Shut Up and Eat… Your dumplings – Recipe

I recently commissioned my mom to make some awesome pork and shrimp dumplings. Having watched her and my grandmothers make probably tens of thousands of these little porky bundles of delicious happiness over the years, I figured it’s probably time to document the age old recipe and share with you all. These dumplings are great to make in a big batch because they freeze very easily that they’re a tasty addition to any cold or soup noodle dish.

Out family motto is, “it’s better to have too much, than not enough”; this explains the matriarchs of the family spending the better part of a Saturday morning knocking out dozens upon dozens on these bad boys when I was young.

This recipe yields 50-60 dumplings.
Ingredients:
– 1 kg ground pork
– 15 cleaned and deveined shrimp (26-30) chopped
– 2/3C finely chopped cilantro
– 2.5C finely chopped nappa cabbage
– 3 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp sesame oil
– 1 tps white pepper
– 2 tsp salt
– 2 tsp corn starch
– 1 package of round dumpling wrappers (NOT wonton wrappers)
– 2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil for pan frying

Start first with chopping up the Nappa cabbage. Mix in 1 tsp of salt and vigorously work it into the cabbage for 30 seconds, this will help pull the moisture out of the cabbage and help it wilt – if the cabbage remains constituted, you risk puncturing the wrapper with odd bits of sharp cabbage.

Add the ground pork, chopped shrimp, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, remaining salt,corn starch into the bowl and mix thoroughly. You can taste the difference if the filling is mixed by hand or by machine – by machine, the meat will whip which will result in a rubbery texture, alternatively you can pulverize this mixture in a food processor if you choose to.

Different techniques in dumpling wrapping, my mom chose the single-sided pleat which results in a sturdier structure to “sit-up” properly for pan frying. Experiment and get creative; fold them in half if you choose to like a giant Chinese ravioli… a Chavioli.

EDIT
Here are the options of folding technique including a animation of how to fold the pleats.

My mom suggests this one for beginners:
1) Start by dipping your finger in water and run it along the edges of the wrapper.

2) Spoon in your filling.

3) Close the top and then pinch in the sides.

4) Repeat on both sides.

Once you get used to that one… or bored, try the pleating as illustrated here:

Like the beginner technique start with steps 1 and 2, also, run your finger (dipped in water) along the TOP *outer* edge where the pleats will be pinched together.

Get a frying pan hot on medium-high heat, wipe the surface with oil, then place your dumplings in. Fill the pan with water until the dumplings are halfway covered and cover with a lid and let it simmer until there’s no water left (about 5-7 minutes) – dumplings (if fresh) should be cooked. Drizzle with pan with the reserved frying oil around the dumplings, lower to medium heat and let the magic happen.

Fry for about 3-5 mins or until the bottoms release and reveal their golden brown bottoms. Serve with chinkiang vinegar.

Remember to tag me in your Instagram pictures (at shutupandeatMTL) of your dumplings with #dumplingsMTL !

From our family to yours, enjoy!