Chinese dumplings

After virtually no posts for a year, here I am doing a third in three days! I taught a cooking class for kids this morning and when I wrote out the recipe, I realized it might be nice to post it.... so here is my family's Chinese dumplings!

Chinese Dumplings

Dough:
500 g white flour
water
In a mixer with a dough hook, place almost all the flour (reserve a little for rolling) and, with the machine running, add water until you have a pliable but fairly stiff dough. Knead with the machine for about 5-8 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes before use- during this time, the dough will become softer.

Or place the flour in a bowl (again, reserve some flour for rolling) and incorporate enough water into the flour by hand to become a pliable but stiff dough. Knead by hand for 10 minutes and then let rest for 20 minutes.

Filling:
Mix 1 kg pure ground pork (careful not to pick up the pre-spiced type that is in many supermarkets over here) with
6 finely sliced scallions
6 minced rehydrated shitaake mushrooms
3 cloves minced garlic
a 2 inch nub peeled, minced ginger
1/4cup plain oil
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup water
enough salt to make the mix start to smell strong and good.

Mix together until soft- it will be a softer and smoother mix than for meatballs, for example.

NOTE: this mix can be changed to suit your tastes: Try adding in corriander, grated carrot, cabbage or changing the proportions of the listed ingredients. If you have a garden and grow fennel, the fronds, finely chopped can substitute for the mushrooms and scallions and uses an otherwise wasted product! Chinese cabbage is often used, very finely shredded, and a friend in the USA recommends mixing a little peanut butter into the meat and cabbage- his grandfather's restaurant did this and was famous for their dumplings. When I was mostly vegetarian (I only ate seafood), my mother-in-law did a great mix of mashed raw shrimp, scallions, finely chopped bean thread noodles, sesame oil and salt with a little water.

To make the dumplings:
Take a lump of dough and roll it into a rope about 5 cm/1 inch in diameter. Snap off smaller than walnut size lumps and toss them in flour. Take each one and roll into a ball, then flatten with your palm. With a very small roller or a clean small jar, roll the edge only- roll to the center and pull back out, then turn to do the same to each part of the edge of the dough. This leaves the center slightly thicker than the edges. Place a teaspoon of filling on the center of the dough, fold the edges to meet in the center and pinch to form a seam. Seal in crescents or simply along the edges to make pockets, but be sure they are firmly sealed or the filling will come out during cooking.

Boiling:
Bring a pot of water to the boil and then add the dumplings. They are finished when they are floating and puffy- usually around 4 minutes after the water has come back to the boil. You can add a little rice vinegar to the pot for an authentic taste.

Frying:
Heat a good coating of oil in a frying pan and line up all the dumpling in rows along the bottom. After a minute, add a 1/4 cup or so of water and a splash of vinegar (optional) and cover. When all the water has evaporated and the pot begins to splutter again, lift the cover and turn the dumplings onto a plate- when it is done correctly, the entire set of dumplings should come out, lightly stuck together and with a lovely brown crust, as one piece onto a plate. If not, just scrape them out with a spatula, they'll still taste great!

Steaming:
Line a steamer with Chinese cabbage leaves and place the dumplings on top. Steam over boiling water for 6- 8 minutes.

Dipping Sauce:
The simplest sauce is 2 parts soy sauce, 2 parts Chinese black vinegar (balsamic is a reasonable substitute), and 1 part sesame oil. We often add minced garlic, hot chili oil, chopped corriander, or chili bean sauce and sometimes remove the vinegar.

I did this with my own kids and 5 others who signed up for the class and we had a blast! The mess is still on the table, though. Better get cracking....!