Boiled Pork & Chive Dumplings

By stancec44

The go-to Chinese filling: juicy pork mixed with the fresh onion flavor of garlic chives. Try to find a fatty blend of ground pork; it will improve the filling's flavor and juiciness. Chopped garlic chives, which have a peppery raw-garlic flavor, and fresh ginger cut through the rich meat. Make sure the dumplings are completely sealed and devoid of air bubbles to prevent any leaks during boiling.

Ingredients

• For the dough
• For the dough
• 2 2 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 2 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/8 1/8 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8 1/8 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 1 1 large egg white
• 1 1 1 large egg white
• For the filling
• For the filling
• 1 1 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 1 1 lb. ground pork
• 2 2 2 tbsp. sherry cooking wine
• 2 2 2 tbsp. sherry cooking wine
• 1 1 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
• 1 1 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
• 2 2 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 2 2 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup minced garlic chives (Chinese chives)
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup minced garlic chives (Chinese chives)

Preparation

Step 1

Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add 3⁄4 cup lukewarm water and the egg white and mix with fingers. (Dough should be shaggy with dry pockets of flour, like biscuit dough.)

On a well-floured work surface using floured hands, knead the dough, dusting with more flour as needed, until smooth, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a lightly floured bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rest at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Make the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the pork, sherry, ginger, soy sauce, and salt and mix with hands. Fold in the chives.

On a floured surface, knead the dough briefly until satin smooth. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 3⁄4-inch-thick log and cut with a cleaver or a sharp knife into 6 equal pieces about the size of an egg yolk. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the balls generously with flour and drape with a damp paper towel.

Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand. Using an Asian-style rolling pin, flatten the dough a bit more. Roll from the edge of each dough disk to its center, rotating the disk between rolls. Repeat until the wrapper is 3 inches in diameter and the edges are half as thick as the center. Transfer back to the well-floured surface and tent with a damp paper towel.

Holding a wrapper in your palm, fill the center with a tablespoon of filling. Pinch the edges shut to form a half moon, stretching the dough slightly as needed and squeezing out any air bubbles. Transfer back to the tented work surface and repeat with the remaining wrappers.
In a medium pot of boiling water, add 6 dumplings at a time. Boil for 2 minutes on high, then reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for 2 minutes more. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the dumpling wrappers are puffy, a final 2 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to a plate. Serve immediately.