Joonic

I can’t make my favorite Mama Wong dishes because she refuses to “measure” ingredients.

[DISCLAIMER:  The author is not liable for any contractions of Trichinosis that occur after reading this post.]

{While making dumplings}

Me:  How much salt did you just put in?

Mom:  It depends on how much meat you have.

Me:  Well, in this situation, how much did you put in??

Mom:  I don’t know.  Just start with less salt and then just lick the pork to see if you need to add more.

Me:  … [licks pork]

Let me save you the antibiotics and tell you, it’s not easy to tell whether raw pork needs more salt, since you’re totally caught up in the fact that you're LICKING RAW PORK.  The nice thing about dumplings, however, is that if the filling turns out to be too bland, you can just dip them in soy sauce (and vinegar) AFTER they’ve been cooked.

Dumpling Filler: 1 pound of ground pork ½ a bushel of Chinese leeks (called jiu-cai in Mandarin) [you can substitute Napa Cabbage approx 4-5 cups] 1 egg 3 tbs soy sauce (or more if you want them to be saltier) 1.5 tbs sesame oil (if it seems dry, add another 1 tsp) 1 tsp salt (or more to taste - literally) ½ tsp of white pepper  minced ginger (optional) 

{Chinese leeks}

Cut off the ends of the leeks and wash.

Finely chop leeks (or cabbage).

Start mixing pork, leeks, and ginger together.

Once you’ve got the pork mostly separated, add soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and egg and continue to mix until the filling is thoroughly mixed and sticky.

Place a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your hand and fill with a tablespoon of the mixture.  The mixture below is a vegetarian version we made for my boyfriend consisting of jiu-cai, sai-fun (glass noodles), egg, ginger, mushrooms, and the same seasonings.

Fold the wrapper in half by bringing the bottom of the wrapper to the top.  Press together in the middle.  [If you use store bought wrappers, you need to have a little dish of water handy.  Dip your finger into the water and wipe it across the outer edge of the wrapper.  You’ll need the edges to be moist before you begin to seal the dumplings.]

Then start at one end.  To get the dumplings into dumpling shape, if you will, you need to make the back half longer than the front half.  To do this, create the “corner” of the dumpling by pinching together the wrapper at a place that will create excess dough on the back flap.  Like in the left picture below.  Next, tuck a few centimeters of the wrapper underneath the back flap and then press together again so there is an overlap in the wrapper.

With the last open section, fold in the excess wrapper from both sides under the remaining back flap and then press together so the entire side is closed.  Repeat on the other side, starting at the corner.  Firmly press together the entire dumpling a second time to ensure it’s sealed.

I’m realizing that we should have taken a picture of the back of the dumpling.  

You know you’ve got the shape right if the dumplings can “sit up.” as opposed to lay flat.  But, don’t worry if you can’t get it right.  The shape doesn’t affect the taste, obviously.  Extra dumplings can be frozen.  But make sure to place them in between sheets of foil and dust with extra flour so they don’t stick together.

To make them pot stickers, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on med-high.  Place dumplings in the pan and let the bottoms brown.  After about 3-4 minutes (or until crispy brown on the bottom) add a 1/3 cup of water to the pan and cover.  Allow dumplings to steam for approximately 5-7 minutes.  Dumplings are ready when the meat is no longer pink.

If you want a healthier version, bring a pot of water to a boil and add dumplings.  They should be cooked in about 8-10 minutes in the hot water.  Judy prefers boiled dumplings to fried pot stickers because she can eat more of them.  I am my mother’s daughter.

Serve with a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar (1:2 ratio) and of course, my favorite, Sriracha sauce.