| By: Siri Peddineni |
My quarantine-goal has been pushing myself to learn how to cook new cuisines. And there is no better way to expose myself to cooking Chinese dishes by making dumplings, a staple and favorite dish in the culture. The fluffy and soft dough with the flavorful and full-of-spice filling is a sure fire way to cheer up any day. When served with a few side dishes of your favorite leafy greens and some soy sauce, you’ll wonder why you haven’t made them from scratch before.
Ingredients
Yield: 40 dumplings
Total time: 1 hour
For the Dumpling Dough:
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1.25 cups of cold water
A pinch of salt
For the Filling:
1 cup of ground chicken
½ of a scallion, minced
1.25 cups of green cabbage
2 slices of fresh ginger, minced
½ clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of red chili powder
2 tablespoons of Five Spice Powder
3 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
Cooking Instructions
Combine the flour and the salt together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the cold water, while mixing slowly.
Continue mixing the mixture till everything is combined. Knead dough into a ball in the center of the bowl.
Cover bowl and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
As the dough sits, combine the chicken, soy sauce, salt, black pepper, chili powder, five spice powder, and sesame oil into another large mixing bowl.
Mix everything clockwise until the ingredients are well distributed.
Add the scallion, cabbage, ginger, and garlic into the same bowl. Continue mixing in the same direction.
Once the 30 minutes are up for the dough, remove the covering. Form the dough into small balls approximately the size of a ping pong ball.
Using a rolling pin or just your hands, flatten out each ball into a thin, flat, circle about 2.5 - 3 inches in diameter.
Spoon small amounts of filling into the center of each circle.
Using your finger and some water, brush water onto the perimeter of each circle. Then, fold it in half to close the circle.
Pinch each circle shut, and create small folds along the top of the crescent shape to create the “typical” dumpling-look.
Once all shapes are formed, place about 10-12 dumplings in a large pot of boiling water. Gently stir the dumplings as you add them to ensure they do not stick to one another.
As the water reaches a boil once more, add a quarter cup of cold water, and cover the pot till it reaches boiling point again.
Repeat this once more after it reaches boiling point.
Once the dumplings float to the top, strain them into a plate. Repeat steps 12-14 for all remaining dumplings.
After all dumplings are boiled, you are finished! However, some enjoy a more fried taste. For those who do, follow the remaining steps.
Place a pan on medium to high heat, and heat some oil on it. Once hot enough, place 10-12 dumplings on pan and let sit for about 2-5 minutes, or till golden on one side.
Then, flip these dumplings over to the other side and let them sit once more for 2-5 minutes or till golden.
When finished, remove and place on plate covered in a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Enjoy!
Notes
Many enjoy dumplings with a soy sauce! I also like to eat them with a sweet chili sauce.
If you prefer pork/beef over chicken, just substitute it in, the recipe will remain the same otherwise.
Most, if not all, of the spices can be found in international aisles of large supermarkets.
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