Pork and Ginger Pot Stickers | Year of the Pig

Chinese New Year is right around the corner. Do you know it’s going to be the Lunar Year of the Pig? The pig is my inspiration behind making the pork and ginger pot stickers. As you know, I like working with dough of all kinds. After I find out that dumpling wrappers deploy a technique that’s new to me: a hot water dough, I’m all in. This is a age-old method for making Asian dumplings. The recipe comes from Ming Tsai; he shows us how to make the dumplings by hand in the recipe below.

The dough ingredients are basic: flour, water and salt. You need 3/4 cup (168 ml) of boiling water for two cups (230 gm) of all-purpose flour, or roughly 73% hydration. No leavener is required.

Making dough by hand can be messy and sticky. But you can bypass that by using a food processor. First, pour the boiling water through the tube and combine with the flour in the food processor bowl while the machine is running. Then, pulse and process until the dough comes together in a smooth ball. If you are familiar with making the pie or pastry dough, the hot water dough is no difference.

Steam pot stickers with stock until all the liquid evaporates and the bottoms brown.

The first time around, I rolled out the dough by hand, after resting it for an hour, into about a 4-inch small rounds. I was not pleased with the thickness and the unevenness of the rounds. The process of shaping the dough is not hard, you just need some practice. If you’re weekend bakers like me, getting some help from modern tools, is fine. For the next batch, I took out the pasta machine. It helps me to get the medium-thick wrappers (about 1/8 inch) in 3-inch rounds without too much struggle. In the end, I’m happy with the results.

Considering all the work, making the pork and ginger pot stickers is, undoubtedly, a project for a special occasion. For fun, I shaped some in bags, yes, “money bags” for prosperity in the Year of the Pig, by gathering the wrapper on top. These dumplings are light and delicious. Getting my hands on hot water dough is educational. Checked!

Gather the wrapping in a bag — the “money bag” for prosperity in the New Year

Print Recipe

Pork and Ginger Pot Stickers

Ingredients

PORK AND GINGER FILLING:
2 cups chopped napa cabbage
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 pound ground pork (Don't get lean pork, the fat is good for juicy and flavorful dumplings)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 egg
1 to 2 cups chicken stock or water
HOT WATER DOUGH:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups boiling water
SPICY SOY DIPPING SAUCE:
1/3 cup thin soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sambal

Instructions

MAKE THE PORK AND GINGER FILLING: Sprinkle cabbage with the 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the cabbage on a clean dish towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out any water. The dryer the cabbage the better. In a large bowl thoroughly mix the cabbage with all of the other ingredients, except the chicken stock. Cook a tester to check the seasoning.

HOT WATER DOUGH: In a stainless steel bowl mix flour and salt. Slowly add hot water to flour in 1/4 cup increments. Mix thoroughly until a ball is formed and the dough is not too hot to handle. On a floured surface, knead dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.

ROLL THE DOUGH AND SHAPE INTO DUMPLING WRAPPER: Working on a floured surface with floured hands, roll out dough to form a long 'noodle', 1-inch in diameter. Cut 1/2-inch pieces and turn them over so the cut sides are facing up. Flatten with your palm and roll out thin using a rolling pin. The dumpling wrapper should end up about 3 inches in diameter. Alternatively, roll the dough out using a pasta machine and cut into 3-inch wrappers using a cutter or a glass.

MAKING THE DUMPLINGS: Place a small mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper. (Be very careful not to touch the edges with the filling as this will impede proper sealing of the dumplings. Nothing is worse than dumplings breaking during cooking.) Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape. Starting on one end fold/pinch the wrapper tightly together. Proceed with this fold/pinch method until the dumpling is completely sealed. There will be approximately 10 to 14 folds per dumpling. Rest the dumplings with the folded edges straight up.

COOKING THE DUMPLINGS: In a hot saute pan coated well with oil, place pot stickers flat side down and cook until the bottom is browned. Have pan cover ready and add 1 cup of chicken stock, cover immediately. Be careful, the liquid will splatter! The stock will steam the pot stickers. Check them in 5 minutes as more stock may be needed. The trick here is that once the dumplings are firm and fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will crisp-up again.

SPICY SOY DIPPING SAUCE: Combine all and serve in a small bowl.

PLATING: Serve pot stickers on a large platter lined with lettuce with a bowl of dipping sauce on the side.