Pork and Shrimp Dumplings
Makes 30-40 dumplings
For Dipping Sauce:
Adapted from Omnivore’s Cookbook
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
3-4 tablespoons ginger, peeled
20 sprigs of cilantro
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon green onions, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon Gochugaru
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 dried red chilis
½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, leave whole (optional)
For Dumplings:
Adapted from Omnivore’s Cookbook
1 pound ground pork
½ pound shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped (about 16 medium shrimp)
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
⅔ - ¾ cup red cabbage, cut into small cubes
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon sesame seed oil
30-40 premade dumpling wrappers (3 - 3.5 inches in diameter)
Avocado oil, for cooking
Water, for steaming
For Dipping Sauce:
Coarsely chop the smashed garlic, ginger, and cilantro together on a cutting board. This allows the flavors to better blend.
Transfer them to a bowl and add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, green onions, Gochugaru, sesame seeds, dried chilis, and Sichuan peppercorns. Mix everything until well combined. Let sit before serving.
For Dumplings:
In a large bowl, combine the pork, shrimp, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, and pepper. Using a spatula, mix everything together until it forms a sticky paste. This is crucial as it helps keep the mixture together when wrapping dumplings later. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set in the fridge, and let the mixture marinate until you’re ready to wrap the dumplings.
In a small bowl, add the red cabbage and 2 pinches of salt. Mix everything together. Let this sit for 10-15 minutes. Using a paper towel, pat dry any water that’s accumulated.
Just before you’re ready to wrap the dumplings, add the red cabbage, green onions, and sesame seed oil to the dumpling mixture. Stir to mix everything together.
To wrap the dumplings, prepare a small bowl of water. Scoop 1 - 2 tablespoon of the dumpling filling and place it at the center of a dumpling wrapper. Dip your finger into the bowl of water and wet the outer edge of dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, over the filling, to create a half-moon shape. Pinch the two sides of the wrappers together.
Holding the dumpling in one hand, seal the edges into pleats with the other hand. Firmly press the pleated side together to make sure the dumpling is well sealed.
If you add too much filling, remove the extra filling. If there’s too much filling and you can’t seal the dumpling, the delicious fat and marinate will leak out while cooking.
Line a large tray or plate with paper towels and set the finished dumplings on the paper towel.
Working in batches, heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add 1-2 teaspoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the dumplings. Fry the dumplings, without disturbing them, until the bottoms turn golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Use tongs to check the bottom of the dumplings.
Get 50 milliliters (a little less than ¼ cup) of water, pour it into the pan, and quickly put the lid on (you want to trap all the steam inside the pan). Watch the dumplings and fry them until the water has evaporated from the pan, about 3-4 minutes.
Repeat steps #8 and #9 until you’ve cooked all the dumplings.
Serve with the dipping sauce.
Enjoy!
