Taipei Style Shui Jiao Pork And Chive Dumplings Recipes

PORK-AND-CHIVE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• To begin the dough, put the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use your fingers to stir in the water and egg white, until the dough comes together as a shaggy ball. Move the dough to a flour-dusted work surface, and knead it, dusting with more flour to keep it from sticking, until it is smooth to the touch, with no cracks or pockets of flour. Cover the dough, and let it rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Knead the dough about 10 times, or until it forms a firm ball as smooth as satin. Use a dough scraper or a flour-dusted knife to cut it into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log, and cut it into 6 equal pieces (for a total of 24 small pieces). Flatten the pieces with your hands, and roll each one into a 3-to-4-inch round wrapper. As you work, cover the dough with a lightly moistened towel to keep it from drying out.
• To prepare the filling, place the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and use your hands to combine them until they are well blended. Place a rounded tablespoon of the filling at the center of each wrapper, and gently squeeze the edges shut. As you work, push out any air bubbles and fix any tears. When ready to eat, bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil the dumplings 6 at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they float to the surface and the wrappers turn puffy and translucent. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

TAIPEI STYLE SHUI JIAO (PORK AND CHIVE DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tsp sesame oil, soy sauce, and vinegar. Set aside.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with flour. Set aside.
• Put remaining 4 tbsp sesame oil, along with the pork, garlic chives, mushroom powder, cornstarch, salt, ginger, and pepper, into a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a rubber spatula to combine.
• Working with one wrapper at a time, put a tablespoon of pork filling onto a wrapper, fold wrapper in half, and seal it with water, Transfer each dumpling to reserved baking sheet and cover with a dish towel.
• While you are making the dumplings, bring a 5 qt pot of water to a boil. Working in three batches, boil dumplings until filling is cooked through (about 8 minutes).
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to a platter and serve with reserved dipping sauce.

JIAOZI (CHINESE PORK AND SHRIMP DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Mix 1/2 cup cold water and cornstarch in a bowl until combined. Combine the filling: pork, shrimp, cabbage, chives, onions, ginger, garlic, cornstarch paste, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and mix well.
• Mix flour and remaining water and knead the dough into a smooth ball. Use extra water/flour to get a slightly smooth and sticky ball. Let sit for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into little balls that roll out into 4-inch diameter circles. You will have about 30 dough circles.
• Place 2 teaspoons of the filling onto the middle of each of the dough circles.
• Wrap by folding the dough circles with filling in the middle in half and pinching the edges to seal.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently add about 10 dumplings into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil and add 1/2 cup more cold water. Repeat this twice before taking the dumplings out to serve; the pork filling should no longer be pink and shrimp should be firm. Repeat the boiling and adding of cold water with each batch of dumplings. Adding the cold water between boils reduces the starch buildup in the water.

PORK AND CHIVE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a large sauté pan, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger until translucent and slightly caramelized. Add the chives and cook just to soften them, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let it cool.
• Once the onion has cooled, add the tofu, 1⁄3 cup (75 ml) of the hoisin sauce, the salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the pork to the bowl and mix it with the seasonings until you can see that the chives and tofu are evenly distributed throughout the meat.
• In a small frying pan, cook a small spoonful of the meat mixture in a little bit of oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the meat with more hoisin sauce and/or salt, if necessary.
• Prepare a small dish of water and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in each dumpling wrapper. Using your finger, paint a little water around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and simply pinch it closed, or crimp it. Place each finished dumpling on the baking sheet and repeat until you've used all the filling.
• You can freeze them directly on the baking sheet until they harden, then pack them into plastic freezer bags. (They do not refrigerate well.) They will last for 3 months.
• To cook fresh dumplings (see Cooks' Note for frozen), heat a nonstick frying pan or well- seasoned cast-iron skillet with just enough oil to coat the bottom. Add just enough dumplings so that they are not overcrowded and don't touch. Brown the dumplings on one side, then add about 1⁄4 inch (6 mm) of water, cover, and steam the dumplings until nearly all the water evaporates.
• Remove the cover and let the dumplings begin to fry again, just long enough to crisp them slightly, then serve them immediately with the dipping sauce.
• Cooks' Note
• To cook frozen dumplings, follow the same procedure above for fresh dumplings, but use 1⁄3 inch (8 mm) water so they steam a little longer and cook through.
• I learned how to fold dumplings at an early age with the help of my grandmother and mother, and before we opened The Good Fork, I used to have dumpling-making parties at home. That's how I know that making one hundred dumplings at a time sounds daunting but is the only way to do it. Gather a few friends, make the dumplings together, then you each get some to tuck away-packaged by the dozen-into the freezer for weeks to come.

BEIJING-STYLE PORK & SHRIMP JIAOZI (CHINESE DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Clean the cabbage, chop it, and put it in a large non-reactive pot with salt Set it aside and let it sweat out water for 45 min or so (you can prepare this ahead).
• If you're using a meat grinder, feed the shrimp, pork, garlic, onions, and ginger through the meat grinder, getting everything to be a smooth, yet chunky mixture. If you're using a food processor, you're going to half way freeze the meat, and chop each ingredient on it's own, and then mix them in a pasta bowl. Traditionally, all these ingredients are minced and chopped using a large cutting board and a cleaver. However you do it, it's up to you.
• Put the meat and veggie mixture into a a large bowl. Add the salt, soy sauce, egg and sugar to the mixture.
• In a heavy skillet, heat up the oil. Add the spice powders and toast the spices. Pour this mixture hot over the meat mixture in the bowl, and stir inches.
• Drain the cabbage, rinse it and drain again. Mix it in to the meat mixture.
• (Optional step) Make the dumpling wrappers: mix together 1 1/2 cup flour and pinch of salt and then slowly add just enough water to result in a springy dough. Knead it a lot to make the gluten stringy and strong. Roll the dough out into a long rope, cut the rope apart into ping pong ball sized pieces. Flatten the pieces out into small flat discs, and flour a table or cutting board, and roll them out using a beer bottle or small rolling pin. As you make them, hand them to the person wrapping the dumplings. Or just buy the pre-made wrappers.
• Wrap the dumplings in the dumpling skins, pinching together the sides and tucking in the ends.
• Cook the dumplings: boil a pot of water. Drop the dumplings in, they are ready when the float to the top of the pot. Don't boil too many at once, or they'll stick together. Scoop them out with a strainer, so you can use the water for the next batch.
• Serve with soy sauce, dipping sauce, raw garlic (for true Northern Chinese style eating!), chili sauce, or cut up green onions.