Recipe for Pork and Shirmp Dumpling
Ingredient:
Dumplings hold a special place in Chinese culture as a symbol of family reunions and togetherness. Their distinctive shape embodies the idea of completeness
Whether it’s to welcome the first day of winter or celebrate the joyous reunions during the Spring Festival, one of China’s most significant holidays, dumplings take center stage.
Now, let’s dive into a recipe to craft these meaningful culinary creations from scratch:
For the Dough:
- 150g spinach (for green dough)
- 150g pumpkin or butternut squash (for orange dough)
- 150g cooked beetroot (for red dough)
- 450g all-purpose flour (150g for each color)
- Water (cold, warm, or boiling, depending on your cooking method)
For the Filling:
- 200g minced pork
- 400g raw prawns, peeled and chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 piece of leek (white part), finely chopped
- A few pieces of ginger, minced
- 4-5 tablespoons of neutral oil
- 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Dipping Sauce:
- 1 small clove of garlic, grated
- A little vinegar
- A little soy sauce
- A little sesame oil
- A little reserved cooking water
How to make the dumpling
Step 1 : Prepare the Colored Dough:
- For the green dough: Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, then blend and strain to obtain spinach juice.
- For the orange dough: Steam the pumpkin or butternut squash until tender, then blend to get a smooth puree.
- For the red dough: Use cooked beetroot from a supermarket bag or cook beetroot until tender, blend, and strain to get beet juice.
- Mix each juice with 150g of flour separately to create three colored doughs. Add water gradually as needed to make a smooth dough.
Step 2 : Prepare the Filling:
- In a pan, heat the neutral oil and add the leek and ginger. Cook until fragrant.
- Combine the minced pork and chopped prawns in a bowl.
- Add the cooked leek and ginger, soy sauce, egg, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture. Mix thoroughly until it becomes a uniform, slightly sticky filling.
Step 3 : Assemble the Dumplings:
- Roll out each colored dough into thin sheets on a floured surface.
- Cut the dough into small circles (about 3 inches in diameter).
- Place a small amount of filling in the center of each dough circle.
- Fold the dough over the filling, sealing the edges by pinching them together in the shape of your choice (traditional crescent shape or another design).
Step 4 : Cook the Dumplings:
- Boil a large pot of water.
- Add the dumplings in batches and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring gently and adding cold water 2-3 times to prevent sticking. The dumplings are done when they float to the surface.
Step 5 : Make the Dipping Sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine grated garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little reserved cooking water. Adjust the quantities to your taste.
Step 6 : Serve:
- Remove the cooked dumplings from the pot with a slotted spoon and serve them hot with the dipping sauce.
Enjoy your homemade colorful Chinese dumplings!
FAQ
What is pork dumpling called in chinese?
In Chinese, dumplings are called ” JiaoZi”, and pork is called ” ZhuRou”, so together pork dumplings are called ” Zhu Rou Jiao Zi ”
What are the different types of dumplings?
Depends on how to cook them, there are 3 basic types of dumplings,
Shuijiao: Dumplings cooked in water
Zhengjiao: Dumplings cooked in a steamer
Jianjiao: Dumplings cooked by frying
How to cook dumplings in water:
To cook dumplings, you need to prepare a large pot and bring a lot of water to boil (usually filling about 2/3 of the pot ). Only when the water is fully boiling, which means you see not just bubbes but alseo a rolling boil, should you add the dumplings. The number of dumplings should be adjusted to fit in the pot. You want to make sure that there’s enough espace for each dumpling to cook in a single layer on the surface.
How to know when dumplings are cooked in water?
When the dumplings surface all in the pot, that means they are cooked for the freshly made dumplings. For the frozen dumplings, it’s better to add one round of cold water back into the boiling water, let it come to boil again.
What are the differences between the wontons and dumplings ?
The main differences between wontons and dumplings are :
Different dough: Dumpling are made from flour while wontons are make from flour mixed with food-grade lye
Different appearce: Wontons are so thin and transparent that you can see through them while dumplings are the opposite
Different filling recipes: Dumplings offer a wide variety of filling options, including meat, vegetbles or meat mixed with vegitables whereas wontons recipes typically contains only meat without vegetables