The most delicious and fun weekend project: making Chinese dumplings

Making dumplings yourself is a joy, until you’ve folded number ten and no longer feel like it. So always make sure you have helping hands in the kitchen, because many hands make light work, and nothing brings people closer together than folding little dough parcels together. We’re making three different kinds (pork, shrimp and veggie) and drinking a delicious white wine with them.

Fillings

Pork
Season 200 g finely chopped Chinese cabbage generously with salt, leave to drain in a colander for approx. 30 minutes and squeeze out all the moisture. Mix with 200 g ground pork, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp sesame oil, freshly ground white pepper and 3 finely chopped spring onions.

Shrimp
Finely chop 250 g peeled prawns (in a food processor if desired) and mix with 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, 3 finely chopped spring onions, salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Veggie
Finely chop 1 small Chinese cabbage and 50 g shiitake mushrooms. Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a wok and stir-fry the cabbage and shiitake until wilted. Add 1 small onion (finely chopped) and fry until translucent. Add 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped) and 1 tbsp grated ginger and stir-fry for approx. 30 seconds. Add 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 3 spring onions, salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

How to make dumplings yourself:

• Put the flour in a bowl and slowly pour in 180 millilitres of hot water while stirring. Tip onto a work surface and knead for approx. 5 minutes until an elastic dough forms.
• Divide the dough into three portions and roll each into a log approx. 2–3 centimetres thick. Cut each log into 6 equal pieces. Cover the pieces you are not using with a damp tea towel.
• Flatten a piece of dough between your palms and roll it out into a circle approx. 10 centimetres in diameter. Repeat with the remaining dough and stack the wrappers, placing pieces of baking paper between them so they do not stick together.
• Have a shallow bowl of water ready. Spoon approx. 1 teaspoon of the filling of your choice into the centre of the dough, wet the outer edge of the dough with your finger and fold the dumpling in half. Place the dumpling, filled side down, on a floured work surface and make a fan-shaped pattern on what is now the top of the dumpling. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
• Boil the dumplings for approx. 6 minutes, until cooked through. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by mixing the soy sauce, black vinegar, chilli oil and sesame seeds.

Did you know?

We use hot water for the dough, which partially cooks the flour and ultimately makes the dough more pliable. Dough made with cold water is firmer and therefore better to use if you are going to fry the dumplings later—for example, with gyoza. If you are only boiling the dumplings, it is better to use hot water.

Tip: You can also find perfectly good ready-made dumpling wrappers in the freezer section of an Asian supermarket (make sure you get the ones for boiling, not frying). We do this too when we’re feeling lazy. Or make your own wrappers and freeze them—with a piece of baking paper between each wrapper.

Wine tip

What’s even more fun than folding dumplings together? Drinking a glass of wine while folding them! Choose one that is both delicious to drink on its own and wonderful with the dumplings at the table. The South French Le Canon du Maréchal Blanc Viognier-Muscat is just such a wine. Rich and aromatic yet wonderfully fresh, this wine is characterised by a beautiful, soft texture and full flavours of peach and grapefruit. A crowd-pleasing wine that is delicious with fish and shellfish and summery salads, but also pairs perfectly with these dumplings. And, as we have come to expect from wines from the South French Languedoc-Roussillon, the price-quality ratio is excellent!

Also read:

• This is the trick for steaming dumplings without a steamer basket
• What is the difference between dumplings and wontons?
• Recipe: Rendang dumplings