Pork and Scallion Dumplings, as seen on Food Network Kitchen Live.
Recipe courtesy of Zac Young

Pork and Scallion Dumplings

Getting reviews...
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 45 min
  • Active: 45 min
  • Yield: 4 servings; makes 8 dumplings
The filling is quick to assemble and packed with flavor, thanks to the abundance of garlic, ginger and scallions. Plus, the homemade wrapper dough is not only easy to work with, but incredibly tender and crisp once steamed. Serve with a spicy soy dipping sauce, and you'll have homemade dumplings that rival some of your favorite dim sum restaurants.

Ingredients

Dumpling Wrappers:

Dumpling Filling:

Dipping Sauce:

Directions

  1. For the wrappers: Stir together the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the hot water and stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough begins to form. Use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl, while picking up flour and dough that sticks on the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface (there's no need to dust the work surface with flour; the dough should be soft and elastic enough that kneading is very easy). Continue to knead your dough until it becomes smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a medium bowl, cover loosely with a barely damp paper towel and then cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rest for 20 minutes while you prepare the filling.
  2. For the filling: Stir together the ground pork, scallions, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce and a few grinds of black pepper in a small bowl until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble the dumplings.
  3. For the dipping sauce: Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds, sriracha and scallions in a liquid measuring cup until combined. Set aside until ready to serve.
  4. Turn out the wrapper dough onto a clean worksurface, then roll out into a log about 8 inches long and 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Use a chef's knife or bench scraper to cut the log into 8 even pieces. Take 1 piece, gather up the edges and pinch together, forming a taut, round surface. Roll between your palms to form a ball, then flatten into a disk. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 3 3/4-to-4-inch-wide disk. Try to make the edges of the wrapper thinner than the center. Repeat with the remaining dough. Keep the wrappers covered (plastic wrap or a barely damp paper towel) to prevent them from drying out.
  5. Divide the filling among the 8 wrappers, about 2 teaspoons per dumpling. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half moon, then pleat the curved edge and pinch to seal. Set the dumplings aside on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet (make sure the dumplings don't touch, as fresh wrapper dough can be sticky).
  6. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the dumplings, flat side down, then cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully pour in 1/4 cup water, cover immediately with a tight-fitting lid and then reduce the heat to low. Cook until almost all the water has evaporated, the dough is tender and shiny and the filling is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove the lid, then continue to cook until all the remaining water has evaporated, and the bottom of the dumplings crisp up again, 1 to 2 minutes more.
  7. Transfer the dumplings to a serving plate and serve with the sauce on the side for dipping.

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)