Holly’s Dumplings

Servings:
Total Time:

Ingredients

For dumplings:

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

• 1 tablespoon minced ginger

• 1 egg

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 lb Napa cabbage

• 1 package egg roll skins, if desired

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

For dipping sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons minced ginger

• 2 teaspoons sliced green onions

• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons sriracha or chili paste

Instructions

Pork Filling

Combine pork, green onions, ginger, egg, pepper, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a medium mixing bowl; set aside.

Cabbage Prep

Wash, drain, then shred 1/2 head cabbage; place cabbage into a medium mixing bowl with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Let it sit 3 minutes, then squeeze out any salty water. Add shredded cabbage to pork filling with remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil; mix.

Handmade Skins

Combine 1 cup boiling water and 2 cups flour with 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon until cool enough to handle, then knead with hands until smooth.

Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour.

Pull off a baseball-size piece of dough; roll with both hands forward and backward to create a rope.

Cut 1-inch pieces from the rope; then roll into flat circles 3–4 inches across. Use ample flour to keep dumpling skins from sticking. Repeat steps if more dough is needed to wrap filling. Note: Store-bought egg roll skins may be substituted for handmade skins. Use a biscuit cutter to make 2- to 3-inch circles in the egg roll skins to use for your dumplings.

Wrapping

Lay a piece of dumpling skin on the table (or put it in the palm of your hand). Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of the skin, then wet the outer rim of the skin slightly. No need to wet the edges if using handmade skins.

Fold over the skin from one edge to the opposite edge, squeeze the 2 layers together, and finish sealing the dumpling in your hand. (You can crease the back layer by pushing it toward the center of the dumpling while leaving the front layer flat.)

Squeeze them together to seal. This will allow dumplings to stand up, rather than lie down.

Cooking the Dumplings

Preheat a large nonstick pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan, then swirl to coat; add raw dumplings. Cook 1–2 minutes and until browned on the bottom slightly.

Pour 1/2 cup cold water into pan; cover and allow to steam 4–5 minutes, and until the skins look moistened and a thermometer poked into the center of a dumpling reads at least 160°F. If they start to stick or burn too strongly, lower the heat and splash in some vinegar to deglaze the pan.

Repeat the above step if there are extra dumplings.

Sauce

Combine all sauce ingredients and stir; serve with dumplings.

Freezing

You can make extra dumplings and freeze them for another day. Line up dumplings neatly in a floured tray, cookie sheet, or large plate, and freeze them for 1 or 2 hours. When hard enough to handle, transfer them to plastic bags in meal-sized portions. Seal tightly and freeze them until ready to use. Do not thaw the dumplings again. Boil the frozen dumplings directly.