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Pork Dumplings with Sesame Dipping Sauce

You will get rave reviews when you make these delicious Pork Dumplings with Sesame Dipping Sauce! Perfect side dish, appetizer or meal!
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Lunch
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Pork Dumplings
Servings: 60 dumplings
Author: Debbie

Ingredients

Dumpling Filling:

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound Savoy cabbage (or Napa), halved lengthwise and cored
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated on a zester, or pressed through a garlic press.
  • 2 scallions
  • 3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce, depending on how lean your pork is (regular or low sodium)
  • 1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine or sherry*
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 scant teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • 1 package frozen round dumpling wrappers
  • Small bowl of water

Dipping Sauce

  • 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar* (alternatively, ½ teaspoon balsamic mixed with ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar), Available at Chinese markets
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • a pinch of white pepper
  • Chinese hot pepper sauce, optional

Instructions

Making the Filling:

  • Place the ground pork in a large bowl. Cover and set aside.
  • Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the cabbage and blanch to quickly wilt.
  • Using a slotted spoon, remove the cabbage from the water and when cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess liquid, or wring out with a clean dish towel. 
  • Chop cabbage in 1" pieces.
  • In a small bowl, allow ginger to sit in 2 Tablespoons of water, it should be enough to cover the grated ginger. Allow to sit for a few minutes. (You will use the ginger infused water and discard the actual ginger.)
  • Trim root end of scallions, Cut in half lengthwise, and thinly slice crosswise, using up the white, light green, and dark green parts. Add to the bowl with the pork.
  • Strain the ginger infused water onto the pork and with a wooden spoon push on the ginger to squeeze out all the infused juice. Discard the ginger pieces.
  • Mix the soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, salt, and pepper into the pork mixture until well combined.
  • Add the chopped cabbage to the pork filling mixture. Continue to mix well.

Assembly:

  • Line a cookie sheet with foil.
  • Onto the center of one dumpling wrapper place a generous tablespoon of the pork filling.
  • Using the small bowl of water and your fingertips, dampen the outer edge of the dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrapper over so it creates a half-moon shape.
  • With the rounded edge facing away from you, pinch the edges of the dough to create "pleats," pressing each pleat against the next pleat to seal the dumpling along the way. Work your way to the center then start at the other corner, pleating towards the center.
  • Be sure the wrapper is completely sealed so there is no filling oozing out. If the dumpling cannot be sealed because of too much filling, remove the excess. This will ensure that the dumplings remain sealed while cooking.
  • As you go, place each dumpling onto the prepared baking sheet. To avoid having them stick together, make sure they aren't touching one another.

Cooking the Dumplings - Method #1:

  • Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. With a slotted spoon or mesh ladle, gently lower the dumplings into boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes. They are done when the dumplings float for a few minutes and the wrappers are somewhat "shear." Remove carefully with a slotted spoon.

Cooking the Dumplings - Method #2:

  • Mist a few cabbage leaves with cooking spray. Line steamer with leaves.  If your Bamboo Steamer has 2 levels, line both levels with the leaves. Add dumplings on top of cabbage leaves.
  • Bring 1 ½" water to a simmer in a deep, rounded skillet (like a wok). The reason the curved sides of a wok work best is because, to avoid burning, you don't want the bottom of the steamer to directly touch the bottom of the pot, only the sides. The dumplings are done when the wrappers (“skins”) are translucent.
  • Serve hot.

Dipping Sauce:

  • Mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients together and serve alongside the dumplings.

Notes

Gr8 Do Ahead Tip:
After the assembly is complete and the dumplings are lined up on the baking sheet, freeze them for a couple of hours. Once frozen, they can be put into a freezer bag and frozen for up to one month.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious
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