
Pork and mushroom dumplings are a favourite in our house. These dumplings combine a hearty, flavourful filling with a light, chewy wrapper.
Comfort food comes in all sizes and dumplings are right up there with the best of them to prepare, but are well worth the effort.
Pork and mushroom dumplings, little morsels of deliciousness, combine the rich heartiness of pork with the earthy umami flavour of mushrooms.
We’ve eaten our fair share of pierogi, a type of Central and Eastern European dumpling, over the years and even made a few of them. Formed and shaped without a dumpling maker, or circle cookie cutter, but instead rolled out rounds of dough to form each pierogi.
Having consumed more than a few Asian dumplings as well, when it comes to making them, we’ve worked out a more simplified process. There are a handful of local Asian grocery stores (like Hung’s Noodles) selling all kinds of ingredients, including gyoza and egg roll wrappers, that make dumpling-making easy.
Pork and Mushroom Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 green onions
- 2 cups napa cabbage, sliced thin
- 1 tbsp ciilantro, chopped (omit if you don't like the flavour)
- 1/2 cup brown mushrooms, cleaned and finely diced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 pckgs round dumpling wrappers
Garlic Soy Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 green onion, sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
Instructions
Dumpling Directions
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients except wrappers.
- Get a platter or baking sheet ready and sprinkle with a little flour.
- Have a small bowl of water and paper towel on hand for fingers.
- In a non-stick pan, over medium-high heat, cook a teaspoon of the filling to taste for seasoning. Adjust as needed by adding more soy, sesame, pepper or a pinch of salt.
- Place slightly less than a spoonful of filling in the middle of one dumpling wrapper. With your fingers, wet the top half of the dumpling with water. Fold the wrapper in half to create a half-moon shape, pinching the top at the centre to seal. Starting from one side, make small pleats along the edge, pressing each pleat firmly against the back edge as you work toward the other side to create a well-sealed dumpling.
- Place on floured baking sheet and repeat until all the filling is used.
- For that delicious crust on the bottom, pan-fry the dumplings.
- In the same non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add some oil. Have a cup of water ready.
- Once the oil starts to get hot, cook dumplings in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Once browned, pour in ½ cup water and cover the pan. Set a timer for 4 minutes, then check the water level. Add a little more water if it’s almost evaporated and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Keep an eye on it; the water steams the filling and if it evaporates too soon the dumplings could burn on the bottom.
- Lay dumplings in a heat proof dish and cover lightly with tinfoil until all dumplings are cooked.
Soy Garlic Dipping Sauce
- In a bowl stir or whisk together all ingredients. Refrigerate until needed.
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