The base mix of my family's recipe is ground pork, chopped spinach, and minced chives. Ground pork can be substituted with ground chicken or ground turkey but the latter is leaner than pork. Water or broth has to be added to the mix so that the meat doesn't taste as dry; and ground beef is never used, at least not in any of the restaurants I've been to. My garden's chives aren't all that robust so I didn't cut them for this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 lb chopped spinach, drained
1/4 c. minced water chestnuts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 small shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and minced
a small bowl of water
Directions
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
I used round gyoza wrappers for this batch. I like the taste/texture of the thicker wrapper (compared to wonton wrappers). If you work quickly, the wrappers won't dry out.
2. In the palm of your hand place one wrapper. Place 1 tsp of the mix into the center of the wrapper.
3. Wet half the edge of the wrapper so that when the wrapper is folded in half, the water helps to seal the edges. Starting from the far right (or left) of the folded over wrapper, crimp the edges by pushing in the wrapper to form valley folds (like origami, only with gyoza wrappers).
Every crimping/sealing style is different and varies from shop to shop. All that matters is that the edges are sealed so that when the dumpling cooks, its juices do not spill out.
4. Set aside on a plate or tray and complete the rest of the wrappers.
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| All lined up and ready for cooking |
To cook by boiling:
Bring a pot (with a lid) to boil. Add the raw dumplings and boil until all the dumplings float. It is possible to overcook the dumplings (the dough starts to disintegrate). Take them out after the pot returns to a full boil.
To cook by frying:
In a skillet or frying pan (with a lid), heat 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil until hot. Turn heat down to medium and add the dumplings in a single layer. After 2-3 minutes, check the dumplings and see if the bottoms are lightly browned. If so, turn every dumpling to an un-browned side.
Add about 1/4 c. of water to the pan and quickly cover with a lid. The hot steam will cook the dumpling. When the frying sounds less fierce (e.g., the water has mostly steamed off), remove dumplings when the water has mostly boiled off.
Remove dumplings from pan and serve. About 8-10 dumplings is a typical serving size.
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