-1 1/2 pound ground pork
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1-1 1/2 pound jiu cai (Chinese chives)
1 egg
~5 frozen pre-cooked shrimp (or more, go crazy if you want)
1 1/2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
Dumpling skins
Steps:
Defrost your shrimp. Set aside.
Put the ground pork into a large bowl and pour the water in. Mix it well.
Add the oil and mix it in.
Add in the Chinese five-spice, and then the soy sauce and sesame oil. Make sure to mix it well so it all incorporates.
Scramble the egg and add it to the ground pork mixture. As before, mix it well.
Cut the jiu cai (Chinese chives) into pieces about 1/2 inch to 1 inch long. Add these to the pork mixture as well, making sure to mix it evenly.
Cut the shrimp up into about 1/4 inch pieces and mix it into the filling.
Prepare the dough for filling. This is where it gets tricky, so bear with me. If you have premade dough, then skip to step 13.
Cut into fourths to make the dough easier to work with.
Roll out the dough so that it turns sort of into a skinny snake-like piece.
Flour the cutting board (or counter depending where you’re working). Cut or rip the dough into about 1-inch long pieces and flatten them into semi-circular sort of disks.
Take that disk and a rolling pin, and roll it into a flat circle. Ideally, it should be smaller then the size of your palm, probably a little less than 3 inches in diameter.
Take that rolled out piece of dough, called the dumpling skin, and put it in the palm of your hand. Using a spoon, scoop up a ball of filling and place it in the center of the dumpling.
If you’re new to dumpling filling, start with less so you can get practice and get better and better!
Take one side of the dumpling and pull it towards the other. Pinch it closed.
Pinch the rest of the dumpling shut. Don’t worry about how it looks, as long as it’s sealed tight!
I always start pulling from the middle of the dumpling and pinching in the middle before moving outside to the sides.
Place the finished dumpling on a plate or a sheet that is lined with waxed paper.
Make sure the dumplings don’t touch or they might get stuck together!
Boil a large pot of water (about 3/4 of the way full) on the stove. Do not salt it - we’re not making pasta!
Drop your dumplings in, making sure not to overcrowd. Bring to a boil again and take the lid off. The dumplings are done when they start to float on their own.
There’s a lot of debate to this - some say lid on, boil once, add cold water, boil again, add another bit of cold water, then boil again before they’re done. Our family does float, but if you’re worried, just boil them a little longer - if you’ve pinched them closed well, it will be fine regardless!