Lachlan Cox

Pork Dumplings

Pork, cabbage, ginger. Pan-fried and steamed.

Prep
45 min
Cook
20 min
Serves
30-40 dumplings

Ingredients

Filling

  • 500 g pork mince (~15% fat)
  • 1/4 napa cabbage (wombok), finely chopped
  • 2-3 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
  • 1 Tbsp ginger, finely grated

Seasoning

  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp sake
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

Binder & liquid

  • 1 egg
  • 2-3 Tbsp salt-reduced chicken stock

Wrappers

  • 60 round dumpling wrappers

Method

  1. Prepare cabbage

    Finely chop the napa cabbage, toss with 1/2 tsp salt, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze out excess water thoroughly before using.

  2. Combine base

    In a food processor, combine the pork mince, cabbage, spring onion, garlic and ginger. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your processor.

  3. Mix filling

    Add the seasoning, egg and sake, then mix vigorously for 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the chicken stock while mixing, until the filling is sticky, slightly elastic and fully combined.

  4. Rest filling

    Let the filling sit for a minimum of 10-15 minutes before wrapping.

  5. Shape dumplings

    Place about 1 Tbsp of filling in the centre of each wrapper, lightly wet the edges with water, then fold and seal (pleated or a simple half-moon).

Cook

  1. Pan fry

    Heat a pan with vegetable oil over medium heat. Add dumplings in batches of 8-10, flat-side down, and cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottoms are golden.

  2. Steam

    Add about 1/3 cup of water to the pan and cover immediately with a lid. Steam for 5-6 minutes.

  3. Crisp

    Remove the lid and let any remaining water evaporate. Allow the bottoms to crisp up briefly again before serving.

Freezing

Arrange uncooked dumplings on a tray so they aren’t touching and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Cook directly from frozen - do not thaw first.