I lost my day job last week. I had been hanging on by a thread since right after Thanksgiving and right before Christmas which is why I’ve been MIA since that time. Granted that job didn’t bring me nearly as much joy as cooking does, it certainly paid for the ingredients. So until future notice, I am on a shoestring budget while trying to keep the same level of flavor and interest in my daily dinners for my family. I welcome the challenge.
So yesterday afternoon I opened the fridge to assess my fixin’s and they were slim! I had some pork chops that I got on clearance, a scant bunch of cilantro, a half a head of cabbage. But what I really wanted was pot stickers. So I headed off to the store and bought ginger, Thai basil, and gyoza wrappers and headed home to play. I really wasn’t sure where I was going when I started (that happened often) so I made enough filling for 12 dozen! Yes, way too many for just a dinner, but they freeze easily and are perfect for a quick, healthy dinner in just 5-10 minutes. An hour and a half later I had 8.5 dozen pot stickers with enough filling for 4 dozen more or in other terms 3 dinners for a family of five at a price of $10.00! Sweet! I’m thinking that is a pretty good deal.
I have paired down my recipe to make about 40 because that is the number of gyoza wrappers in a single pack. There are a few items that make it super easy to make your own dumplings. A food processor to mince your filling, a bamboo steamer to cook them in a healthy way, and a dumpling gadget for about $1.00 (this is crucial since I am a white girl without a surrogate Asian grandma), cooking spray, time and patience.
Herbed pork dumplings with ginger dipping sauce (Printable Recipe)
(makes about 40 dumplings)
1 pound ground pork (chicken or turkey will work too)1 – 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 shallot
3 coves of garlic
¼ pound of cabbage (about ¼ head of cabbage)
1 jalapeño (optional)1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
½ bunch of cilantro stems discarded (or parsley if you dislike cilantro)
½ bunch or 10-12 big leaves of basil cut into rough pieces
1 package of 40-50 gyoza wrappers
Put the pork into a large bowl. In a food processor mince the ginger, garlic, shallot, jalapeño and cabbage and pour on top of the pork then add the sesame oil, soy sauce and salt and herbs and mix well.
Set up your prep station. Fill a small cereal sized bowl half full of warm water. Place your wrappers on the left, the bowl of water on the right side of that, a small work surface in front of you with your dumpling press, your filling above your workstation with a teaspoon in it, a wet hand towel to keep clean, a can of cooking spray at you disposal, and a cookie sheet sprayed with oil on your right.
Spray the dumpling press with cooking spray. Take the first dumpling wrapper and hold it in the center with the edges facing vertically. Dip the wrap in the water and rotate so that the whole edge about ¼ of an inch deep has been wetted and then place it, centered on the dumpling press, and gently smooth down the center of the wrap. Take 1 teaspoon of filling and place it in the center of the wrapper and press it down with the back of the spoon. Fold the press and remove the dumpling to the cookie sheet. When you have filled a row on you cookie sheet, spray the tops with cooking spray and then cover them with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Repeat until all wraps have been filled. Be careful not to over fill the dumplings or they will burst and not seal properly and don’t under-fill them either because that’s just disappointing.
Dipping Sauce
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cocktail sauce
1 teaspoon fresh zested ginger
Mix and serve with steamed or pan fried dumplings.
How to Steam the dumplings
Place your steamer above 1 inch of boiling water on medium heat.
Lay the dumplings in a single layer without touching and steam for 5-7 minutes. Remove and serve with dipping sauce.
How to Panfry the dumplings
Heat your fry pan to medium then put in a tablespoon sesame oil. Place a layer of dumplings on the fry pan and cook for about 1 minute and don’t touch them - allow them to stick to the pan. Then pour in ½ cup of water, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes uncover, turn the dumplings over and then cook until all moisture is gone and the other side browns. Remove and serve with dipping sauce.
How to freeze the dumplings
Place the dumplings on the cookie sheet in the freezer. Let them freeze and then remove them to a zipper bag inside of a zipper bag. When cooking frozen dumpling add 3-5 minutes to the cooking time.
Dumplings are extremely versatile. Make them your own by getting creative. Add different ground meats, minced vegetables like carrots, peas, mushrooms, turnips and different flavorings. Dumplings can be Asian inspired but they can also be any ethnic flavor depending on what you have stuffed them with. Change the dipping sauce to pair with your new creation. How about basil and Italian sausage dumplings with tomato sauce, or cabbage, bratwurst, and potato with mustard? Tell me what you’ve come up with!
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