I'm not talking about the southern, comfort food of chicken-n-dumplins. I'm talking about dim-sum style, Chinese dumplins (I live in the south, I have to leave off the final "g"s to correctly pronounce it). I've been trying to find authentic, delicious dumplins since I returned from China, which was about three years ago. They were by far my favorite thing there (and that's saying something because all of the food was amazing), there were SO many different varieties, from pork to shrimp to vegetarian options...there was really no limit. Tom and I have made them several times, and I think we've finally narrowed down the recipe. It may not be completely authentic...but it's damn tasty.
First of all, it's a bit of a time commitment...maybe not your average weeknight meal.
Secondly, there are a lot of ingredients, but it's definitely worth it to get all of them. You'll thank me. So. good.
The meat mixture (ok so we were out of carrots...they make a lovely addition...but whatever, it was still awesome). Also, most dumplin recipes call for ground pork, but we opted to use ground turkey and it turned out very well.
Now that it's all mushed together, it's not so bad, right? More like, delicious.
Also, the sauce? Swoon. You will probably want to put it on everything.
Also, I hope like green onions. Because you're going to use a whole bunch of them. Literally.
First, dab a spoonful of the turkey mixture onto a dumplin wrapper.
Then, make sure you get someone to do all the dirty work while you take pictures. You'll enjoy them so much more with clean hands.
Ok for real, in order to make the dumplins, the first thing you want to do is to dab the edges of the wrappers with water. Then fold the wrappers in half and press the edges together. Fold up the corners and scallop the edges throughout so that you have a tightly sealed dumplin.
Also, don't follow our lead and overstuff them...you'll have meat leakage. No one likes that. (Notice the uneven folding, we're still trying to perfect that, but as long as they're sealed, that's all that really matters...or...that's what I tell myself)
If you don't have a bamboo steamer, stop what you're doing right now and get one. They're only like $20 and they're such a clean, fresh, and simple way to cook. Anyway, if you do have one, place your dumplins in both layers of the steamer and cook for about 7 minutes.
See how delicious they look? See how I opened the steamer to take a picture? Don't do that. Try to keep all the steam in, they'll cook more evenly this way.
Use it to cook your veggies too, we're all about bein healthy around here.
Plate it up. You'll want to make this all the time.
Dumplins with Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce
(adapted from Bay Tables)
1lb ground turkey 4 tsp. sesame oil
6 green onions 2tbs vegetable oil
1 medium carrot, grated 4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger root, grated 3tbs oyster sauce
1/2 tsp salt 2tbs chicken broth
1tbs sugar 3tbs cornstarch
2tsp soy sauce 1package of won ton wrappers
Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce Recipe at the bottom
Combine the turkey, onions, carrot, ginger root, salt, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic, oyster sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch in a bowl and mix well. Chill and let sit for at least an hour.
Place 1 tbs of the filling in the center of each wrapper. Moisten the edges with water. Fold over and press the edges to seal. Place the dumplins in a bamboo steamer. Steam, covered, for 7 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce.
Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce:
2 tsp sugar 1/4c soy sauce
6 tbs chicken broth 1 tbs sesame oil
3tbs freshly grated ginger root 1 green onion
pinch of red pepper flakes
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.
