Noodle soups aren’t just a craving for winter days for me. They’re a staple in my diet, and I like to pizzazz mine up sometimes with dumplings. But when I go to the store and find out the pork, shrimp and chive pre-made dumplings that I love are more expensive than the other varieties, I figured it’s time to make my own at home.
Dumplings are a labor of love. It takes time to put the filling together and then some more time to actually put them together. Luckily, dumplings aren’t made by the handful. One batch is perfect for several freezer meals when you are short on time. The best thing about making food at home is that you know exactly what you are putting in them.
The simple list of ingredients in this recipe is nothing compared to the long list of chemicals in the packaged stuff. Added bonus: the dumplings in this recipe taste just as good, if not better, than those in the freezer aisle!
Adapted from The Woks Of Life’s Pork Chive Dumplings
If you like these Pork, Shrimp and Chive Dumplings, try:
Pork, Shrimp and Veggie Dumplings (豬肉蝦仁雜菜餃)
Wontons (雲吞)
Instant Pot Chicken Broth
Pork, Shrimp and Chive Dumplings (鮮蝦韭菜餃)
- Yield: About 50 dumplings 1x
- Category: Freezer-Ready
- Method: Batch cooking
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Dumplings are a labor of love. It takes time to put the filling together and then some more time to actually put them together. Luckily, dumplings aren’t made by the handful. One batch is perfect for several freezer meals when you are short on time.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound of ground pork
- 1/2 pound of shrimp, shelled, deveined, dried well and chopped into small pieces
- 7 cups of Chinese chives, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced through a garlic press
- 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
- Dumpling (水餃) wrappers
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetable oil. Heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat for around 7 minutes. Set aside and allow it to cool.
- Make the filling. Place the ground pork, shrimp, chives, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, garlic, white pepper and the cooled vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix, fold, whatever it takes until everything is thoroughly combined. It will feel wet and sticky and that’s okay. Allow the filling to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes or in the fridge covered until you’re ready to assemble.
- Assemble the dumplings. In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of water. Wet one of your fingers with water and dab it on the edge of half a wrapper. Add a scoop of filling to the center of the wrapper. With the wet edge on top, seal the dumpling by bringing the dry edge up to touch the wet edge to create a half circle. Do your best to remove any extra air trapped inside the dumpling as you’re sealing.
- Place the dumpling on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap. Repeat until you run out of filling or wrappers. Keep the dumplings separated on the baking sheet so that they don’t stick to each other.
- Cook the dumplings. If you’re eating the dumplings immediately, cook them in a sufficient amount of boiling water so there’s room for all of the pieces to move around. Allow them to cook under a gentle boil for five minutes. Strain them from the boiling liquid, add them to a hot broth and serve.
- If you’re eating them later on, freeze the baking sheet of dumplings. Transfer them to a storage medium once frozen. They’ll be great in the freezer for up to two months, but I’m sure they’ll be gone before then!
Notes
Dumpling (水餃) wrappers are different from wonton (雲吞) and potsticker (鍋貼) wrappers. They’re thinner than potsticker wrappers and typically circular whereas wonton wrappers are oftentimes square.
