Best Beijing Style Pork And Cabbage Dumpling Filling Recipes

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PORK AND NAPA CABBAGE WATER DUMPLINGS



Pork and Napa Cabbage Water Dumplings image

Bursting with flavor, these northern Chinese dumplings are a specialty of Beijing. Dating as far back as the late Han Dynasty (25 to 220 c.e.), plump boiled morsels such as these are members of the jiaozi family of dumplings, which include pan fried guōtiē (page 33) and steamed zhēngjiao (page 35). Jiaozi are not just for a modest snack or meal, they are a must-have for northern Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. Their shape resembles gold ingots, harbingers of good fortune. Easy to make for a crowd, shuıjiao (which means "water dumpling") are especially good hot from the pot and tumbled in a soy-vinegar dipping sauce piked with chile oil. Pork and napa cabbage comprise the classic jiaozi filling, but you can use one of the lamb, beef, vegetable, or fish fillings on the following pages. Or substitute chopped shrimp or reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms for half of the pork.

Yield makes 32 dumplings, serving 4 as a main course, 6 to 8 as a snack or starter

Number Of Ingredients 13

2 cups lightly packed finely chopped napa cabbage, cut from whole leaves (about 7 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon plus scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped Chinese chives or scallions (white and green parts)
2/3 pound ground pork, fattier kind preferred, coarsely chopped to loosen
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup Chicken Stock (page 222) or water
1 1/2 tablespoons light (regular) soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 pound Basic Dumpling Dough (page 22)
2/3 cup Tangy Soy Dipping Sauce (page 215)

Steps:

  • To make the filling, put the cabbage in a bowl and toss with the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside for about 15 minutes to draw excess moisture from the cabbage. Drain in a mesh strainer (the cabbage could fall through the large holes of a colander), flush with water, and drain again. To remove more moisture, squeeze the cabbage in your hands over the sink, or put on a cotton kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and wring out the moisture over the sink. You should have about 1/2 cup firmly packed cabbage.
  • Transfer the cabbage to a bowl and add the ginger, Chinese chives, and pork. Use a fork or spatula to stir and lightly mash the ingredients so that they start coming together.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the remaining scant 1/2 teaspoon salt, the white pepper, chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine, canola oil, and sesame oil. Pour these seasonings over the pork and cabbage mixture, then stir and fold the ingredients together. Once the pork has broken up, briskly stir to blend the ingredients into a cohesive, thick mixture. There should not be any visible large chunks of pork. To develop the flavors, cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of filling. (The filling can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before assembling the dumplings.)
  • In the meantime, make 16 wrappers from half of the dough. Aim for 3 1/4-inch-diameter wrappers (see page 24).
  • Before assembling the dumplings, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (If you plan to refrigerate the dumplings for several hours, or freeze them, lightly dust the paper with flour to avoid sticking.) For each dumpling, hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand. Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling with a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, porfork and position it slightly off-center toward the upper half of the wrapper, pressing and shaping it into a flat mound and keeping about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of wrapper clear on all sides. Then fold, pleat, and press to enclose the filling and create half-moons, pea pods, big hugs, or pleated crescents (see pages 26 to 29).
  • Place the finished dumpling on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other wrappers, assembling the dumplings and spacing them a good 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Keeping the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel, form and fill the wrappers from the remaining dough.
  • Once all the dumplings are assembled, they can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours; they can be cooked straight from the refrigerator. (For longer storage, freeze them on the baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag, pressing out excess air before sealing, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month; partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that may have formed during freezing, before cooking.)
  • To cook the dumplings, half-fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add half the dumplings, gently dropping each one into the water. Nudge the dumplings apart with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking together and/or to the bottom of the pot. Return the water to a simmer and then lower the heat to maintain the simmer and gently cook: a hard boil can make a dumpling burst. Cook the dumplings for about 8 minutes, or until they float to the surface, look glossy, and are puff ed up and a tad translucent. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to scoop up the dumplings from the pot, a few at a time, pausing the spoon's motion over the pot to allow excess water to drip back down before putting the dumplings on a serving plate. Cover the plate with a large inverted bowl to keep the dumplings warm.
  • Return the water to a boil and cook the remaining dumplings. When done, return the first batch to the hot water to reheat for a minute or two. There is no need to reboil.
  • Serve the hot dumplings immediately, placing the serving plate in the middle of the table for people to reach to or pass along. Serve the soy dipping sauce either in a communal bowl with a spoon for people to help themselves or divided up among individual rice bowls or large dipping sauce dishes. To eat, pick up a dumpling with chopsticks (you can stab it if you like) and dip or roll it in the dipping sauce. Getting an assist from a soup spoon or the rice bowl, deliver the dumpling to your mouth with the chopsticks. If there are juices inside, they'll spill out into the spoon or bowl when you bite into the dumpling.

BEIJING-STYLE PORK & SHRIMP JIAOZI (CHINESE DUMPLINGS)



Beijing-Style Pork & Shrimp Jiaozi (Chinese Dumplings) image

I got this recipe from my old land lord in Beijing. He was a "lao Beijing ren" (native Beijinger), so his recipes are very authentic. He decided that my roommate and I needed to learn all the Beijing dishes, and thus took it upon himself to teach us. My friends and I like to have dumpling parties, where we get together and wrap dumplings and talk, which makes it not as labor intensive.

Provided by Spicy Little Sister

Categories     Lunch/Snacks

Time 1h40m

Yield 100 dumplings, 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1/2 lb minced raw shrimp
5 -7 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, chopped finely
1/2 head cabbage, chopped and salted
3 inches peeled ginger, grated
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
1 tablespoon red pepper powder
100 dumpling wrappers (1 package of shui jiao-style ones or 1 1/2 cups flour, pinch of salt and pinch of water to make by h)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch water

Steps:

  • Clean the cabbage, chop it, and put it in a large non-reactive pot with salt Set it aside and let it sweat out water for 45 min or so (you can prepare this ahead).
  • If you're using a meat grinder, feed the shrimp, pork, garlic, onions, and ginger through the meat grinder, getting everything to be a smooth, yet chunky mixture. If you're using a food processor, you're going to half way freeze the meat, and chop each ingredient on it's own, and then mix them in a pasta bowl. Traditionally, all these ingredients are minced and chopped using a large cutting board and a cleaver. However you do it, it's up to you.
  • Put the meat and veggie mixture into a a large bowl. Add the salt, soy sauce, egg and sugar to the mixture.
  • In a heavy skillet, heat up the oil. Add the spice powders and toast the spices. Pour this mixture hot over the meat mixture in the bowl, and stir inches.
  • Drain the cabbage, rinse it and drain again. Mix it in to the meat mixture.
  • (Optional step) Make the dumpling wrappers: mix together 1 1/2 cup flour and pinch of salt and then slowly add just enough water to result in a springy dough. Knead it a lot to make the gluten stringy and strong. Roll the dough out into a long rope, cut the rope apart into ping pong ball sized pieces. Flatten the pieces out into small flat discs, and flour a table or cutting board, and roll them out using a beer bottle or small rolling pin. As you make them, hand them to the person wrapping the dumplings. Or just buy the pre-made wrappers.
  • Wrap the dumplings in the dumpling skins, pinching together the sides and tucking in the ends.
  • Cook the dumplings: boil a pot of water. Drop the dumplings in, they are ready when the float to the top of the pot. Don't boil too many at once, or they'll stick together. Scoop them out with a strainer, so you can use the water for the next batch.
  • Serve with soy sauce, dipping sauce, raw garlic (for true Northern Chinese style eating!), chili sauce, or cut up green onions.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1489.9, Fat 30.2, SaturatedFat 8.8, Cholesterol 156.4, Sodium 4532, Carbohydrate 237.9, Fiber 9, Sugar 3.2, Protein 59.7

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