Homemade Shrimp & Pork Dumplings
Homemade Shrimp & Pork Dumplings
The Chinese New Year is rapidly approaching. It's the year of the Dragon and it's associated with the element "Wood." The combination of Dragon and Wood makes this year the Wood Dragon (go figure), which should bring evolution, improvement, and abundance. The Chinese Horoscope predicts a prosperous year for the dragon, representing authority, prosperity, and good fortune (fingers crossed, again). As per usual, this gives me an excuse (not like I need one), to make homemade dumplings. This year I decided to go with a combo of pork & shrimp, because, why not?! Last year, I did pork only. If you don't eat shrimp, you can omit it and if you don't eat pork you can omit that too, although that filling will be sad :). Just kidding, you can sub for organic ground chicken. I haven't done a vegetarian option yet. I'd suggest mushrooms however make sure you cook them first to release all of the moisture, otherwise the dumplings will be soggy. Anyway, I digress. I like the combo of the pork and shrimp. I add a good amount of aromatics, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, red onions and chives. While garlic chives are more traditional, they aren't as easy to find. Feel free to add garlic chives or scallions. I enhance the flavor with the dried spices and season with salt and pepper, coconut aminos (instead of soy sauce, always), and sesame oil. The cornstarch and baking powder help mitigate the moisture. I scratch make the dough. Yes, it makes a difference. While it's definitely more labor intensive than buying pre-made wrappers, due to the preservatives and that I just don't do short cuts, I just can't help myself. If you have a stand mixer with the lasagna attachment, I definitely suggest using that. It literally makes the dough thickness perfect and by using a dough cutter or glass you'll get perfect circles. My husband said they were so perfect they looked pre-made or restaurant quality but even better because of the high quality ingredients. Apparently, these were my best yet (and yes, he's my most honest and toughest critic). Make sure you make the dipping sauce. It'll make them "just right."
Equipment
- food processor https://amzn.to/3SG8EUW **
- stand mixer with pasta attachment https://amzn.to/42AplFD **
- medium skillet with lid
- large bowl
- kitchen scale https://amzn.to/3UBP0Ma **
- spatula
- plastic wrap
- dough cutter or 3 inch glass
- parchment paper
- sheet pan
Ingredients
Dumpling Dough
- 250 g organic unbleached all purpose flour ~2 cups + plus more for dusting
- 130 ml boiling water ~heaping 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt https://amzn.to/3Sa6PAV **
Filling
- 1/2 lb wild shrimp
- 1/2 lb organic ground pork
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 inch raw ginger
- 1/2 cup chives or scallions
- 1/2 cup red onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp organic cane sugar
- 1 tbs coconut aminos https://amzn.to/4bte0LJ **
- 1 tsp sesame oil https://amzn.to/3OBKdq9 **
- 1 tsp kosher salt https://amzn.to/3Sa6PAV **
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper https://amzn.to/3RoH0wh **
- avocado oil for pan frying
Dipping Sauce
- 1 tbs coconut aminos https://amzn.to/4bte0LJ **
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar https://amzn.to/4bxH5FS **
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil https://amzn.to/3OBKdq9 **
- 1/2 tsp sambal
- 1 tsp chopped chives
Instructions
Filling
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the shrimp and pulse a few times. Add the ginger and garlic. Pulse a few more times until it they have broken down. Add the red onion and chives / scallions. Pulse until it's incorporated.
- Add the pork, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, coconut aminos, sesame oil. Pulse until everything is incorporated.
- Place in a bowl and into the refrigerator while making the dough.
Dough
- Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the salt and mix together. Slowly add the boiling water and mix with a spatula. Mix together.
- Switch to your hands. Bring it together and knead into a ball until it's cohesive. If it's too dry, wet your hands to bring it together. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Remove a piece of dough, slightly larger than a golf ball. Place the plastic wrap over the remaining dough. Knead a few times. If it's too wet add a little bit of flour to it. Flatten out with your hand. Attach the lasagna sheeter to your stand mixer. On the "1" setting, run the dough through the feeder. If it breaks, add a little flour. Fold in thirds and run it through again. Fold in thirds and run it through again. Continue to do this until it's smooth. Next move to "2" and run the dough through the feeder. Continue moving the feeder by 1 notch and running the dough through and stop at 6.
- Remove the filling from the refrigerator. Place the dough onto the counter. Using a dough cutter or 3 inch glass, cut out circles. Place the dough scrapes back in the bowl under the plastic wrap while creating the dumplings.
- Place a heaping tsp into the center of the circle. Fold over and pinch together to close. You may need a little water or flour to help it stick together. You can use a fork to pinch together as well. Place the formed dumplings on a parchment lined sheet pan and into the freezer. Continue with additional dough, running it through the pasta feeder, filling, and freezing until you've used up all of the dough. Freeze the dumplings on the sheet pan for an hour. Then you can transfer to a zip lock bag.
Cooking the dumplings
- In a medium non stick skillet, over medium heat, place a tbs of avocado oil in the pan. Place a few dumplings flat side down and cook, undisturbed for 5-7 minutes until the bottom has browned. Carefully add 1/4 cup of water and quickly cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the water has evaporated. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
- In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
Notes
**Note- Amazon affiliate, I may receive compensation.Â
I did have a little bit of filling left. I saved it and made fried rice. It was so little it didn't make sense to make more dough. Â
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