Pork dumplings

These pork and mushroom dumplings are a great way to begin your home-made dumpling journey if you're not confident in your folding technique.

Pork Dumplings Credit: One World Kitchen

• makes

  20

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Just remember not to make them too large - just the size of a mouthful is what you're aiming for! 

Ingredients

• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 5 fresh water chestnuts, peeled (or canned)
• 300 g lean ground pork
• ¼ cup minced scallions
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¾ tsp sugar
• ½ tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper
• 1½ tbsp cornstarch
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 20 round won ton wrappers
• 4 Napa cabbage leaves (can be replaced with parchment paper)
• 3 tbsp tobiko, for garnish
• ½ cup (125 ml) dark soy sauce, for dipping

Soaking time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. Add dried mushrooms to a bowl and pour over room temperature water to cover. Let soak until soft – about 1 hour. Drain mushrooms and pat dry with paper towel. Remove stems and discard. Chop mushroom caps finely.
 
2. Peel water chestnuts and chop finely.
 
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine mushrooms, water chestnuts, minced pork, scallions, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, ginger, garlic, salt, and white pepper. Mix until smooth and uniform. Add cornstarch and egg white, and mix thoroughly.
 
4. Using one wrapper at a time, place roughly 1-2 tbsp of filling into the centre of the won ton wrapper. Gently close the wrapper around the filling, leaving a small opening at the top. With the excess wrapper at the opening of the dumpling, make small pleats in the wrapper using your fingers, which will help push down the filling and seal it in.
5. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
 
6. Line the bottom of a bamboo steamer basket with cabbage leaves. Place dumplings side by side in steamer basket, leaving an inch of space between each one.
 
7. Fill a wok with an inch or two of water, and bring to a boil. Place steamer basket in the wok, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the basket. Put lid on steamer and steam over high heat for 10-12 minutes, or until pork is just cooked.
 
8. Remove basket with care.
 
9. Top up water in wok as necessary. Bring to a boil again, and repeat steaming process with leftover dumplings. Once all the dumplings have been cooked, garnish the top of each piece with a small dollop of tobiko. Serve dumplings hot with dark soy sauce on the side.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Just remember not to make them too large - just the size of a mouthful is what you're aiming for!