Danger Dee’s Dumplings - Print version

Ingredients:

1 napa cabbage (about 8 cups) finely sliced
2 large bunches (about 3 cups finely chopped) Chinese garlic chives
2 TBSP plus 1 tsp Kosher salt
1kg fatty pork mince
2 TBSP sake or Chinese white cooking wine
3 tsp toasted sesame oil
Ground white pepper to taste
100 dumpling wrappers (at most Asian supermarkets)

Make the dumplings:

Combine the cabbage and chives in a large bowl. Sprinkle over 2 TBSP of the Kosher salt and toss altogether very well. Leave to sit for 15-30 mins, tossing every 5 minutes or so.

Rinse the cabbage mixture by filling the bowl up with cold water and giving everything a good stir. Take a handful of the mix out and then use your hands to squeeze as much water as you can out of the cabbage. Put in the middle if a clean, thin tea towel (or 2 layers of cheese cloth if you are fancy) and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put squeezed mix in another bowl

Combine the squeezed cabbage, pork, sake, sesame oil, white pepper and the remaining 1 tsp salt and mix with your hands, squeezing the mix through your hands until fully combined and the mix is sticky

Wrap the dumplings:

Just a little practice and you will be whipping these out in no time! Line a large roasting dish/tray with baking paper (to freeze dumplings later) and fill a small bowl with water.

Place a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your not dominant hand. Spoon a generous teaspoon or so (no one likes a scrawny dumpling!) into the middle of the wrapper and flatten a little. Dip your finger of your dominant hand into the water and moisten the edge of the wrapper all the way around.

Fold the dumpling in half and pinch the middle of the edges together. Make 2 pleats on each side to fully close the dumpling (watch the video more than once!) and put on the lined tray. Give them a little push down to make sure the bottoms are flat. This will make them much easier to cook!

Put them in the freezer for at least an hour prior to cooking (you can skip this but we have found it much easier to cook a frozen/partially frozen dumpling 😊

Cook the dumplings:

Danger Dee is absolutely rubbish at this! K-Pow Kev has got it down to a fine art!

Heat 1-2 TBSP oil in a large non stick pan over a medium-high heat. Make sure your pan has a fairly tight fitting lid.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the bottom starts to slightly brown.

Pour enough just boiled hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dumplings and bang the lid on tight.

Cook for 11 minutes from frozen or 9 minutes from fresh (freeze them! Its so much easier!) The water should be pretty much evaporated

Eat the dumplings:

Transfer to a plate, have a side of K K-Pow Spicy Plum sauce and Mexican Habanero sauce and try not to eat all 100 just by yourself!