Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Ingredients

• Homemade dumpling wrappers or
• 1 pack store-bought dumpling wrappers
• 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
• 1 1/2 cup napa cabbage (finely chopped)
• 1/4 cup green onions (minced)
• 1/2 pound shrimp (peeled and de-veined chopped)
• 1 lb ground pork (20% fat)
• 2 teaspoons tapioca starch
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Make the Pork and Shrimp Filling ---

2. 2

   Lightly sauté the vegetables. Heat vegetable oil on a large pan over medium high heat. Add the minced garlic, minced ginger, diced cabbage and minced scallions. While stirring constantly, cook for about 2 minutes until softened. Set aside to cool.

3. 3

   Prepare the shrimp. Wash, peel and devein the shrimp. Then cut into small 1 cm pieces.

4. 4

   Make the pork into a paste. Place the ground pork in a large bowl. Add the tapioca starch and water. Using chopsticks or a wooden spoon, stir the ingredients together for several minutes. After about a minute, the meat should become more paste-like.

5. 5

   Mix together. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt, white pepper until combined. Add the cooled vegetables, pork and shrimp. Using a spatula or your hand, mix until combined.

6. 6

   --- Assemble ---

7. 7

   Add filling. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of your round dumpling wrapper. Try to avoid adding too much filling. You will know if you overfilled if you cannot close your dumpling.

8. 8

   For store bought wrappers, make sure to wet the edges of the dumpling wrapper with water before you begin pleating.

9. 9

   For homemade wrappers, you do not have to wet the edges of the dumpling wrapper.

10. 10

    Pleat dumpling. Fold the dumpling in half like a taco and pinch together in the center leaving the sides not pinched. Start pleating to the left of the center pinch and seal it to the right. Continue gathering dough and sealing pleats until you reach the end, about 4 pleats. Repeat on the right side sealing the pleats to the left with another 4 pleats to form a "V" shape.

11. 11

    Repeat. Repeat with the remaining dumplings and place dumplings on a lightly floured baking tray covered with a towel or plastic wrap until ready to be cooked so they do not dry out.

12. 12

    --- Cook the Pork Dumplings ---

13. 13

    Pan fry the dumplings. Add 3 tbsp of vegetable oil to a medium nonstick pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add a single layer of dumplings to fill your pan. Make sure there is room between the dumplings so they don’t stick. Sear on the flat side for 2-3 minutes until the side is toasted and golden brown.

14. 14

    Steam the dumplings. Next, with the lid in one hand, add 1/4 cup of water or enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and immediately cover the pan to steam the dumplings for about 6 minutes. Be careful! The water will react with the oil and splatter. So work quickly.

15. 15

    Cook off the remaining water before removing the dumplings. Remove the lid and cook off the remaining water for an additional 1-2 minutes. If you try to remove the dumplings too early the bottoms of the dumplings may stick to the pan.

16. 16

    Serve. Transfer to a plate and enjoy!