Chinese Pork Dumplings

This delicious Chinese dumplings recipe is courtesy of Brian Yarvin, author of 'A World of Dumplings'.

Recipe Ingredients:

Filling:
8 ounces ground pork
1/4 cup Chinese sausage*, finely chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrot
11/2 teaspoons minced scallions
11/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
11/2 teaspoons Chinese seasoned rice wine
11/2 teaspoons soy sauce
11/2 teaspoons Oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper

Napa cabbage leaves to line the steamer basket

Chinese Golden Egg Pasta Dumpling Wrappers:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 egg
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup warm water

Cooking Directions:

1. For filling: Combine the pork, sausage, carrot, scallions, garlic, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, salt and pepper in large bowl, and mix thoroughly so everything is well distributed.
2. Keep cool in your refrigerator until you're ready to start folding.
3. For wrappers, put the flour in a large bowl; stir in turmeric. Slightly beat egg, water and oil until combined; add to flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to get the mixture well blended. If the dough is dry and cracking, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until it's moist and springy. If the dough is sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it's smooth.
4. When the mixture has cooled a bit, knead it for about 7 minutes or until the dough becomes really elastic. Then cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
5. After the dough has rested, use your thumb to poke a hole in the center. Gradually enlarge the hole until it looks like a large bagel. Using a sort of hand-over-hand technique, twist and pull the dough until it forms a rope about 3/4 inch in diameter.
6. Slice the dough into pieces about 3/4 of an inch long, and roll each piece into a ball between your palms. On a well-floured work surface, roll out the ball into a thin disk about 3 inches in diameter, place a piece of parchment paper between the dough and the rolling pin will make things a bit easier. If you're not satisfied with the circles you're getting, use a cookie-cutter to trim them.
   Store the formed wrappers between sheets of parchment or waxed paper so that they don't dry out.
7. Take a circle of dough, put 3/4 teaspoon of filling in the center, and fold dough in half to make half-moon shapes. Press the air out as you go and press or crimp the edges to seal.
8. Lay the Napa cabbage leaves out on the base of a steamer** and put the dumplings on them. Steam over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes per batch or until the pork filling reaches internal temperature of 155°F (65 to 70°C).
9. Serve warm with a bit of soy sauce.
   

Makes about 4 dozen or 16 servings (3 per serving).

*Find Chinese sausage at your local Chinese grocery or substitute it with 1/4 cup finely chopped pieces of cooked ham and 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar.

**Dumplings will need to be cooked in batches and not all at once.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (3 dumplings): Calories: 140, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat:1g, Cholesterol: 25mg, Sodium: 105mg, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 6g, Fiber: 1g

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of National Pork Board, through ECES, Inc., Electronic Color Editorial Services.