PORK DUMPLINGS
 
½ pound cabbage, finely chopped (use Chinese or Napa cabbage)
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound lean ground pork (coarsely ground by the butcher)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 green onions or 1 small leek, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sherry or Chinese rice wine
salt and pepper
3-inch round sui mai (dumpling) or wonton wrappers
 
Place the chopped cabbage and shredded carrot in a bowl. Toss with the salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Squeeze the vegetables to remove excess water.
In a bowl, combine the vegetables with the remaining filling ingredients. Use your hands to knead the ingredients together well.
Use about a tablespoon of filling for each dumpling. Lay a wrapper on the counter, use your finger to lightly dampen the edges of the wrapper with water and fold over to make a half-moon shape, pinching the dough together at the center, then working down both sides to pinch (and pleat) the edges together.
Alternately, make an upright, pouch, shaped dumpling (for steaming). Start with a meatball of filling and gather the dough up around it – squeezing lightly with both hands for form a sort of “waist” around the pork. The dumpling should stand upright, with the pork filling showing in the centre of the wrapper.
Set dumplings on a parchment lined sheet, loosely covered with plastic, as you make them. The entire sheet can be refrigerated for several hours or frozen before cooking.
To cook, steam the dumplings (on a plate in a bamboo steamer) for about 20 minutes. The sealed, moon-shaped may also be boiled or pan-fried. Boil for about 10 minutes in a large pot of boiling water.
To pan-fry, use a heavy, nonstick pan with a lid, heat a little oil over medium high heat, and brown the dumplings on the bottom, then add about a cup of water or stock to the pan, cover and steam until the dumplings are tender and the liquid has boiled away. Invert the crisp, golden dumplings on a plate to serve.
Serve with a dipping sauce made with soy sauce and vinegar or Worcestershire and a bit of Chinese chili paste.
Makes about 40 dumplings.

©Cinda Chavich 2008

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