Eat This: Pork Filled Asian Dumplings

I love Asian dumpling.  Pot stickers are a favorite and this is my own interpretation.  I used this as a boiled dumpling, but you can also pan fry and steam as well.  These are really delicious; a bit tedious, but well worth the effort.

Adapted from the Steamy Kitchen’s recipe for pot stickers.  Makes 40-48 dumplings.

Dumpling Ingredients:

• 1 package pre-made won-ton or pot sticker wrappers
• 1 pound very lean ground pork
• ¾ cup very finely chopped cabbage (see preparation note below)
• 3 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 6 green onions, with tops
• 1 tablespoon white wine (I used Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay, and had a glass too!)
• 1 small head roasted garlic (optional)
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Dash pepper
  
  
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons sweetened rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Sriracha or Thai Garlic Chili Paste (optionl: to taste)

Assemble:

Note on the pork:  try to get the very leanest pork.  I used boneless pork chops and trimmed all the fat.  Finely grind.

Cut ¼ head of a small green cabbage into manageable chunks. Place in bowl of food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Remove to bowl and mix with 2 teaspoons salt.  Let it rest for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture – I used a piece of cheesecloth and squeezed well.  Measure ¾ cup.

Place green onions and ginger into processor bowl and pulse until finely chopped.

 

In a large bowl combine the cabbage, pork, garlic, green onions, wine, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and the pepper.  Mix thoroughly.

Make a slurry of one half cup of water and one tablespoon cornstarch.  Use the slurry to seal the edges of the wrappers.   Wet finger in slurry and spread around all 4 sides of each wrapper. 

Place scant tablespoon of the filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Fold the edges of the wrapper to create a pouch to encase the mixture. Place on a plastic wrap lined sheet pan and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling until all gone.

To cook, drop in boiling, barely salted water and cook for 6 minutes.  Remove with slotted spoon and serve with dipping sauce below.  

Freeze uncooked dumplings on sheet plan. Once frozen, place in plastic freezer bag and store for up to 90 days.  To cook from frozen – drop in boiling water and cook for 6-7 minutes.

To make a dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and chili paste to taste. Serve with the dumplings.