How much do you really know about these delicious dumplings? Do you know there are 25 different varieties of this dish? Keep reading today blogpost for important facts about these Chinese Dumplings and we will also let you know how to prepare delicious morsels and enjoy them to the fullest extent.
It is really a very long list if we want to explain the possibility of fillings for dumplings. But the basic rule is to fill the Dumplings with well balanced nutritionally full ground meat (beef, shrimps, mutton and chicken as well) and chopped vegetables (carrot, celery, cabbage, mushrooms and radish). It’s a perfect dish once all these ingredients are mixed. Here are some tips to make your dumplings fillings juicier and more flavorful.
FAT CONTENT
For best dumplings choose ground meat with at least 20%—30% fat content. Ground Lamb can be the best option. It will provide enough oil after cooking, and avoid the filling becomes tight and dry. If you are using beef, chicken or shrimps, you need to add extra fat, this will make the fillings juicy.
MARINATE THE GROUND MEAT
Marinate the ground meat so that it can absorb the seasonings well. Add all the seasonings, and then heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and drizzle the hot oil on top of the scallion. After adding the oil stir the meat mixture for 3-5 minutes until texture appears. After doing all this process, marinate for 1 hour or keep in the fridge overnight. For seasoning add soy sauce, white pepper, salt, ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, eggs and chopped scallion.
TREATMENT OF FRESH VEGETABLES BEFORE USE
The treatment includes stir-frying, blanch, salt marinating and oil mixing. If the vegetables you are using have high water content, like cabbage, then you need to chop them first and then marinate them with salt for 15 minutes. Once marination is done, squeeze the extra water out. This will prevent the filling from being watery and will also prevent the dumpling wrappers from spoiling. Vegetables with lower water content, chop first and then coat with oil before mixing with meat. This will prevent extra dewatering due to salt.
Before wrapping mix vegetables with ground meat. If you will add the vegetables too early, it will make the wrapping process so hard, because the dewatering process can happen and it will make the filling process watery and hard to handle.
HOW TO MAKE DUMPLING WRAPPERS
We can use store made dumplings but you should know how a real dumpling starts from flour. Take 400g of all-purpose flour including dusting for making 40-50 dumpling wrappers. You will need 150ml to 170ml water and a pinch of salt for taste.
- Mix salt with flour and pour water and mix the flour with water. Adjust the water amount during mixing if necessary. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes with a mixer or by hand until the dough is smooth. Cover it and rest for 15 minutes. Re-kneads the dough for 2-3 minutes so we can get a very smooth dough for the wrappers. Now cover it keep it for 1 hour.
- After one hour dough will become smooth and soft. Cut into halves and knead each half into a round ball. Take one and shape it into a large circle round. Divide this piece into small dumpling dough pieces, each around 10g. Dust each of them so they will not stick together. Now press one down and then roll it into a wrapper around 10 cm dia.
- You can ask for help from family members to speed up the process, or else the wrappers will get dried out soon and become harder to seal together.
A FREE TIP
The tougher dough is better than the softer dough. If you want to make thin papers then the harder dough is best. Soft dough means, hard to roll the wrappers and the dumpling will not be in a nice shape. If you feel your dough is slightly too hard to work with, you can slightly lengthen a resting time or add dusting while making the wrappers.
FILLING
- Take a mixing bowl and add ground meat, a pinch of salt, egg, light soy sauce, white pepper, ginger and salt. Now, Place the green onion on top and drizzle hot oil on green onions. This will improve the aroma of the green onion.
- Stir the filling for 2-3 minutes until getting textuary paste and the filling becomes quite sticky. Set aside for 1 hour or cover with plastic wrapper and overnight.
- Finely chop green onion and mix with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil or other vegetable oil. Mix green onion with meat before wrapping.
PAN-FRIED VERSION
- Take nonstick pan and brush 1 tablespoon of oil in a, place the dumplings in. keep changing the side once cooked.
- Heat over medium heat until one side becomes browned and cooked. Pour 1/2 cup of water and then immediately cover the lid. Continue heating until all of the water is evaporated.
- Slow down the heat and cook until the bottom becomes crispy and golden brown.
Boil water in a large pot and add a pinch of salt. Cook the dumplings in batches. Make sure the dumplings should not stick to the bottom, for that move the dumplings with a large ladle or scoop. Water will boil again and now add ¼ cups of cold water. Repeat this process once. Air will fill up the dumplings and the dumplings will become transparent and expand. Time to transfer out.
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