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

Scale

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

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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.