Most cultures have dumplings because well-seasoned ingredients in a silky smooth wrapper are delicious. Chinese cuisine has incredible dumplings and one of my favourites is the potsticker; a part pan-fried part steamed dumpling that is crisp and chewy. In Vancouver I could pop into a restaurant after work to eat my body weight in dumplings. As a stay at home Mum in Suffolk I had to roll up my sleeves and learn how to make these delicious parcels. I make them more in the winter when it’s rainy outside and we all spend a Saturday afternoon making potstickers ready in time to eat whilst watching Strictly.
INGREDIENTS
Makes 24 Dumplings
WRAPPERS
1.5 cups of plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup boiled water
1/4 cup iced water
FILLING
100g cabbage
1 tsp salt
150g ground pork
100g raw prawn
1 tsp each of corn starch, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar
5g ginger
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp chives
veg oil & water for cooking
DIPPING SAUCE
2 tbsp soy
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 apple cider vinegar
about 5cm of chopped chilli and spring onion
- Chop the cabbage as finely as you can and put into a wide bowl lined with mulsin or a clean tea towel then sprinkle over 1 tsp of salt and set aside. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl then add the salt. Add the just boiled water and mix using chopsticks until you have a crumb like consistency. Add the ice cold water and mix to combine the flour into a dough. Tip the dough out and kneed for 10 minutes until it’s silky smooth. Put the dough back in the bowl then cover with a damp cloth and plate while you make the filling.
- Chop the prawns into small pieces then tip into a large mixing bowl along with the pork and corn starch then mix. Use the muslin to squeeze out any excess liquid from the cabbage before adding it to the bowl. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Finely chop the garlic and ginger then add to the bowl along with the chives and stir. Put the bowl in the fridge until your dumpling wrappers are ready. Put all the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a bowl and set aside, not in the fridge.
- Sprinkle some flour onto your surface then tip out the dough and form it into a 3cm thick donut ring. Cut the ring in half to make two logs then cut off 3 cm pieces until you have 24 pieces. Flatten each section then roll into circular disc 1mm thick. Keep a damp cloth over your finished wrappers until you’re ready to fill them.
- Put 1 heaped tsp of filling in the wrapper and pinch the middle edges together. Starting at the middle fold the side furthest away from you in 1cm folds towards the middle on each side until the dumpling is sealed. Once all your dumplings are made put a large frying pan, that has a tight fitting lid, over a medium high heat.
- Put 1 tbsp of veg oil in then arrange 12 dumplings in a circle. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden on the bottom. Fill a 1/4 cup with water and have the pan lid in the other hand. Add the water to the pan then immediately cover with the lid. Steam for exactly 2 minutes then remove the lid and leave until the water has evaporated. Put the cooked dumplings into a bowl or steam basket while you cook the second batch. Serve with the dipping sauce.
