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Photo:Christine Ma
Christine Ma
Active Time:2 hrs 15 minsMarinate Time:6 hrsTotal Time:8 hrs 15 minsServings:12Jump to Nutrition Facts
Active Time:2 hrs 15 minsMarinate Time:6 hrsTotal Time:8 hrs 15 minsServings:12
Active Time:2 hrs 15 mins
Active Time:
2 hrs 15 mins
Marinate Time:6 hrs
Marinate Time:
6 hrs
Total Time:8 hrs 15 mins
Total Time:
8 hrs 15 mins
Servings:12
Servings:
12
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
How Adapting My Dad’s Dumpling Recipe Has Helped Me Make a Chinese Tradition My Own
As a child, I used to watch rapt as my father and his cousin wrapped dumplings in the back room of our Chinese restaurant. I loved the dullthunkthe enormous Chinese cleavers made as they turned long, fat tubes of snowy dough into scallop-shaped pieces whose edges rose in a spongy, weak protest. I remember the efficient way they used a wooden rolling pin to turn them into perfect discs, chatting the whole time in the Mandarin I didn’t speak.
To this day, I can still picture their work-worn fingers, rough with callouses and swollen with tired joints, delicately pinching neat, uniform pleats into every plump little pocket. The wrinkles in their chapped skin stood out a stark white as the fine flour they used to dust the work table and the dumpling wrappers pressed firmly into them in sharp relief.
For non-restaurateurs, recollections might run closer to what was portrayed inCrazy Rich Asians—generations of family members gathered in a room to wrap dumplings ahead of Chinese New Year, where they’re a symbolic, auspicious food meant to symbolize gold ingots and good fortune. But while my specific memory, part of a collective one for a unique generation of American Chinese takeout kids, is away of life that is disappearing, the way we make dumplings is ages old. Over talk, over conversation, over shared work.
Between grinding the meat, chopping the chives, building the seasoning, marinating the filling, and making, rising and shaping the dough, making dumplings wholly from scratch is typically a days-long endeavor. Stuffing, shaping, then freezing or cooking add hours more. Ultimately, they are labors of love, each one as unique as the individual who made it, and all the more special for the conversation that happens around each step.
Like Italian red sauce, dumplings are delicious nearly anywhere, and every family has their own recipe, interpretation and secret ingredient that makes their dumplings taste as expected yet unmistakably different. And as my dad closed up shop and I moved to Louisiana and Georgia from New York, I found that no one made a dumpling quite like he did. The balance of dough to filling, the fragrance of his marinade, which incorporated his also-from-scratch brown sauce (the generically called base sauce for stir-fries), the perfect amount of juice that would extrude and fill the dumpling as it cooked … between his red-lacquered spare ribs and his dumplings, these were the tastes of home.
But, as we all learn in adulthood, home is what yourfamilymakes it. Once you leave that familial home and create one of your own, you learn just how hard it is to duplicate the feelings, the flavors, the textures.
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients8ouncesground pork8ouncesground turkey6tablespoonsfinely chopped Chinese chives (see Note)¾cupfinely chopped water chestnuts3tablespoonsoyster sauce1 ½teaspoonstoasted sesame oil1teaspoondark soy sauce (see Note)¾teaspoonreduced-sodium soy sauce¾teaspoonShaoxing rice wine⅛teaspoonground ginger⅛teaspoonMSG (see Note)⅛teaspoonground pepper114-ounce packageround Shanghai-styleoryellow dumpling wrappers, thawed if frozen (see Note)6tablespoonscanola oil
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
8ouncesground pork
8ouncesground turkey
6tablespoonsfinely chopped Chinese chives (see Note)
¾cupfinely chopped water chestnuts
3tablespoonsoyster sauce
1 ½teaspoonstoasted sesame oil
1teaspoondark soy sauce (see Note)
¾teaspoonreduced-sodium soy sauce
¾teaspoonShaoxing rice wine
⅛teaspoonground ginger
⅛teaspoonMSG (see Note)
⅛teaspoonground pepper
114-ounce packageround Shanghai-styleoryellow dumpling wrappers, thawed if frozen (see Note)
6tablespoonscanola oil
Directions
Combine pork, turkey, chives and water chestnuts in a large bowl; mix well. Add oyster sauce, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing, ginger, MSG and pepper; mix well to incorporate the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to wrap, get out the pork mixture and dumpling wrappers and fill a small bowl with water. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. (If using parchment paper, sprinkle it with flour.)
Place one heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of a dumpling wrapper. Wet a finger with water and run it around the inside edges of the wrapper. Press the edges together to seal. No need to pleat with this cheat! Be careful not to overstuff to avoid tearing the wrapper or having the dumplings burst. Set the dumpling on the prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel to prevent them from drying. Repeat to make 48 dumplings. (If you plan to freeze them, place the filled dumplings on a large floured baking sheet. Take care that they do not overlap too much lest they stick to one another. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 10 months. Proceed with Step 4; no thawing needed.)
To cook dumplings: Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Carefully add 8 dumplings. Cook, flipping once, until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Add water to the pan, filling to halfway the height of the dumplings (about 1 cup). Increase heat to medium-high, partially cover the pan, and cook until the water has nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the water has completely evaporated. Reduce heat to medium and cook, flipping once or twice, until the dumplings are dry and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and repeat to cook the remaining dumplings.
Ingredient notes
Chinese chivesare pungent, sharp and fiercely strong in flavor. You’ll want to visit your local Asian grocery store for this important ingredient, which may also be labeled as green or garlic chives.
Dark soy sauce(sometimes called black soy sauce) is thicker than regular soy sauce, with a touch of sweetness. Look for it in Asian markets.
Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, January 2023
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Nutrition Facts(per serving)262Calories15gFat22gCarbs10gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
