[Chinese Recipes] Pork Chive Dumplings

Pork Chive Dumplings are one of the most traditional dumpling types you’ll find in China. Chinese chives, also called garlic chives, are readily available at most Asian grocery stores, and they’re a snap to grow (really…it grows like weeds!). When they’re available in our garden in the spring and summer, we make these dumplings often.

For this recipe, we wanted to show you how to make your own dumpling wrappers. If you don’t live near an Asian grocery store and can’t find dumpling wrappers, you can use this method for any boiled/steamed dumpling or potsticker recipe. It’s just all-purpose flour and water, and ANYONE can do it!

We recently enlisted the help of my cousin’s husband Willy, who hails from Beijing and has an expert dumpling-making mother, to help us with these pork chive dumplings. Here’s the recipe he makes all the time at home! They’re simply prepared, boiled, and dipped in vinegar. If you want an authentic taste of Chinese home-cooking, give these a try.

You must visit our collection of dim sum recipes where you’ll find a variety of dumplings, pot stickers, and popular dim sum dishes.

You’ll need:
7 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1 1/4 lbs ground pork
1 egg
7 cups Chinese chives, chopped finely
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt to taste

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the water to the flour and knead into a smooth dough. This process should take about 10 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for an hour.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Start by adding the oil to a small pot over medium high heat. Heat the oil for about 7 minutes and allow it to cool. This “cooking” of the oil is supposed to bring out a nuttier flavor in the filling. This tip comes straight to you from Willy’s mother, a Beijing local, and an authority on dumpling-making!

Once the oil is cooled, add the ground pork to a large bowl, along with the egg…

…chives…

…sesame oil, soy sauce, and cooked, cooled oil. At this point, you should make and boil a test dumpling and try it to make sure the taste is to your liking. You can then adjust by adding more salt if needed.

Once the filling tastes right to you, begin assembling the dumplings. The best way to do this is to divide the dough into manageable pieces and then rolling each piece into a rope. Cut them into small pieces (in a size similar to if you were cutting gnocchi, or about the size of the top part of your thumb).

Roll the pieces out into circles…

And add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling to the center (it helps if you have an assembly line going, with one person cutting out the dough pieces, one person rolling it out, and one person filling/folding).

You can then make folds like you see in our other dumpling post, or you can just fold the circle in half and press them together. Willy’s method is to fold the circle in half, press it together at the top, and then make two folds on either side. Whatever way works for you…they don’t have to be pretty to taste good

Place the dumplings about a centimeter apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. At Willy’s house, they use this nifty bamboo mat.

When you’re ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully drop the dumplings into the water and keep them moving, so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Bring back to a slow boil, and cook until they float to the top and the filling is cooked through (about 5 minutes). Serve with vinegar and/or chili sauce!

Pork Chive Dumplings

Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients

7 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1 1/4 lbs ground pork
1 egg
7 cups Chinese chives, chopped finely
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt to taste

Instruction

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the water to the flour and knead into a smooth dough. This process should take about 10 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for an hour.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Start by adding the oil to a small pot over medium high heat. Heat the oil for about 7 minutes and allow it to cool. This "cooking" of the oil is supposed to bring out a nuttier flavor in the filling. This tip comes straight to you from Willy's mother, a Beijing local, and an authority on dumpling-making!

Once the oil is cooled, add the ground pork to a large bowl, along with the egg, chives, sesame oil, soy sauce, and cooked, cooled oil. At this point, you should make and boil a test dumpling and try it to make sure the taste is to your liking. You can then adjust by adding more salt if needed.

Once the filling tastes right to you, begin assembling the dumplings. The best way to do this is to divide the dough into manageable pieces and then rolling each piece into a rope. Cut them into small pieces (in a size similar to if you were cutting gnocchi, or about the size of the top part of your thumb).

Roll the pieces out into circles, and add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling to the center (it helps if you have an assembly line going, with one person cutting out the dough pieces, one person rolling it out, and one person filling/folding).

You can then make folds like you see in our other dumpling post, or you can just fold the circle in half and press them together. Willy's method is to fold the circle in half, press it together at the top, and then make two folds on either side. Whatever way works for you...they don't have to be pretty to taste good.

Place the dumplings about a centimeter apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When you're ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully drop the dumplings into the water and keep them moving, so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Bring back to a slow boil, and cook until they float to the top and the filling is cooked through (about 5 minutes). Serve with vinegar and/or chili sauce!

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Thewoksoflife.com. Thanks so much!