Pork and Cabbage Dumplings are one of the most classic Chinese dumpling varieties. The filling combines the two main ingredients with aromatic and flavorful accents, like ginger, scallions, and toasted sesame oil. These juicy morsels can be steamed, pan-fried or boiled with equally delicious results.
Prep Time1 hourhr
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Resting Time1 hourhr
Total Time2 hourshrs10 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Servings: 32dumplings (serving 4 as a main course, or 6 to 8 as a snack or starter)
2cupslightly packed finely chopped napa cabbagecut from whole leaves (about 4.5 ounces or 125 grams)
½teaspoon plus scant ½ teaspoonkosher salt
1tablespoonfinely minced fresh ginger
¼cupchopped Chinese chives or scallionswhite and green parts
8ouncesground pork
⅛teaspoonground pepper
¼cupchicken stock or water
1 ½tablespoonslight (regular) soy sauce
1tablespoonShaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1tablespooncanola oil
1 ½tablespoonstoasted sesame oil
Dough:
10ounces(285 grams / 2 cups) all-purpose flour
About ¾ cup just-boiled waterboil water, then let it sit for a minute off the heat before measuring
Dipping Sauce:
⅓cupsoy sauce
2 ½tablespoonsunseasoned rice, Chinkiang, or balsamic vinegar
⅛teaspoonsugar(optional)
1tablespoonfinely shredded ginger or 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic(optional)
To Cook:
Canola or peanut oilif pan-frying
Instructions
Filling:
Put the cabbage in a bowl and toss with the ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside for about 15 minutes to draw excess moisture from cabbage. Drain in a mesh strainer, flush with water, and drain again. Squeeze the cabbage in your hands over the sink, or put in a cotton kitchen towel and wring out the moisture over the sink.
Transfer the cabbage to a mixing bowl and add the ginger, Chinese chives, and pork. Use a fork or spatula to stir and lightly mash the ingredients so they start coming together.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining scant ½ teaspoon salt, the pepper, chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine, canola oil, and sesame oil. Pour these seasonings over the pork an cabbage mixture, then stir ingredients together. Once the pork has broken up, briskly stir to blend the ingredients into a cohesive, thick mixture. There should not be any visible large chunks of pork.
To develop the flavors, cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of filling. The filling can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before assembling the dumplings.
Dough:
Place a large mixing bowl over a damp paper towel on your work surface, to keep in place while mixing. Add the flour and make a well. Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour while you add the hot water in a steady stream. Mix together until you have a lot of lumpy bits, then knead the hot dough in the bowl until the dough comes together. Add water by the teaspoon if the dough does not come together.
Continue kneading the dough in the bowl for a couple more minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should bounce back when pressed with your finger, but leave a light impression of your finger.
Place dough in a zip-top bag, seal tightly, pressing out excess air, and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the bag and soften. After resting, the dough can be used right away, or refrigerated overnight and returned to room temperature before using.
Dipping Sauce:
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar and stir to dissolve. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking for a tart-savory balance. The sauce can be prepared several hours in advance up to this point. Right before serving, add the ginger or garlic, if using.
Assembly:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour (if planning to refrigerate dumplings for several hours, use parchment and also dust with flour to prevent sticking).
Remove the dough from the bag, turning the bag inside out if the dough is sticky. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in quarters. Put three-quarters back in the bag, squeezing out the air and sealing it closed to prevent drying.
Roll one quarter of the dough into a 1-inch-thick log and cut into 8 pieces (cut in half, then cut each half in half, and so on to create pieces that are even in size. The tapered end pieces should be cut slightly larger).
Take each piece of dough and press each cut end in flour, lightly pressing the dough to about ¼ inch thick and set aside.
Use a dowel (which is a good lightweight rolling pin alternative for fast and flexible dumpling making) to lightly roll out each disc into an ⅛ inch thick circle.
To finish the wrappers, place wrappers one at a time on your work surface, and flour only if sticky. Use the rolling pin to apply pressure to the outer ½-to-¾-inch border of the wrapper. Roll the rolling pin in short downward strokes with one hand while the other hand turns the wrapper in the opposite direction. Aim for wrappers that are about 3 ¼ inches in diameter. When a batch of wrappers is formed, fill them before making wrappers out of the other portions of dough.
Hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand and scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling on the wrapper, pressing and shaping it into a flat mound and keeping a ½-to-¾-inch border on all sides. Bring up the edges to seal into a half-moon shape or pleat the edges as desired.
Place finished dumplings on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and dough, spacing out dumplings about ½ inch apart. Keep the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel.
When all the dumplings are assembled, they can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours and can be cooked straight from the refrigerator.
Cooking:
To boil the dumplings, half-fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat (I like to salt the water, but it’s not necessary). Add half the dumplings, gently dropping each one into the water. Nudge them apart with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking together or to the bottom of the pot. Return the water to a simmer and then lower the heat to maintain a simmer and gently cook the dumplings for about 8 minutes, or until they float to the surface, look glossy, and are puffed up and a tad translucent. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to scoop the dumplings from the pot, a few at a time, pausing the spoon’s motion over the pot to allow excess water to drip back down before putting the dumplings on a serving plate. Cover the plate with a large inverted bowl to keep the dumplings warm. Return the water to a boil and cook the remaining dumplings. When done, return the first batch to the hot water to reheat for a minute or two. There is no need to reboil.
To steam the dumplings, place the dumplings into a bamboo steamer lined with a perforated parchment circle or cabbage leaves (to keep the dumplings from sticking to the steamer) steam over boiling water for for about 8 minutes, or until slightly puffed and somewhat translucent. Remove the trays and place each atop a serving plate.
To pan-fry the dumplings, use a medium or large nonstick skillet (or cook two batches at the same time using two pans). Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 ½ tablespoons oil for a medium skillet and 2 tablespoons for a large one. Place the dumplings 1 at a time, sealed edges up, in a winding circle pattern. The dumplings can touch. Medium skillets will generally fit 12 to 14 dumplings, large skillets will fit 16 to 18 dumplings. Fry the dumplings for 1 to 2 minutes until they are golden or light brown on the bottom.
Holding the lid close to the skillet to lessen splatter, use a measuring cup to add water to a depth of roughly ¼ inch (about ⅓ cup water). The water will immediately sputter and boil vigorously. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil, lower the heat to medium, and let the water bubble away for 8 to 10 minutes, until it is mostly gone. When you hear sizzling noises, remove the lid as most of the water is now gone. Let the dumplings fry for another 1 or 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown and crisp. Turn off the heat and wait until the sizzling stops before using a spatula to transfer dumplings to a serving plate. Display them with their bottoms facing up so they remain crisp.
Serve with the dipping sauce in a communal bowl or in individual dipping sauce dishes.
Notes
Freeze the assembled uncooked dumplings on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer to a zip-top freezer bag, pressing out excess air before sealing, and frozen for up to 1 month. To cook after freezing, partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that may have formed during freezing, before cooking.
Here are a couple easy ways to transform your simple white dumpling dough into colorful creations. For orange dough replace the just-boiled water with just-boiled 100% carrot juice. Meanwhile, for bright gold dough add 1 teaspoon ground turmeric into the flour before adding the water. The dough will develop its vibrant color as it sits. To make green dough follow the instructions in this Fish Dumplings recipe. Or perhaps try red dough by replacing the just-boiled water with just-boiled 100% tomato juice.