The key to great dumplings

Video Description

Northern style Dumplings! In this video we wanted to show you how to sort dumplings, from scratch, including the wrappers (one of the most underrated bits). 0:00 - The most underrated dumpling element. 0:43 - What makes a good dumpling wrapper? 2:08 - Which flour to use? 3:37 - High Level Overview 4:37 - Make the Autolyse, rest 20 minutes 5:03 - Make Ginger-Sichuan Peppercorn water 5:31 - Mince and Purge the Napa Cabbage 6:08 - Knead, rest 15 minutes 6:47 - Season and Mix Pork 7:39 - Divide the dough, roll out Wrappers 8:32 - Mix Pork and Napa Cabbage 8:55 - Wrap Dumplings 9:32 - Boil Dumplings 10:01 - What about our old dumpling video? DUMPLING WRAPPERS Ingredients: If using Chinese or 00 flours: 300g flour, ¾ tsp salt, 150g water If using Bob’s Red Mill AP: 305g flour, ¾ tsp salt, 140g water If using King Arthur flour: 300g flour, ¾ tsp salt, 156g water Edit: one of our Patrons' mothers swears by Pillsbury AP flour, which clocked in at ~51% hydration (153g water). https://mutable-states.com/the-illustrated-pot-sticker.html Process: 1. Make the autolyse. Combine the salt with the flour, slowly drizzle in the water while stirring. Once you have those scraggily bits, smush it all together into a ball. Rest for 20 minutes. Note that if using Chinese or 00 flour, you probably will not need this step. 2. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. You can also use a stand mixer on speed three. Rest for fifteen minutes. 3. Break the dough into four logs, then divide into 9-10g balls. Thoroughly flour, then smush into a disc. 4. Roll out the wrapper by rolling from the edge into the center, twisting the wrapper as you go. You should roll ~16 times to get something ~2.5 inches in diameter. FILLING Ingredients: * Ginger-Sichuan peppercorn water: Sichuan peppercorns (花椒), ½ tbsp; ginger, ~1 inch smashed; 2/3 cup of hot, boiled water * Napa cabbage (大白菜/娃娃菜), 300g * Salt, to purge the napa: 1tsp * Ground Pork belly 五花肉 (or pork leg/ham 后腿, or fatty pre-ground pork), 300g * Seasoning for the pork: salt, 1 tsp; five spice (五香粉), 1 tsp; chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), 1 tsp; cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp; soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tsp; ginger-Sichuan peppercorn water from above * Oil to coat: Peanut oil (花生油), 2 tbsp; toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1 tsp -or- seasoned oil from below, ~1/4 cup (Note: when using unseasoned oil, I tend to like going lighter on it. You can also add more oil if you prefer) Process: 1. Steep the ginger and the Sichuan peppercorn with the hot, boiled water for ~30 minutes. Strain when cool. 2. Mince the napa, then mix with the salt. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid, then transfer to a tofu or cheesecloth to squeeze out even more. Set aside. 3. Mix the seasoning for the pork, then slowly drizzle in the ginger-Sichuan peppercorn water, stirring constantly. The water adding process should take about 3-5 minutes, the pork should feel slightly sticky in the end. Optionally ‘dat’ by slamming the mixture into the bowl 3-4 times to develop a little spring. 4. When the dumplings are *just* ready to wrap, mix together the cabbage and the pork mixture. Add the oil. SEASONED OIL This will make for a larger batch than you need for this recipe. Note that in the north they would usually use Dacong (大葱) - Allium fistulosum – for this oil, which we are substituting with scallion and white onion. * Peanut oil, 1.5 cups * Scallion, 100g * Celery, preferably Chinese celery (芹菜), 50g * Onion, ¼ medium * Garlic, 4 cloves * Ginger, ~1 inch * Spices: cinnamon stick (桂皮), ½ stick; star anise (八角), 2; fennel seed (小茴香), ¼ tsp 1. Steep the spices in water for ~10 minutes before cooking. This will prevent the spices from scorching 2. Roughly mince the rest of the ingredients. 3. Slowly fry the minced aromatics and steeped spices in the oil over a medium flame. This will take a bit – around 20 minutes or so. You want the onion to be *every* so slightly starting to brown, but you want to stop before things get to the golden brown stage. 4. Dip everything into a bowl while still hot, then cover. Let it steep overnight. 5. Next day, strain out the spices and aromatics. WRAPPING AND BOILING DUMPLINGS For wrapping, refer to the video. When boiling, add the dumplings to a rolling boil, then cover. Once the water is at a boil once again, add ~½ cup of cool water. Allow the dumplings to get back up to a boil once again. Traditionally, this is repeated two more times until the dumplings are done (3 times total). However, when using Bob’s Red Mill, we found that the dumplings ran the risk of getting slightly water logged. With the amount of filling we are using today, repeating once more (2 times total) was enough. ______________ And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project! http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystified Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg