Pork, Ginger and Cilantro Dumplings
Considering that making a large quantity of dumplings could take an entire day, get people to help you in the kitchen. Choose Chinese raviolis stuffed with chopped napa cabbage and ginger to get a clumpy texture. Add ground pork and a mixture of soy sauce, then call your friends to help assemble them. Once they’re […]
Ingredients
- 3 cups (210 g) napa cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups (55 g) cilantro leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 2 green onions, cut into pieces, plus more for serving
- 1 piece fresh ginger, about 4 inches (10 cm) long, peeled and cut into pieces
- 3 1/4 lb (1.5 kg) medium-lean ground pork
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) sesame oil
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) sambal oelek
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 packages (1 lb/450 g each) frozen round dumpling wrappers, thawed (about 100 wrappers) (see note)
- Vegetable oil, for cooking
- Sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- In a food processor, finely chop 1 cup (70 g) of the cabbage with the cilantro, garlic, green onions and ginger. Place in a large bowl. Chop the remaining cabbage in the food processor. Add to the same bowl along with the meat, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, sambal, vinegar and salt. Season with pepper and mix well.
- Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- On a work surface, lay out a few dumpling wrappers at a time. Place 1 tbsp of the meat mixture at the centre of each wrapper, leaving a 1/4-inch (5 mm) border all the way around. Moisten half of the border with water and fold into a half-moon shape, making a few pleats in the dough and pressing around the filling to seal the dumplings. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dumpling wrappers and meat mixture. Freeze at this point, if desired (see note).
- In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high, heat 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil. Place 18 dumplings at a time in the skillet, keeping a small space between each one. Fill the skillet with enough water to come 1/2 inch (1 cm) up the side of the skillet. Cover the skillet and bring to a boil. Cook for 8 minutes. Remove the lid and cook another 3 minutes, until the water has completely evaporated and the bottoms of the dumplings are starting to brown. Keep warm on a serving dish. Continue cooking the remaining dumplings, if desired. Add more oil as needed.
- Serve the dumplings on plates. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with soy sauce, store-bought chili oil or black vinegar (chinkian), if desired.
Considering that making a large quantity of dumplings could take an entire day, get people to help you in the kitchen. Choose Chinese raviolis stuffed with chopped napa cabbage and ginger to get a clumpy texture. Add ground pork and a mixture of soy sauce, then call your friends to help assemble them. Once they’re all done, freeze them (in order to cook them later directly from the freezer) or steam them, then brown them in a bit of oil. Above all, congratulate everyone on a job well done!