Chinese Dumplings with Pork and Napa Cabbage Recipe | Happy Chinese New Year

Chinese eat dumplings on Chinese New Year because they look like gold ingots, and therefore, they symbolize wealth and good fortunes. Today we are going to make dumplings with pork and Napa cabbage.

Dumplings with Pork and Napa Cabbage Recipe

24 dumpling wrappers
2 leaves Chinese cabbage, minced
8 ounces minced pork
2 tablespoons water
1/4 thumb ginger, minced
1 stalk scallion, minced
1/4 cup small dried shrimp
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Pinch of salt
Pinch of Chinese pepper powder
Pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons oil

Instructions

First, add 1 tablespoon of oil and mix in the minced cabbage (the oil will seal the juice of cabbage inside, so it will make the dumpling wrapping process a lot easier later).

In a big bowl, mix 8 ounces of minced pork with 2 tablespoons of water together (this is my mom’s secret in making the most delicious and juicy dumplings ever), then add 1/4 of a thumb of minced ginger, 1 stalk of minced scallions, 1/4 cup of small dried shrimp (this is going to add an extra dimension of umami flavor), 4 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, a pinch of salt, a pinch of Chinese pepper powder, pinch of sugar. Mix well. Then 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and add 2 tablespoons of oil and mix again. Lastly, add the minced cabbage that we mixed in oil and combine.

Dampen the edges of the wrapper with water, scoop 1/2 of a tablespoon of filling on it. First, fold in half. Pinch the middle of both sides. Then pleat it.

Boil water in a big pot, then add a pinch of salt and dazzle of oil in the hot water (the salt is going to make the dumpling soup nice and clear, and the oil will prevent the dumpling from sticking together).

Then add the dumplings in and stir slowly with the back of a ladle. Cover with a lid. (There’s a saying in Chinese — 蓋蓋子煮皮，開蓋子煮餡. It means that when you cover the lid, you cook the dumpling wrapper, and later when you take off the lid, you cook the filling inside.) Now once the water is boiled, add 1/4 of a cup of cold water. Repeat this step 3 more times.

Scoop out the dumplings and enjoy!