Chinese Style Pork Dumpling
- Level: Advanced
- Yield: 25 to 30 dumplings
- Total: 4 hr 20 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 1 hr 45 min
Ingredients
Pork Rub:
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
Braising Liquid:
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon rice wine
Braising Spices:
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
Pinch whole cloves
1 pod star anise
1 pod black cardamom, cracked
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
Filling:
3 pounds pork shoulder
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 pounds cabbage, cored and shredded
1 pound grated carrots
1 cup minced garlic
1 cup minced fresh ginger
1 bunch green onions, finely diced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Dumpling Dough:
1/3 cup demerara sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Directions
Special equipment:
a muslin bag or tea strainer; cupcake wrappers- For the pork rub: Stir salt, granulated sugar, garlic powder, black pepper and white pepper together in a bowl.
- For the braising liquid: Combine the lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, wine and 1 tablespoon water together in a bowl.
- For the braising spices: Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add coriander, fennel, Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, anise, cardamom and cinnamon stick to a muslin bag or tea strainer.
- For the filling: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Slice shoulder into small chunks. Apply 1 1/2 cups rub to all pieces and place in an oven-safe pan. Add braising liquid and braising spices.
- Cover pork with foil and braise for 1 hour, then turn oven to 275 degrees F and continue to braise for another 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Remove pork chunks from braising liquid, then cool and shred. (Reserve liquid for anything your heart desires.)
- Combine rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce with pork. Add cabbage, carrots, garlic, ginger, green onions and cilantro and let cool.
- For the dumpling dough: Combine demerara sugar, yeast, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixer or mixing bowl.
- Add flour and 3/4 cup water and mix until smooth, about 10 minutes.
- Divide dough into twenty-five to thirty 1.7-ounce balls.
- Roll into rounds with a rolling pin and place on lightly floured parchment paper. Lightly stretch edges of dough rounds, leaving center as firm as possible. Place a dough round flat on your palm. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop compacted filling in center. Using your free hand, pinch 1 inch or so of the edge of the round together between thumb and index finger. The dough between the pinch should fold together. Use middle finger to pinch another 1 inch or so section of the edge of the dough round. Pull index finger from where it is and pinch another section of dough to the clump of pinches you've started in a finger-walking motion. Switch between middle and index finger of main hand as you "walk" your fingers around the edge of the dough. The key is to pinch, not twist! Use thumb of other hand in a spatula motion to help corral filling within round. Keep as much of the rim of the dough round as clean as possible, as the more dry the dough is, the easier it will stick to itself when pinched. Perform 7 to 9 total pinches until there is a clump of pinches at the center/top of the now mostly formed dumpling. Bring all pinches together into one, central pinch, then flatten. Flip over so top of dumpling is smooth and base of dumpling is where the pinched folds are. Place dumpling in a cupcake wrapper. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Put wrapped dumplings into a steamer and cook until it looks flat in texture, not shiny, 10 to 13 minutes.