Pork Dumplings

You can skimp on this recipe and buy the dumpling/gyoza wrappers from the supermarket, but they're tiny, thin and just not as good as making them yourself. It's OK for wontons, but not good enough for dumplings. You deserve better. Use normal Soy Sauce or the Light Soy Sauce (or a combination of both, like I do)--whatever pleases you.

Makes 24 large dumplings.

Ingredients

• Dipping Sauce:
• 60ml Soy Sauce
• 60ml cup Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tspn Sesame Oil
• 1 tspn Chilli Flakes
• Wrappers:
• 500g All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tspn Salt
• 300ml Warm Water
• Dumplings:
• 200g Red Cabbage, finely shredded and chopped
• 1 cup Green Onion, chopped
• 1.5 tblspn Garlic, minced
• 1.5 tblspns Ginger, minced
• 2 tblspns Soy Sauce
• 700g Pork, ground
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 tblspns Sesame Oil
• Water, on hand
• Peanut Oil, for frying

Method

1. Dipping Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper flakes and stir to combine. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop while you make the dumplings.
2. Wrappers: In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the warm water and mix until well-combined.
3. Roll out dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal lumps. Roll out 1 lump of dough into a thin log and divide into 6 pieces. Repeat this step with the remaining dough portions.
5. Lightly flour the dough pieces. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to smoothly roll out 1 piece into a thin circle roughly 10-12cm in diameter. Stack the dumpling wrapper separated with a small piece of baking paper and repeat this step with the remaining dough.
6. Dumplings: Combine the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a medium bowl and mix well.
7. Combine the ground pork with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper and stir well. Add the cabbage mixture and stir well again.
8. To assemble the dumplings, add roughly 1 heaped tablespoon of filling to the center of a dumpling wrapper. With your finger, lightly coat half of the outside of the wrapper with water. Fold the moistened half of the wrapper over the filling and, using your fingers, squeeze out any air and pleat the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining fillings and wrappers.
9. Working in batches of 6 (or so), heat a tablespoon of peanut oil over medium high in a large skillet and add a few dumplings. Once the bottoms of the dumplings start to brown, add a splash of water and cover with a lid. Steam for about 5 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked and the water has evaporated. Transfer the cooked dumplings to a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess moisture or grease. Begin this step again until all dumplings are cooked.
10. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.