Pork and Shrimp Dumplings
We’re looking at another gross weekend forecast, to which I say BRING IT ON! A cold, snowy winter weekend spent trapped inside with no one but me, myself, and I? (Okay, and my dog Baines!) Talk about an actual introvert’s dream come true.
I’m like a doomsday prepper, only instead of investing in practical lifesaving-in-the-event-of-apocalypse goods and plans I hoard recipes and cooking projects (and the necessary ingredients) at an alarming rate. I am not sure where my fire extinguisher is, but I can absolutely whip up any number of complicated and time-intensive recipes with my lineup of “prepper” pantry ingredients at any given moment.
One of my favorite weekend projects is homemade dumplings. Thanks to my well-stocked spice and condiment collections (and my refusal to exist without at least one bag of frozen shrimp from Costco, a life tenet you should also adopt), I can riff on my basic recipe. They’re a cinch to make with whatever you have on hand. I usually stick with the pork and shrimp base, but lamb is really tasty, too! Use the recipe below as a jumping off point and tweak away to your taste.
They take a hot minute to put together, but it’s the perfect kind of low key, mindless activity that is best spent with a few fingers of bourbon and your favorite chill AF playlist. Hell, have a dumpling party. The more, the merrier! (Unless you’re an introvert, not that I would know anything about that.)
Pork and Shrimp Dumplings
Prep time: 1 hour, plus chill time | Cook time: 5 minutes
10 ounces ground pork
8 ounces shrimp, thawed if frozen and roughly chopped
2 cups cabbage, shredded
Small bunch of chives, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Pinch of red pepper flake
1 package square dumpling or wonton wrappers
Making the dumpling filling: Put cabbage in a colander and toss with a few teaspoons of salt. Let sit for half an hour. Squeeze as much water from the cabbage as possible (I use cheesecloth or, in a pinch, paper towels).
In a large bowl, combine drained cabbage with all other ingredients. Mix well to combine. Cover and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Set up your dumpling station: In addition to grabbing the chilled filling from the fridge, I also set up shop with a small bowl of water to dip the teaspoon measure and my fingers in so nothing sticks.
Remove wonton wrappers from package.
I use a silicone rolling mat as my work surface but a large cutting board would work fine, too. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and keep nearby; this is where your cute lil’ dumplings will rest until it’s time for THE BIG CHILL.
DO THE DAMN DUMPLING THING: Take one dumpling wrapper and lightly dampen the edges with water using your finger. Place a mounded 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold in half to make a triangle shape. You can pleat these or you can seal the edges flat and bring the sides around to create a cute little bundle that looks like it is wearing a jaunty ascot. Seriously, just watch a few YouTube tutorials and bravely bend that delicate dough into whatever shape is easiest for you.
This isn’t a beauty pageant.
Place completed dumplings on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze for 2 hours, or until frozen through. Place in a freezer bag and store for up to 2 months.
COOK! THOSE! DUMPS!: You’ve got myriad options for cooking these damn tasty bundles.
For boiled dumplings, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add frozen dumplings and return water to a boil. Cook until floating and cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Remove from water with a spider, draining well.
To pan-fry, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet. Add frozen dumplings and cook until the bottoms are deeply golden. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the hot skillet and cover, letting the dumplings steam for a few minutes. Remove cover and let cook a few more minutes until the dumplings look matte and the bottoms are crisp again.
For dippin’: Mix up some soy sauce with rice vinegar and sesame seeds for a dipping sauce. I sometimes spike that with a little sambal oelek. I also like to drizzle the piping hot dumplings with chili crisp, chili sesame oil, or more chives.
For easy peasy wonton soup (serves 1): Bring 3 cups of your favorite chicken stock to a boil with a few cloves of smashed garlic, a few dashes of fish sauce, and healthy pinches of salt and crushed red pepper flake. Add a handful of frozen dumplings and whatever greens you have handy; I love sliced bok choy and spicy mustard greens in mine. If you’re into noods in your wonton soup, add fresh Chinese egg noodles when the dumplings go in. (I use these.) Cook until dumplings are cooked through and noodles are springy.
Add a few small splashes of soy sauce and rice vinegar to finish and adjust any other seasoning to taste.
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