Chinese Dumplings

With the weather averaging between -10 and -20 degrees Celsius this week , I thought I'd blog about, what i believe, the best hibernation food there is on earth: Chinese Dumplings! The reason why I call them the best is cuz they can be pre-made and stored in the freezer for months. When you're too lazy to go out or cook, just boil a few and call it a meal! They're a healthier alternative to 泡麵/instant noodles. Yep, so after returning from my Christmas trip, i was so exhausted and missed my room so much that i stayed indoors for 3 days. And on those cold winter nights, these home-made Jiao-Zi became my sole source of comfort. If making dumpling wrappers weren't such a hassle, I'd be making these every week and stuffing my 5 x 12 x 14 inch freezer to the max (yes, i actually measured it). Anyways, the picture above shows the dumplings wrapped by JLo. Pretty nice, eh? Now scroll down below and take a look at the 2nd picture, they were wrapped by me.... hahahaha, that was before JLo taught me the method of the half-moon crimp. I still suck at it though, so JLo wrapped them all while i rolled out the wrappers. We had a nice dumping-wrapping bonding time... a recommended activity for bored and hungry couples =)

Chinese Dumplings
INGREDIENTS:

• DUMPLING FILLING:
  
• 500g ground pork
• 1/2 cup spring onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup of cabbage, chopped.
• 1/2 cup of shiitake mushrooms, soaked and chopped (optional)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons vodka/rice wine
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• NOTE: you don't have to be exact when seasoning your pork, add as you see fit.
  
  
• DUMPLING WRAPPER
  
• 2 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the chopped cabbage to drain out the water. Squeeze dry (important!).
2. Mix the ground pork, spring onions, cabbage, ground ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken bouillon, wine, sesame oil, salt, and pepper together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Mix the flour + salt and add in the boiling water. Mix and knead until it forms a smooth ball.
4. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. Roll the dough into a long rod and cut it into 35 pieces.
6. Roll out the dough into circles and stuff it with ground pork.
7. Moisten the edges and pinch to seal the dumpling.
   
8. Boil the dumplings in water until they float on top. Add in 1/2 cup of cold water and heat until it boils/floats again. (Add water 3 times).
9. Serve with soy sauce (you can also add chopped garlic / chili peppers / spring onions in soy sauce).
   
   
10. To store the dumplings, generously flour a plate and each dumpling. Leave them in the freezer until completely frozen. Once the dumplings are hard, you can transfer them into a plastic bag. Dumplings can be stored for a long time in the freezer, just boil it in its frozen state when you'd like to eat them.
    

Chinese Dumplings