Boiled dumplings with pork and garlic chives (韭菜猪肉水饺)

Last Updated on April 11, 2021 by Simon Fan

As we all know, food and festivals go hand in hand. For most people from northern China, boiled dumplings, or shui jiao (水饺) in Mandarin, are must-have food to celebrate Chinese New Year.

You cannot find a better way to start the New Year than getting the entire family together to work the dough, roll the wrappers, make and cook the dumplings, and best of all, sit around the table to enjoy the juicy and succulent parcels!

To make shui jiao, you start by mixing wheat flour with cold water to make a cold-water dough. The dough is kneaded, rested, and then rolled out to individual round wrappers. The gluten developed through kneading makes the wrappers elastic, which helps withstand the pressures of boiling and gives the cooked dumplings a wonderful texture.

By comparison, steamed or pan-fried dumplings call for hot-water dough, which produces a softer texture. A great example is garlic chive turnovers.

Making cold-water dough and rolling dumpling wrappers can be quite easy and even therapeutic if you follow the method provided in the recipe below. Although store-bought wrappers are convenient to use, they don’t give you the same texture as homemade ones.

What goes into the dumplings can be meat, seafood, vegetables, or any combination of them. I love the pairing of ground pork with garlic chives, as well as ground pork with pickled cabbage—a favorite in Dongbei (东北), the northeast region of China.

As for the dipping sauce, you can start with black vinegar (either Shanxi vinegar or Zhenjiang vinegar) and add other seasonings such as soy sauce, chili sauce, or sesame oil. Minced garlic would be a nice addition too.

When I crave superb boiled dumplings created by real masters from northern China, I would make a trip to Shandong Dumpling in Flushing or Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House in Elmhurst. Eat a full plate of piping-hot dumplings there, and bring a large bag of frozen ones home. Can’t beat that!

Boiled dumplings with pork and garlic chives (韭菜猪肉水饺) 

Makes about 24 dumplings

Ingredients

Dough
1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (120 g) water

Filling
8 oz (230 g) ground pork
4 oz (115 g) garlic chives, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) pieces
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Dipping sauce
Shanxi vinegar or Zhenjiang (aka Chinkiang) vinegar
Minced garlic (optional)
Additional seasonings (such as soy sauce, chili sauce, or sesame oil) of your choice

Directions

To make the dough:

1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Slowly pour the water to the flour, stirring quickly with a pair of chopsticks to distribute the water.
2. Use your hands to form the mixture into a ball and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To make the filling:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes for flavors to blend.
2. Cook ½ tablespoon of the filling in the microwave to taste the seasoning and adjust as needed.

To make the dumplings:

1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and form each piece into a ball. On the lightly floured work surface, roll each ball into a long log about 1¼ inches (3 cm) in diameter. Cut the log crosswise into 6 equal disks. Form each disk into a ball, flatten it with your palm, and then use a dumpling rolling pin (a dowel about 1 inch/2.5 cm in diameter) to roll it into a round wrapper about 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter. Ideally, you want the wrapper to be around ¹⁄₁₂ inch (2 mm) thick on the edges and slightly thicker in the center. If you like, you can use a tortilla press or a heavy-bottomed pan to press the disk into a flattened circle, then use the rolling pin to roll the wrapper to the desired size and thickness. Dust the wrappers with flour to prevent them from sticking to each other.
2. To wrap the dumplings, place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of a wrapper, fold to form a half-moon shape, then press the edges firmly to seal. Optionally, you can use your thumbs and index fingers to give the dumpling a further pinch to push the ends slightly up and toward the center, creating an elegant shape with a bulging center. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling, and dust the dumplings with flour to prevent sticking.
3. To cook the dumplings, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches as needed, add the dumplings and give a quick stir to prevent sticking. Bring the water back to a gentle boil, and cook until the dumplings stay afloat and fully cooked through, about 6 minutes. During cooking, adding a small amount of cold water each time the water reaches a rolling boil can lower the temperature and prevent the dumplings from bloating with steam inside.
4. Transfer the dumplings to a colander, drain well, and serve right away with the dipping sauce alongside.