Here in Boston, dumplings are sometimes known as Peking Raviolis and of course, potsticker. Potsticker is actually a nickname that I have... the idea came from Modern Family when Jay meets Lily for the first time and asked if he could hold that potsticker. Don't worry, I don't think it's racist when the intent behind calling me so is because one thinks I'm delicious and adorable... I guess, pleated dumplings are pretty adorable. You be the judge.
Okay, the trick to not having your dumplings stick together when you freeze them is to place them on a plate lined with wax paper, freeze, once frozen, transfer to a bag.
This is just about everything that you need minus some seasoning: sugar and fish sauce. Of course, wrappers as well.
1lb of ground pork
1/2 cup of chopped garlic chives
2 knobs of ginger (the other is not pictured here)
2 Ts of chopped scallion whites
This is what I used for dumpling wrappers. I'd like to make my own one night but not tonight.
With a cleaver, smashed the daylight out of the ginger! Who ever says cooking wasn't therapeutic is definitely following the wrong blog. :)
That's what I'm talking about. My new upstairs neighbor has been so loud and interrupting my beauty sleep... I'm definitely taking it out on these ginger knobs fo' sho'.
Mince. And what that really means is, chopped the living crap out of it until it is almost dissolvable in water. Okay, kidding on the last part.
Yeah, look at the color of that ground pork. Boy, do I love good marbling in meat or what.
Chopping garlic chives in action... I like it fairly thin. Like this. 1/2 inch. I think...
This is what I mean by scallion whites. From what I understand, it's better to add this part to meats.
Slice and chop the scallion whites fairly thin. Or as thin as you can possible slice and chop them. It doesn't have to be perfect since it's all going into the dumpling as a filling.
Add a 1/2 T of sugar.
Break an egg.
Add 2 Ts of fish sauce.
Combine well. I love these action shots. GO Iphone!
I like a 1:1 ratio in terms of meat and additions. If not, the dumpling will taste very dense and not delicious. Trust me.
In a small bowl, add 1/2 T of flour and 2 Ts of water. Mix well. This is what you will use to seal your dumplings.
Get it? Cool.
Line a plate with wax paper. I didn't have wax paper so I improvised with saran wrap. It prevents these suckers from sticking together when you freeze them.
Put the wrapper in your hand. Like this... My hands must have been so dirty at this point and taking photos on the Iphone with one hand resulted in an awesome off centered shot like this one.
Instead of a spoon, I use a 1T measuring spoon since I find that it is easier to gather and ball meat than a spoon.
See? I also recommend using the back of the spoon to push the meat down a bit so that it's a bit flatter on top. This helps the folding process. Again, trust me.
Dip your fingers into the sealant and wet half the wrapper on the edges.
Pinch the top part then the rest. Push all the air out.
Voila! You can keep it like this or move on to the next part for pleating.
I find wetting the outside before pleating makes the process easier and without fear of breaking the skin.
First plate going in to the freezer.
Second plate going in to the freezer.
Right now, I'm just waiting for them to freeze up so I can transfer them to a bag for freezer keeping. Can't wait!
