Over in Thailand lies a delicious perfectly-packed parcel with pork and other amazing flavors. This is a Thai version of the pork siu mai from China. It is found in Thailand's street food community, dim sum carts, and restaurants. Typically the filling is a small bite-sized ball, wrapped in a dumpling wrapper. Or, it is also served up siu mai-style where the sides are crimped into a vessel. While the flavors still represent the deliciousness of Thai dumplings, I chose to do a different fold that still gets the beautiful wrinkled effect after steaming/boiling.
Dumplings have multiple filling options and are the most versatile food to make. One of the important elements of dumpling-making is not just folding/crimping techniques but that filling is a key element to master. Having the right balance of ingredients, mixing your ingredients correctly, sustaining moisture, and creating that wonderful mouthfeel makes a difference.
The how-to video can be found on my Youtube channel.
Ingredients:
1lb (453g) Ground pork* (80/20)
1/3 C Lemongrass, finely minced 4oz Ginger, finely minced 4oz Garlic*, finely minced
4oz Chicken Stock 1/4 C Chives, chopped 3 TB Scallions, finely chopped
3 TB Fish sauce* 2 TB Cane Sugar 1 tsp Kosher salt
White pepper, optional 40-50 Dumpling wrappers - or make your dumpling dough with 200g AP flour with 100g hot water. Form a dough, roll it out, and use a round cutter for wrappers
When we are creating a dumpling mixture, everything in the recipe that is added needs to be small, if not, finely minced.
1.) Prep all of your ingredients in one mixing bowl.
2.) 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 vigorously mixing the dumpling filling. This can take a good five minutes to get this well-incorporated. If the ground pork continues to look like it was when it came out of the package, you are not done yet. Continue to mix this by using circular motions with your hand. You will start to see changes in the mixture by seeing these fiber-like threads and the mixture looks like it is breaking down into a paste-like form. You are developing myosin, and that is what we want to see.
3.) Gather your equipment: a tray/pan lightly dusted with cornstarch, a cup/shot glass of water, a spoon or fork, your dumpling mix, and the dumpling wrappers. Get a medium-sized pot filled two-thirds of the way with water.
FOLDING DIRECTIONS: 1.) 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.
2.) Apply about 1 TB/1 1/2 TB of dumpling filling to the middle of the dumpling skin. Do not spread the filling.
3.) Bring the bottom corner of the dumpling skin up to almost the top, leaving a small border. Pinch the top/middle of the dumpling wrapper together. Begin to press the air out and seal the filling inward.
4.) Gently dent the middle of the dumpling ball with your finger. Take your left and right corner and bring the points together by overlapping one over the other. Pinch to attach the points. This will make the dumpling look like a small boat.
5.) Start boiling your water on high heat.
COOKING TIMES: 1.) Bring a large bowl with just a light coating of sesame oil and coat the inside of the bowl.
2.) Begin adding your formed dumplings to the pot. Make sure the dumplings do not stick to the bottom by gently stirring the water. The more dumplings you add, stir the water again.
3.) After a few minutes, you will notice the dumplings will begin floating to the top. Continue to boil for approximately five minutes. Check one dumpling for doneness.
4.) With a slotted spoon, start removing the dumplings, drain, and then add to your sesame oil-coated bowl.
5.) Prep your serving bowls with the dumplings, garnish, and pour off your favorite dumpling 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. This recipe has ingredients that already have it naturally. It is up to you if you want to add 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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