Pork and Cabbage Dumplings with Homemade Wrappers

When I last posted a Potsticker recipe, I mentioned how afraid I was of pleating and choose to use premade wonton skins to make life easier. I was still afraid when I made these, but I didn’t remember to buy the skins when buying all the other ingredients on a massive grocery shop. So when I realized making homemade wonton wrappers was literally adding water to flour (which I always have on hand), I figured worse came to worse, I could just pinch the edges closed and hope for the best.

I don’t think I’ll be winning any dumpling pleating prizes with these photos, but it was surprisingly fun. I tended to be able to make about 2 nice pleats per dumpling, but it’s not like it affected how good these tasted. This filling recipe is slightly different than the previous one – no ginger and no cornstarch for one, while I added garlic and sugar – but tastes just as good. I also cheated and just used half a bag of coleslaw instead of buying a cabbage. I figured I was already giving myself enough grief with the homemade wrappers – I might as well let someone else chop the cabbage for me.

I’d recommend taking the plunge and trying to make homemade wrappers yourself. It takes some effort, but it’s seriously worth it! These are just as thick and chewy as my favorites from the Chinese takeout place – but for the price of 6 at the restaurant, I got 40 at home!

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings with Homemade Wrappers

Barely adapted from Serious Eats

These freeze incredibly nicely. Simply place dumplings on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper as you make them. Make sure none of them are touching and place in freezer when the sheet is filled. Freeze for an hour then stuff them in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

Ingredients

Homemade Wrappers:

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 cup boiling water

Filling:

1/2 pound coleslaw or thinly sliced napa cabbage

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 scallions, roughly chopped

1/2 pound fatty ground pork

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

 Peanut oil (for frying)

Equipment

Food processor, rolling pin

Instructions

Make the dough: Place flour in food processor. Add water as machine is running until a cohesive dough is formed. Allow the dough to ride for about 30 seconds then form into a ball with floured hands. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Make the filling: Place coleslaw, salt, scallions, pork, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar into the bowl of the food processor and pulse until the mixture is homogenous – about 10 one-second pulses. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Make the wrappers: Divide dough into 4 seconds and each section into equal small balls (original recipe said 10 tablespoon-sized balls, but I could only make about 6 half-tablespoon sized balls. It doesn’t really matter so long as they are all the same size). On a well floured work surface, roll each ball into a round – about 3- or 4-inches in diameter. Stack wrappers and keep under plastic until all the balls are rolled out.

Assemble the dumplings: Life will be easier if you get all your ducks in a row before you start assembling. Have your wrappers, filling, a small bowl of warm water, and a cookie sheet covered in wax paper all within arms reach before you start assembling.

Place 1 teaspoon filling (in case of smaller wrappers; if you have larger wrappers, use 1 tablespoon of filling) into the center of a wrapper. Dip your finger into the small bowl of water and moisten the edge of the wrapper. Fold wrapper in half over the filling and pinch the bottom-right corner closed. Pleat the front edge of the wrapper by pinching the front edge towards you, then pinching it closed to the back edge. Repeat until the entire dumpling is closed. Transfer to cookie sheet (I tend to press down a bit to ensure I have a flat bottom so the dumpling will stay standing). Continue until you’ve assembled all your dumplings.

Either freeze tray of dumplings or proceed directly to cooking directions.

Cook the dumpling: Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 6 to 12 dumplings at a time. Boil until they float (about 1 minute for fresh dumplings or 5-6 minutes for frozen) and then boil another 2 minutes. Transfer cooked dumplings to a plate.

Heat peanut oil in a non-stick skillet until shimmering. Add dumplings flat-side down and cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately.

Makes 30-40 dumplings.