Our favorite time of the year is when we start banging out all of the fresh ingredients and enjoy some of our favorite Chinese dishes. And, it involves none other than, dumplings! It can come across as labor-intensive but, once you have everything prepped and mixed, it really does fly by and then it's time to bask in the glory of your dumpling-making efforts.
In Chinese New Year, the dumpling symbolizes fortune and prosperity in the new year. They closely resemble little money bags with the traditional fold. And with dumplings, there are multiple folding techniques to learn, and you can have so much fun making these. It is a very therapeutic process making dumplings!
Dumplings have multiple filling options, and is the most versatile food to make. One of the important elements about dumpling-making is not just folding/crimping techniques but that filling is definitely a key element to master. Having the right balance of ingredients, mixing your ingredients correctly, including sustaining moisture, and creating that wonderful mouth-feel is what really makes a difference.
The how-to video can be found on my Youtube channel.
PLEASE NOTE: For those with little kids running around, you definitely do not want them in the kitchen during the pan-frying process.
Ingredients:
1lb (453g) Ground beef (80/20) 8oz Shredded or finely diced vegetables
4oz Tamari 4oz Water 3 TB Beef soup base powder
1 1/2 TB Garlic, pureed 1 1/2 TB Ginger, puree 1 TB White pepper 1 Egg, large 40-50 Dumpling wrappers - or make your own dumpling dough with 200g AP flour with 100g hot water. Form a dough, roll out and use a round cutter for wrappers
Where we are creating a dumpling mixture, everything in the recipe that is added to the ground beef needs to be small.
VEGETABLE OPTIONS: The classic options for dumplings is cabbage, carrots, onions, water chestnuts, and bamboo. You can pretty much use whatever you want. Just be mindful about keeping them extremely small or shred them.
Either with a gloved hand or a freshly washed hand, mix everything together by mashing the ingredients with your hands first. Then, you will want to use a circular motion in mixing the dumpling filling in a vigorous manner. This can take a good five minutes to get this well-incorporated. If the ground beef continues to look like it was when it came out of the package, you are not done yet. Continue to mix this together by using circular motions with your hand. You will start to see changes in the mixture by seeing these fiber-like threads. You are developing myosin, and that is what we want to see.
Gather your equipment: a tray/pan lightly dusted with cornstarch, a cup/shot glass of water, a spoon, your dumpling mix, and the dumpling wrappers. Get a pan with a lid set up at your stove, and grab a container of water to set on the counter, by the stove.
FOLDING DIRECTIONS: You will lightly wet the frame of the dumpling skin with water. This will moisten the cornstarch on the dumpling skin and help act like a "glue" for when you are forming the dumpling. Apply about 1 TB/1 1/2 TB of dumpling filling to the middle of the dumpling skin and spread the filling in a line from one side to the other. Do not spread the filling to the wet frame. Hold the dumpling similar to a "taco" in your hand. Pinch the top/middle of the dumpling wrapper together. With one hand, hold that pinched section. With the other hand, proceed with folding the opening upward to seal it like a tri-fold. This looks like what an envelope would look like from the back.
COOKING TIMES: Cooking times are automatically going to vary. Whether you are using an electric, natural gas, propane range or even an induction, you cannot walk away while cooking the dumplings on the stove. Start with medium to med-high heat, add a few tablespoons of your oil and start placing the dumplings in the pan. Keeping them distanced will help avoid them from puffing and touching the other dumplings when you add the water for steaming. The first three minutes will involve setting up the bottom of the dumplings. Simply check the bottoms of the dumplings after a few minutes. Once they are showing a little firmed up and you see color changes, add approximately 8oz water and keep the lid on the pan to avoid steam burns and oil splatter. Keep the lid on for another five or so minutes or until you start to see the water evaporate. The oil will be left remaining and this is key to finish the cook on the dumplings. Turn off the heat but keep the lid on the pan and let it finish on its own. Serve your dumplings on a plate along with your favorite dipping sauce!
*SIDE BAR NOTES: MSG: Monosodium Glutamate - this is available at both Asian markets and traditional grocery stores that have an Asian section for ingredients. MSG is not only already being manufactured in the human body, but it is also naturally occurring in things like tomatoes, mushrooms, and parmesan cheese. It is up to you if you want to use MSG or not. It has less sodium than standard salt, which is confirmed healthier, and offers an amazing umami flavor to Asian cuisine.
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