Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
INTRODUCTION
Dumplings are a staple in any Chinese home. They come in many forms: boiled, steamed, pan-fried (pot-stickers), and even deep fried (wontons), but the most eaten one will always be boiled dumplings. Dumplings are an ancient food in China, made from using a thin outer peel to wrap all types of delicious filling, They are then boiled until crystal clear, dipped in sauces, and possessing an endless aftertaste. After they've been boiled, they can be either eaten with or without soup.
A Brief History of The Dumpling
Dumplings original name was "jiǎo ér", or "pig's ear". According to legend, a Chinese medical sage named Zhang Zhongjing first invented it, using it to treat frozen ears. In the last Eastern Han Dynasty, there were many natural disasters, leaving many people suffering from illness. There was a doctor in Nanyang named Zhang Ji, his courtesy name being Zhongjing. When Zhang Zhongjing was an official in the city of Changsha, he often healed the common people of their ailments. After Zhongjing retired and went back to his home, he saw many poor, suffering commoners cold and hungry, all with frozen ears. He decided to use the same method he used in Changsha and asked his disciples to help him set up a medical tent in the Dongguan residential district in Nanyang city. Then, on the Winter Solstice, Zhongjing had a big pot set up for the people so they could get medicine and be healed.
Zhang Zhongjing called this medicine "Jiao er Soup for Dispelling the Cold". Lamb and cold medicine was boiled in the pot, then taken out and chopped into pieces. The meat mixture was wrapped in dough in the shape of an ear, or "jiǎo ér", and given to those begging for medicine after it was boiled. Those that drank the cold medicine felt warm inside, their blood pumping more smoothly, and their two ears warming up. After eating the medicine for a while, their ears were good as new.
Zhang Zhongjing kept giving out medicine until Lunar New Year's Eve. In modern days, people make dumplings as a Lunar New Year food to eat on the morning of New Year's day, as a way to ring in the new year and celebrate the cure of frozen ears. People called this food "jiǎo ér", "dumplings", or "flat food" and also eat it on the first day of the winter solstice to remember the day Zhang Zhongjing set up his medical tent and starting healing the people. Now every winter solstice and on the first day of Lunar New Year, people eat dumplings and remember Zhang Zhongjing's kindness for creating dumplings.
Modern Dumpling Making
Nowadays, every family and restaurant has their own way of making dumplings, so you heard it here first, the so-called "most-correct" or "most-authentic" way of making dumplings has no correct answer. Everything is just a preference, especially in the way people make dumplings.
Most people now use pork to make their dumplings, but those in Northern China use ground beef. Those in Hong Kong and Guangdong make dumplings out of shrimp, called Har Gao (蝦餃). I've also seen Bibigo and other brands make chicken dumplings... I personally don't know how I feel about that, but I mean, if it tastes good, I can't really say anything about it. The grocery store I frequented in college didn't sell ground pork in their store because not many people bought it, so for many years I would make dumplings with a "ground pork/ground beef" mix. To be honest, it was still pretty good!
As for vegetables, cabbage is very common, but in Taiwan, they like to use a vegetable called jiǔcài (韭菜), or Garlic Chives/Chinese Chives in English. I've also heard of people using minced mushrooms or shredded carrots in their dumplings, probably paired with the ground beef as I mentioned above.
Story Time: I had a friend my freshman year of college and we made dumplings together with her roommate. Her mom was from Hong Kong and my mom was from Singapore, so I was excited to see the different ways our families prepared the dumpling filling. Turns out her mom actually puts cut up vermicelli noodles in her dumpling meat - I had never seen that before! (If anyone has made dumplings like that, please comment below, because I would love to know why noodles are used/where that came from.)
So it goes to show that dumpling making is a very common food to make among Chinese families (speaking from experience), and every family has a different way of making their dumplings. If you like a certain style of dumplings, please feel free to eat more! And if you find one style you don't like, that's ok too, we all have our preferences. I would just refrain from saying "I don't like dumplings", when you just might not like that person's/restaurant's style. I personally don't prefer dumplings with jiǔcài (韭菜), so I make mine with cabbage. I won't say jiǔcài dumplings are bad, they're just not my style. Do we get it? Let's all just be polite :)
The Different Names / Types of Dumplings
It might be obvious at this point, but there are so many different types and names for dumplings, that it can be confusing to some which one is which. I will explain:
- In Japan, they call dumplings gyoza. you can find them in restaurants as deep-fried dumplings. (I've never been to Japan so I don't know if that's the only way they do them, so if anyone has any knowledge, feel free to comment down below.) Usually restaurants will use this name when referring to dumplings, even if it's not a Japanese restaurant. This is kind of a small pet peeve of mine, but whatever.
- In Korea, they called them mandu. That name might not be super familiar to some, but if you've ever seen the Bibigo brand of dumplings, that's what they're called. I believe they can be pan-fried of boiled, but I 've never seen them deep-fried.
- In Chinese, they are called many different names, but they all synchronously refer to "dumplings". There are usually 3-4 main types:
1. 水饺 / 水餃 - shuǐ jiǎo = these are usually just known as "dumplings", they are boiled in water and served with or without soup. The Chinese literally translates to "water + dumplings".
2. 锅贴 / 鍋貼 - guōtiē = these are your potstickers, as the Chinese translates to "pan + stick", as in "stick(ing) to the pan". This types of dumplings are pan fried on the bottom, then water is added to steam the dumplings until done. These are eaten without soup and usually with dipping sauces.
3. 混沌 - hùndùn = technically this translates to what we know as a "wonton", but the English and Chinese referent is slightly different. In America, we think "wonton" as a deep-fried dumpling, almost like a crab rangoon, sometimes called "cheese wontons" (what the heck). But in Chinese, hundun is usually seen in hùndùn tāng, "wonton soup", a specific kind of soup with more rounded shaped dumplings. So be careful the next time you ask for wontons, you may end up getting the opposite of what you want!
4. 小笼包 / 小籠(湯)包 - xiǎolóng (tāng) bāo = this special type of dumpling are known as "soup dumplings". They are circular-shaped and usually steamed in baskets. They're called "soup dumplings" because when you break the dumpling wrapper, soup comes out. They are typically served in Dim Sum restaurants or higher-end Chinese restaurants.
This recipe is how to make CHINESE-style dumplings. I say
"Chinese" and not "potstickers" or "wontons" because the ones I make
can be boiled or pan-fried.
THE RECIPE
Filling
- Ground Pork || 1lb
- Napa Cabbage* || 4-6 leaves, diced (almost minced)
--(I prefer meat/cabbage 50/50, or 60/40 is also good)
- Green Onions || 2-4 small stalks OR 1-2 big stalks
- Dumpling Wrappers || 1-2 packages, any brand
--(for the purpose of the recipe I'll explain how to wrap using the circular wrappers)
Seasonings
- Baking Powder || 1/4 tsp (mix with a little water, enough to dissolve)
- Shao Xing Rice Wine* || 2 tbsp
- Light Soy Sauce
- Dark Soy Sauce
- White Pepper*
- Garlic Powder ||
- Salt || sparingly, no more than a couple pinches if desired
- Sesame Oil || by preference, no more than 1 tbsp
*Optionals and Substitutes*
- 1 egg, beaten || can substitute baking powder, added on Step 2
- Oyster Sauce || for slightly sweeter taste, no more than 2 tbsp, add at Step 6
- Rice Wine has a slightly sweet smell/taste to it. It can be omitted if you don't have it, but it helps to get rid of the "bloody meat smell/taste" that some people don't like. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then maybe you don't need it.
- White pepper has a more spicy, tangy taste than regular black pepper most people are familiar with. You can substitute it for regular black pepper, you would just have to add a little more to make up for it. The taste will be different as well, so just keep that in mind.
- Napa Cabbage can be substituted with Taiwanese flat cabbage or regular round cabbage. I just find the light taste of the Napa Cabbage to be best with dumplings; the final product cross-section of the dumpling is prettier too.
DIRECTIONS
*the key to making good dumplings is to smell the mixture, if it
smells good, you're doing it right. If you can't smell anything, add
more ____*
1. Place ground pork in a bowl, add baking powder slurry and mix until ground pork is broken apart
2. Add rice wine and mix
3. Add Napa cabbage until desired ratio is achieved and mix (see ingredients for ratios). Add green onions and mix
4. Add dark soy sauce and mix until evenly colored. Then add light soy sauce and mix again
5. Add white pepper and garlic powder, mix
6. (optional) add oyster sauce, mix
7. THIS IS THE FUN PART! Smell the mixture. Do you like the smell? Yes? No? This is when you adjust the seasonings based on your own taste buds. If you're new to the dumpling-making scene, just stick to the regular measurements I listed above. If you're a seasoned dumpling-maker, this is the time to create your masterpiece :)
8. When you are finally done and happy with your dumpling mixture, add sesame oil and mix
9. Cover meat mixture with plastic wrap and let it marinate (overnight is best, but at least let it sit for a few hours bare minimum before starting to wrap)
How to wrap dumplings (using circular wrappers)
0. You're going to need a normal kitchen spoon to scoop the meat, and a little bowl of water to dip your fingers in)
1. Add a normal spoon-sized portion of meat into the center of the dumpling wrapper
2. Use your finger to coat the edges of the wrapper in water, and fold the dumpling in half, making sure no air is inside the dumpling
3. Crinkle Method 1: after dumpling is pinched in half, take one end of the dumpling and fold the dumpling edge in a zig-zag pattern
4. Crinkle Method 2: after putting water along the edges, fold the dumpling in half but only pinch it closed in the center. Zig-zag each side closed
*PICTURES COMING SOON!*
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