pork, shrimp, and chive filled dumplings

Many cultures and cuisines have their own versions of ‘dumplings’, dough wrapped around a meat or vegetable stuffing — think Italian ravioli, Polish pierogi, Nepalese momos, empanadas, etc. In Chinese culture, dumplings bring families together throughout the year during special occasions like Lunar New Year. Growing up in the US, my family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners never looked like your typical American Turkey and pie spread but always included dumplings or hot pot.

During the pandemic, my mom really got into making dumplings from scratch, including making the outside wrapper which we usually just buy premade at 99 Ranch. I haven’t been able to try her homemade dumplings yet, so I decided to just ask for the recipe. She sent me 2 YouTube videos, offered a few tips, and sent me on this journey to make dumplings from scratch. Below I translate and document the whole process and include a few adjustments I made on my own. Enjoy!

What you need

Chinese dumplings come in a variety of fillings, but this recipe is for a typical pork, shrimp, and chives filling. The below recipe can make roughly 50 dumplings, but that also depends on your wrapper thickness, size, and personal filling to dough ratio preference.

helpful tools

A small rolling pin (my mom recommends a tapered one about 5 inches long, but I used a regular shaped wooden one about 7 inches long)
A scale for measuring out your dough recipe
Flat surface

Filling Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork (can be a little fatty)
1/2 lb shrimp, chopped into very little pieces
A half bundle of Chinese chives*, chopped finely
1 inch of freshly grated ginger
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 tbsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
3 tbsp of soy sauce
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

*A note on the Chinese chives. You will find this at most Chinese supermarkets like 99 Ranch. It might just be called ‘Chives’, but they taste very different from American chives. I had to confirm with a Chinese grandmother at the market to make sure that I was indeed buying 韭菜 (“jiu cai”).

Dumpling Wrapper Ingredients

200 grams of dumpling flour (you can also find this at an Asian supermarket). Or, you can use regular flour, which I have not tried using yet.
162 grams of water
1/2 tbsp Salt

dipping sauce ingredients

Chinese black vinegar
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil
Chili sauce

recipe

The above measurements are to be measured exactly but a rough estimate and can be altered based on personal taste. I recommend making a 3-4 dumplings for a taste test before committing to wrapping your whole batch.

The Filling

Step 1: Season just the pork

In a bowl, mix the ground pork, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Crack in 1 egg and mix until you have an even consistency. Let this rest for 30 minutes. Some Asian mothers will argue that you need to mix in one direction, feel free to use this advice.
Next, mix in the chopped raw shrimp along with the finely chopped chives. For some people, the flavor of Chinese chives is quite strong, so feel free to add less chives.
Your final mixture should be quite even and gooey. The ingredients should all stick together and there shouldn’t be any large chunks of meat sticking out.

Step 2: Make the dumplings dough

In a bowl, mix 200 grams of dumplings flour with the salt.
Slowly add in the water bit by bit, mixing with your hands as you go. Be patient with the dough. At first it will seem very stringy and nothing will be sticking together. Once you add all the water, continue mixing and kneading until you have something that resembles a ball of dough.
It will not be very smooth but it should not be too sticky and wet. Your finger will easily leave an indent but some dough may stick. Cover this ball of dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, the dough will seem very soft at first. Knead the dough and it will very quickly become smooth and almost bouncy to touch.
On a well-floured surface, separate the dough in two. Roll out each half until 1 inch in diameter. Cut each roll into smaller, half inch pieces. Generously toss the smaller pieces in flour.

Step 3: Roll the dough into wrappers

On a well floured surface and a floured roller, roll each small piece of dough into thin circles of approximately 3 inches in diameter. Generally, you can use both outwards and inwards rolling motions to get the right shape. The thickness of the wrapper depends on your preference, but the thinner it is the more impressive and easier the dumplings cook. Be wary that if your dough is too thin, your dumplings might break and leak while cooking.
Repeat this process with all your dough nuggets. If you stack the wrappers, make sure to flour them well to avoid sticking. You may enlist your family to help with this step while others continue to step 4 below.

Step 4: Wrap the dumplings

In one hand, hold a wrapper centered in your palm
With the other hand, scoop about 1 tbsp of filling into the center of the circular wrapper.
You should have room to close the wrapper by folding halfway over the filling. You can gently pull one side of the wrapper to help you reach over the filling.
Closing the dumpling wrapper can be done in many ways. As long as the dough is press sealed, you are all set to cook. I like to place the dumpling on the table while I make little pleats with the wrapper from edge to edge.

Step 5: Cook the dumplings

Fill a pot with water leaving about 3 inches of space from the edge and bring to a rolling boil.
Add in your fresh dumplings carefully, making sure they do not stick to the bottom of the pot by gently stirring. Avoid overcrowding. The dumplings should stick to each other.
Let this cook until the water reaches a rolling boil again. Add cold water to stop the boil.
Repeat the above step 2 more times (adding cold water once the mixture reaches a rolling boil).
Drain and serve immediately with the dipping sauce on the side.

Although making dumplings from scratch is a lengthy process, it can be really enjoyable when turned it into a friends and family activity. Hope you found this read enjoyable and helpful if you are looking to attempt homemade dumplings from scratch. Best of luck to you on your journey and thanks for reading!

Homemade Chinese Dumplings