Homemade Pork Dumplings

I have become rather obsessed with making homemade dumplings. I watched a YouTube video from the Brothers Green all about how to make different types of dumplings and I was amazed at how easy it looked! So I had to give it a try! There was an amazing dumpling place near Dave's work in VA (I have raved about it a number of times, Dumpling Queen!) but nothing we have found so far in Texas even comes close! 


This blog post will be huge! But please don't allow it to intimidate you! Once you get the hang of these, you will find they are so easy and actually far better than ones at restaurants! (Except for Dumpling Queen in VA of course....) These have become part of our weekly meal rotation! I crave them constantly! Your first few tries may be a bit of trial and error, but I promise, once you get the hang of it, you will be just so damn pleased with yourself! ðŸ˜‚

Now if you don't feel like reading a novel, I made a little video which covers all the steps for how I make my dumplings. I'm not the best videographer, so forgive me! But if you want some more in depth explaining, continue below!


What you will need;
1 lb. ground pork
1/3 head of green cabbage (traditional recipes call for napa cabbage but I have used both and don't notice any difference once it's all cooked up!)
1/3 white onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger (I use ground ginger because I'm lazy! I don't honestly feel like it makes a huge difference!)
2 scallions
½ tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the veggies, 1 for the pork)
1 tsp sugar
Splash of rice wine vinegar
Dash of salt and pepper

So... I never actually measure anything out. In the video you may see me adding more or less of what I actually state above.... I've made these so many times, it's easy for me to just eyeball it! For all the veggies, I basically just stuff as much as I can into my food processor and once it's full, call it good. And then drizzle on top all the sauces and seasonings. You could cut everything by hand, but I would really recommend using a food processor or even a blender and just gently pulsing it all so it's finely chopped. You don't want it to be mush, but you also don't want large chunks as it won't cook as well. If you have a hand chopper that would work really well too! 

Anyways, once you have all your veggies chopped up, however you choose to go about that, dump it into a large mixing bowl. Add in your ground pork, and an extra splash of soy sauce (1 tbsp) and mix it all together. 

I like to wrap my dumplings on a large cutting board. I have ample room to wrap up the dumplings and them somewhere to place them once they are wrapped. If you don't have a large board you could just use two large plates. You want to moisten both where you will
be doing the wrapping as well as where you will be placing the wrapped dumplings. This will help them avoid sticking to the surface which can then cause them to tear. You also want to have a small little cup of water to dip your fingers in while you wrap the dumplings. You want to make sure the wrappers are nice and moist to prevent any tearing. 

Now, in the video, you will be me actually using square wonton wrappers. My grocery store doesn't carry dumpling wrappers so I just get the wonton wrappers and honestly using either one is fine. I do live pretty close to an Asian food market so sometimes I will go and stock up on proper dumpling wrappers. But, really, they cook up pretty much the same. The dumpling wrappers are quite thick and rarely tear, so they are a bit easier to fold. If you want to pan fry them, they do tend to crisp up a lot more than the wanton wrappers do, but since they are thicker, they take a bit longer to cook. The wonton wrappers are thinner so they can tear much more easily, but they are bigger so you can fit quite a lot more filling into them. They also cook up a bit quicker. I think they are quicker to fold together because I just simply pinch each corner together, as apposed to the round wrappers, I have to fold and pinch. Personally I actually like using the wanton wrappers more just because I can put so much more filling into them so I don't have to make as many, but really either way, it doesn't matter, it won't make any big difference and they will be super yummy either way!

Anyways... Once you have all your dumplings wrapped up, you want to heat a skillet with oil (veggie or olive is fine) over medium-high heat. Once your pan is nice and hot, add the dumplings. Cook until the bottoms are nice and brown, about 7 minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of water, just enough to add a thin layer of water across the bottom of the pan, you don't want the dumplings submerged, and add a lid to allow them to steam until most of the water has cooked off, about 7-10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make your dumpling sauce. Super easy to whip together and far better than straight soy sauce!

All you will need;
2 tbsp soy sauce (I always buy low sodium)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Sriracha to taste
A dash of sugar
A dash of chili powder

And just stir all that together and you are ready to go! 

That's it! Honestly, finding the wrappers, and in some stores, finding ground pork, can be the biggest struggle of the entire process, but once you get a hang of it, and find a way to fold them that is easy for you, these will become a family favorite! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! 

Enjoy! 


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