Homemade Dumplings

Dumplings. One of my favorite foods in the whole world. They're just so, so, so delicious. They have many names - potstickers, gyoza - but are often quite similar. And honestly - NOT hard to make at home! It took me a long time to try them, but after having eaten them many times at Dagmar's home, and helping her fold them too, I made them for myself and it was just fine.



You can buy ready-made dough (frozen) in some Asian supermarkets, but it's so easy to make your own. A pasta machine comes in very handy though, and a large glass for cutting out circles. And you need a frying pan with a lid.

You can freeze the finished, uncooked dumplings, and then just cook them directly from frozen. So make a big batch!

Homemade dumplings

dough:
(enough for about 30 dumplings)
300 g flour
180 ml boiling water

Place the flour in your food processor. Put the lid on and start the machine. Add the boiling water through the tube, with the machine running. Stop after a few seconds - the dough should look crumbly, and hold together if you pinch it.

Knead the dough carefully - it's HOT! - on your kitchen counter for about 30 seconds, or until it looks supple and elastic. Place in a ziploc bag and seal it. Let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than two hours.

Meanwhile, make your filling - feel free to experiment!

pork filling:
400 g ground pork
bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp corn starch (depending on how wet the filling looks)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Now, time to actually fill and fold some dumplings! I don't have any photos of this so go to Dagmar's post on the subject which is much more thorough than mine. But - to put it simply, this is what you do:

-roll out the dough, using a pasta machine. Not too thin - they should be fairly thick. I went to 3 or 4 on my machine.

-cut out rounds, using a large glass

-place a spoonful of filling in the middle of each round, fold, and start pinching the edges together.

Repeat. And work fast - you don't want the dough to try out. (In fact, keep whatever dough you're not rolling in the sealed ziploc bag.) It helps to be at least two people, working together.

Next, heat some oil (I like peanut) in a frying pan with a lid. Have a small glass of water nearby. When the oil is hot, add some dumplings - but don't overcrowd the pan. Fry until the bottom is golden. Then, add the water and quickly cover with the lid, and let the dumplings steam for 5-7 minutes (a few more minutes if cooking from frozen). Remove the lid, and re-crisp the dumplings.

Recept på svenska:
Hemmagjorda dumplings