Sunday, June 14, 2009

Chinese Dumplings/Pot Stickers




From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...
The Daring Bakers' June challenge was chosen by Jen from use real butter. She proposed that we make dumplings, boiled, steamed or fried. This was intriguing, but due to time constraints I came down to the wire and almost missed the deadline. Fortunately, it was not a difficult challenge. I've used the dough recipe for many years, primarily as a wrapper for egg rolls, so creating the discs to hold the filling was not a problem. The only trick is allowing the gluten to relax before going at it with a rolling pin. Shaping the dumplings was another story. I did a quick scan of Jaden Hair's wonderful instructions for pleating dumplings to get some idea how this is done manually. I have a small gadget that I normally use for shaping dumplings. I couldn't use it for this challenge because the dumplings had to be made by hand. I decided to use the shrimp filling included in Jen's recipe breakdown for the challenge. The filling is very nice. I decided to steam the dumplings and serve them with a dipping sauce that we often use at our table. I hope you'll try making your own dumplings. It really is fun to do. Here's are the recipes used for this month's challenge.

Chinese Dumplings...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Dough
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup warm water
flour for work surface
Shrimp Filling
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch
Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon sriracha or sambal

Directions:
1) To make the dough: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water). Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.
2) To make the filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly . Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).
3) To make the dipping sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a shaker jar. Shake to combine. For best results, prepare ahead of time to allow the flavors to blend. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use. (Use within 3 to 4 days). Serve with dumplings.
4) To cook dumplings: If boiling, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float. If steaming, place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes. If pan frying, place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve. Yield: about 28 dumplings.

54 comments :

My Little Space said...

The steamed dumplings looking good. Is it your 1st attempt?

Mary Bergfeld said...

It is my first attempt using this recipe and making the wrappers completely by hand. I have a gadget that I normally use to shape dumplings. I couldn't use for this challenge.

Katy ~ said...

Wow, a labor of love. They look perfect and delicious!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

You sure knocked the socks off this one! Gorgeous pot of dumplings.

Hootin Anni said...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Delicious, I'm sure.

Cook the Books said...

Your dumplings look wonderful! I chose to try the pan fry method, but I think I'm going to head to the kitchen supply store for a steamer basket! Great job :)

Cindy Khor said...

i love dumpling stickers pan-fried version. never tried to steam them though as i don't fancy soft skin. but your dumplings are full of wonderful ingredients that maybe i'll try making them.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Cindy, a quick welcome to my blog. I hope you'll visit often.

Audax said...

What a great job you did on this challenge. Your pleating skills look ace (that is very very good) to me. You learnt to do them so fast and the pixs are clear and informative. Thanks for your very nice comments on my blog.

Anonymous said...

Your dumplings look fabulous! It's more than one perfect bite. I'd take at least 100 perfect bites out of them. Congrats!

Amy I. said...

Your dumplings came out lovely, and the pleating looks great! One of my favorite parts of being a Daring Cook is seeing what everyone else did and discovering new blogs. Glad to have found yours!

Claire said...

Your dumplings look fantastic. Great job battling against time constraints

Anonymous said...

They just look so professionally done! I am always impressed when I see what you've made, Mary.
I also loved this challenge! So fun!

Isabelle said...

Your dumplings just amaze me, they look so perfect! I never try to steam them.
Thanks for your nice comments on my blog.

Angie said...

Thanks for the comment, Mary! Yours look great!

Heather B said...

Great job on your dumplings! They look delicious!

Jen Yu said...

A beautiful plate of dumplings there! You are now officially a pro :) Your pleating looks fantastic. Great job on the challenge.

tina said...

Your steamed version looks yummy and plump.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Tina, thank you. I think I found my way to your site. Yours are beautiful and wonderfully photographed.

Isolated Foodie said...

Beautiful steamed dumplings! The more pictures I see of the plump steamed version, the more I want a bamboo steamer. This is my first visit to your blog -- your blog photo is just gorgeous!

Patsyk said...

Your dumplings look beautiful! I haven't made any in quite some time, and really need to do it again soon after seeing yours!

Dips said...

Great dumplings Mary..it was definitely fun to make the wrappers from scratch..wasnt it? I think over time I can make it thin and small enough like real dumplings :)

Mary Bergfeld said...

PatsyK, It's good to see you here. The dumplings are really fun to make and pleating is like riding a bicycle. It comes back quickly.

Anonymous said...

Yummy looking dumplings! I did the pan-fried version and am looking forward to trying them steamed too...

Lori said...

Mary- Very impressive for coming down to the wire!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Lori, I am without a kitchen this weekend and did not know that was going to be the case until late Thursday night. I really did have to hustle. Things will be back to normal tomorrow.

Kris Ngoei said...

Dumplings look delicious. Make me drool! Great job!

Regards
Kris

chriesi said...

Beautiful pot of dumplings! Have a great week!

Culinary Wannabe said...

Nice job! I'm jealous of your pleating skills. :)

Dharm said...

These dumplings look just super Mary!! very lovely indeed!

Jerry said...

I really enjoyed this challenge - it was nice to use my own dough rather than the store bought stuff I've bought in the past! Your dumplings look amazing.

Anonymous said...

You did a great job on these! Your wrappers look very thin an tender which is no easy feat. I love your blog. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Yours look amazing. Particularly the steamed ones. Yum!

Lauren said...

Wow! Your dumplings look perfect =D. Beautiful photos as well!!

Delicious Dishings said...

I love your dumplings - they look so good!

Connie said...

Great job! They looks so delicious!

CRUISNDIVA said...

Your dumplings look delish and you did a fantastic job of pleating even without your handy gadget. Great work!!

Jenny said...

Your dumplings look absolutely perfect!
Thanks for visiting our blog - the flu passed by quickly so the dumplings are probably on the dinner table tomorrow.
I love your blog header (is that the correct term?) BTW - beautiful picture!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

That's a lot of work but they are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary,
Your dumplings look awesome too!!!

-cait

Rose said...

They look beautiful! Great job! :)

Christina Kim said...

These are beautiful! I also love how you steamed them the "right" way, with the bamboo steamer and lettuce leaves.

Woman with a Whisk said...

Beautiful presentation!

Mary Bergfeld said...

A warm welcome to all of you who are visiting One Perfect Bite for the first time. I really do enjoy blogging with you and hope you'll come again.

Karen said...

I love pot stickers and these look delicious. I just can't see myself making them because they look like they require patience, of which I have none ;)

Tres Jolie Studios said...

You did a wonderful job and your potstickers look like a perfect bite!!

ice tea: sugar high said...

Great job! love your photos, and i bet they taste as good as they look. yum yum

Lisa said...

The translucency of the steamed ones shows how perfectly thin you got your dough! They look so beautiful and mouth watering! Well done!

Arundathi said...

I had a lot of fun making it too and it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. You've done a lovely job!

Madeline said...

Great job, they look fantastic! Your photos are beautiful and I am crazy about your header photo :) I never thought of using this dough for egg rolls. Would you roll them a little thicker and deep fry them?

Mary Bergfeld said...

Madeline, I try to keep the wrapper thin, but I do deep fry eggrolls made with this skin.

Melissa and Zack said...

I don't know why but these look better to me than the japanese gyoza. I will be trying this soon!

free online adventure games said...

This is something I think my family will love. Where I live, the dipping sauce for such dumplings is usually black vinegar with strips of ginger. You might like to try that too!

claire said...

wow! these look gorgeous! i havent braved making my own dumplings yet!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Printfriendly