Make Ahead

Chinese dumplings

by:
April  1, 2011
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Serves 4-5
Author Notes

I first made these dumplings with two of my students (Becky and Faith) for no particular occasion....and they were love at first bite. I have since frequently made them with my son. The key to making these is to get the dough thin enough. But, you get a feel for it pretty quickly -- this dough uses no egg, but we have also made a version only with eggs as the dough. We made this recipe as a special treat for the holidays and loved the results. We also have a vegetarian version filled with chopped greens and mushrooms. The variations are endless. - Sagegreen
Sagegreen

Test Kitchen Notes

The homemade dough for Sagegreen's dumplings is such fun to make. Don't worry if it looks a bit ragged upon first mixing -- after resting and a little kneading, it's smooth and pliant and rolls out like a dream. The tangy, gingery soy dipping sauce brings life to the fresh, mostly veggie dumplings. Sagegreen offers several cooking methods -- my favorite texture resulted from pan-frying, then covering and steaming with a splash of water, potsticker-style. —Kristen Miglore

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • The dumpling
  • 2 cups flour (apf is best, but white whole wheat can work, too)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 cup cold water, divided
  • 6 ounces ground beef
  • 6 ounces ground pork
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup finely minced napa cabbage
  • 3 ounces scallions bulbs, finely chopped
  • 2 ounces chopped chives
  • 1 ounce fresh grated ginger, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • grapeseed, rapeseed, peanut or canola oil suggested for frying
  • Dipping sauce
  • 6 ounces soy sauce
  • 2 ounces rice vinegar
  • 1 ounce finely grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green scallions
Directions
  1. The dumpling
  2. In a large bowl add the flour and salt together. I find all purpose flour is easiest and tastiest (but I have just used 1 2/3 white whole wheat flour with 1/3 cup spelt flour for a healthier version; see the photo of 3 on a plate). Make dent in the middle and pour in 1/4 cup of the water. Mix in. Add more water a spoonful at a time until you have a firm smooth dough; do not let this get sticky by adding too much water. Some days you might need a little more water, other days less. Knead this and create a ball shape. Cover with a kitchen towel and let this rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Mix all the remaining ingredients together for the filling using clean hands.
  4. After the dough has rested, divide the ball into 3 pieces; roll each of these out as thinly as possible on a lightly floured surface. Thin is key. Cut or stamp out 3 three inch diameter circles from the rolled dough. Add a tablespoon of filling into each circle. Fold in half, then fold and pleat the edges, sealing with your fingers using just a little water to seal the edges; create the pleated or fluted pattern with your fingers.
  5. Boiling method option: In a large pot, boil water. One batch at a time, add about a third of the dumplings to the boiling water; cook for about 7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Continue until all the dumplings have been cooked. You can eat them this way or proceed to pan fry them. Another alternative is to steam them for about 10 minutes instead of boiling them. Or, you can also skip this step and just fry them, making sure the meat cooks inside.
  6. Fry method: Heat some oil (with a high smoke point) in a large skillet or wok, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan until sizzling. Add the dumplings (boiled, steamed, or raw) and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels if needed.
  1. Dipping sauce
  2. Mix the ingredients together and serve as a dipping sauce with the hot dumplings. Some folks might like to add a tad of salt and sugar to season this sauce, but I am happy without these additions. I favor plenty of fresh greens instead.
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12 Reviews

Bevi April 2, 2011
Nice! This is a great make-with-a-buddy dish!
 
Sagegreen April 3, 2011
Thank, Bevi. Yes this is fun to do with company!
 
fiveandspice April 2, 2011
Yum! These look tasty. I love the flavors in traditional Chinese dumplings - and they're so much fun to make with other people!
 
Sagegreen April 3, 2011
Thanks. You are so right fas. I will have to invite some folks over to make a batch later this week now that I am back home!
 
kmartinelli April 2, 2011
Mmm these look great. Love the combo of beef and pork.
 
Sagegreen April 3, 2011
Thanks, km. Although I also enjoy making some all veggie, this core filling I like the best.
 
wssmom April 2, 2011
These look amazingly tasty! Now that I am home I will be making them shortly!
 
Sagegreen April 3, 2011
Thanks wsm. I will be making some again this week, too.
 
testkitchenette April 1, 2011
I love these and look forward to seeing your other versions.
 
Sagegreen April 3, 2011
Thanks, tk. I want to try these with some other flours later this week. Stay tuned!
 
boulangere April 1, 2011
These look wonderful - they take me back to San Francisco's Chinatown where they were incredibly cheap and you could buy a half dozen to munch while walking down the street. Thank you!
 
Sagegreen April 3, 2011
You are welcome, boulangere. I just had some great ones in LA. Will make some this week to get my recipe for the dumplings from scratch down in writing.