Mushroom and pork dumplings

We have Carmen, author of Tia Alia , with us again. This time she brings us an oriental recipe, steamed dumplings, which she suggests filling with mushrooms and pork, although the possibilities are endless. A great recipe for an original appetizer or dinner!

Dumplings are a type of dim sum (the equivalent of tapas in China, to put it in some way) that is served as a starter in oriental menus. The concept is very similar to our traditional dumplings, as they are made with very thin wonton dough wafers that are filled with meat, seafood, vegetables, etc. , but the difference between the two is that dumplings are steamed .

Although they may seem laborious, the truth is that preparing dumplings for four people does not take more than an hour and, if you are handy and crafts were your favorite subject at school, I am sure you will enjoy making these dumplings as much as I have.

Wonton dough can be found in large supermarkets and in establishments specialising in Asian products, something that is easy to find these days. And you can adapt the filling to your tastes or to what you have in the fridge, so there is no excuse not to get started right away!

Star Wave porcelain bowls from Tokyo Design Studio , wooden cutting board , Ken Hom bamboo steamer and ceramic ramekins from Le Creuset .

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the mushroom and pork dumplings:

• 1 package of 21 round sheets of wonton dough
• 200g minced pork
• 11 Chinese cabbage leaves
• 1/2 spring onion
• 50gr of fresh mushrooms
• 100g of canned assorted mushrooms (drained weight)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 piece of ginger, approximately 2cm
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fine corn flour
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Elaboration

1. We remove the first three leaves of the Chinese cabbage, wash them well, dry them and remove the hard central part. We keep only the green part, which we prick with the tip of a very sharp knife in several places and place on the base of the two trays of the bamboo steamer .
2. This will prevent the dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the steamer. If you don't have enough Chinese cabbage leaves, you can use baking paper. Cut two circles of the same diameter as the steamer, make some incisions and cover the bottom with them.
3. In any case, we put the steamer aside and move on to preparing the filling. To do this, we have to finely chop all the vegetables and mushrooms, mix them with the minced pork and season.
4. We wash the remaining eight leaves of Chinese cabbage, dry them and remove the hard central part of the leaves.
5. We remove the outer layer of the half spring onion and discard it.
6. We clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth until any traces of soil are removed and we separate the stems from the caps.
7. We drain the mushrooms and wash them under a fine stream of cold water. We let them drain well before drying them with absorbent paper.
8. Peel the garlic cloves, cut them in half lengthwise and remove the germ (so that it doesn't repeat).
9. We peel the ginger with the help of a spoon, scraping the skin gently to make the most of its flesh.
10. Using a sharp knife on a board , finely chop each and every one of the vegetables above and place them in a deep bowl . Add the minced pork, soy sauce, salt, fine corn flour and sesame oil . Mix until you obtain a homogeneous dough and let it rest for half an hour.
11. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce to accompany the dumplings. To do this, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil in a deep bowl . Whisk well and set aside.
12. Once the filling has rested, we proceed to fill the wonton wafers. This is a delicate dough that dries quickly. It is advisable to cover both the unfilled and already filled wafers with a damp cloth so that they do not spoil.
13. Prepare a small ramekin -type container with water. We will use it to moisten the edge of each wafer and act as glue when folding the dough. This way the dumplings will not open and the filling will not come out.
14. Take a sheet of paper and place it in the palm of your hand. Brush the edges with water and place a small portion of the filling inside. Join the left ends and pinch to join well. Make folds with the front part of the wafer while joining the back part, from left to right.
15. I got six folds in each dumpling, but you can make as many as you like. It's very easy to shape dumplings in this characteristic way and the result is beautiful, so don't despair if you don't get it right on the first try. Try again and you'll see how quickly you get the hang of it.
16. As you fill the wontons, place them on a board and cover them with a damp cloth so that, as mentioned above, they do not dry out. Repeat the process until you have finished all the wonton dough wafers. You will have leftover filling, which you can freeze to make more dumplings another day or use in other recipes.
17. Place the dumplings on the trays of the bamboo steamer , on top of the Chinese cabbage leaves, and cover. Fill a pan of the same diameter as the steamer with water up to half and heat it over a low heat. When it starts to generate steam, place the steamer on top and cook the dumplings over a low heat for 20-25 minutes.
18. Serve immediately with the sauce to dip the dumplings in and, if desired, with noodles, vegetable broth, rice, etc.

Ken Hom Wooden Cutting Board and Bamboo Steamer .