Makes
About 70 dumplings
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
1 pound bok choy
1 pound ground pork
3 tablespoons of green onions, finely sliced (about 3 stalks)
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce*
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 pound round dumpling wrappers**
*can be substituted with any soy sauce alternatives
**make sure you buy dumpling, jiaozi or gyoza wrappers, and not wonton wrappers
Assembly Instructions
Wash the bok choy and blanch it in salted boiling water.
Rinse with cold water then squeeze the liquid from the bok choy. Cut finely and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and gently mix together with chopsticks or your hands.
Before assembling the dumplings, clear off a large, dry surface. Place a small dish of water and dumping wrappers near the filling.
Place about a tablespoon of filling into the centre of the wrapper.
Dip your finger into the water and dampen the edges of the top half of the wrapper.
Fold the dumping in half and give the top edge a gentle pinch. Make small pleats on one side then the other. If you have trouble sealing the dumplings close, dab a little water along the edges.
You can cook them immediately or freeze them in a single layer on a tray lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, they can be stored in an airtight freezer container for up to one month. I find labelling the flavour and made-date of the dumplings on the container very useful.
Cooking Instructions
Boiled dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to a boil then gently place dumplings into the water, one at a time. Once water boils, lower the heat to a simmer for about 6 minutes for fresh dumplings or 8 minutes for frozen dumplings. They should all be floating.
Panfried dumplings: Same instructions as boiled dumplings but take them out 1 minute or 2 earlier. Whilst dumplings are boiling, heat a nonstick pan with a bit of oil. Once dumplings are ready, drain them thoroughly before placing them into the pan to avoid oil splatter. Cook them at medium heat until they are golden brown on one side.
Dipping sauce
I personally like a combination of soy sauce and chilli oil, but vinegar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil are also commonly used.
Variations
This basic recipe can be adjusted to your dietary requirements. Experiment with other meats (chicken, lamb, shrimp), vegetables (cabbage, napa, watercress, mushroom, corn, carrot) and even herbs (cilantro, chives).
For vegetarian dumplings, the meat can be replaced with finely diced firm tofu, fungus, vermicelli noodles, scrambled eggs and even kimchi! Just make sure you remove as much moisture from each ingredient as possible before combining it together.
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