Easy Chinese Dumpling Recipe

Today i am sharing a recipe that my mother taught me. It's an ultimate and easy guide on how to make Chinese Pot-Stickers aka Chinese Dumplings. 

The brilliant thing about this recipe is that the stuffing can be anything you would want to use. Some people like to use different meats, vegetables or even fish. It's entirely your choice. This is just a simple traditional dumpling recipe that my mother taught me. I'll be honest, it took me a while and still does to grasp the perfect technique of it, but it is a fun task. So here is the recipe!

Ingredients

For the dough

140g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

125ml hot water

For the stuffing

110g minced pork (not extra lean)

75g Chinese leaves or spinach, finely chopped

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

½ tbsp dark soy sauce

½ tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp oil

To cook

1 tbsp vegetable oil

100ml water

Method

1. To make the dough, place the flour into a large bowl and stir in the hot water gradually, making sure to mix all the time until the water is incorporated. Add more water if the mixture seems dry.
2. Tip the dough mixture onto a clean work surface and knead it with your hands until it feels smooth.
3. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover it with cling film. Allow it to rest until needed.
4. For the stuffing, add the stuffing ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Once mixed, just put to the side.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead again for a minute, use a rolling pin to flatten – this should be thin like paper without breaking. Don’t be afraid if it’s thicker than you want though.
6. Using a shape cutter or if you don’t have one, use a mug (as my mother taught me!) to cut into the dough. Using a mug creates a consistent shape for the dumplings.
7. Place about 1-2 teaspoons of the stuffing in the centre of each 'pancake'. Dab the edges of the ‘pancake’ with water and then fold the dough in half, pinching together with your fingers or a fork (if you want to create a pattern).
8. By doing this around the edge, this will ‘seal’ the dumpling, by this point it should resemble a small Cornish pasty with a flat base.
9. To cook, heat a lidded frying pan until it is very hot. Add the oil and place the dumplings flat-side down into the pan. 
10. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 1-2 minutes until the dumplings are lightly browned. Next add the water and cover the pan and simmering gently for about 10 minutes. Check the water half-way through and add more if necessary. Uncover the pan and continue to cook for an extra 1-2 minutes.
11. To serve, remove the dumplings from the pan and serve with a dipping sauce – my favourite is ginger and soy sauce.

So there you have it! I hope this was easy to follow, it really is an easy recipe and so fun to make! The only downside is that i eat them so quick, which is why i tend to make a huge batch.

Let me know if this was easy enough for you :)