History of Dumplings & Recipe

Cindy Wu, Contributor, 6th grade
May 1, 2023

Dumplings

Dumplings are a traditional Chinese dish. They are small lumps of dough usually wrapped around a little bit of meat mixed with vegetables. They had existed since ancient times and the first recorded recipe for dumplings appears in a Roman cookery text. One version of dumplings that has been enjoyed for about 1,800 years are jiaozi. Dumplings were created by a man named Zhang Zhongjian. According to legend, dumplings originated from the Han dynasty, when Zhang was going back to his village. It was winter and he realized that many people in the village were suffering from frostbite. So he decided to cook up something to help the people cope with it. Dumplings. They were made up of a little bit of mutton, chili, and healing herbs. After cooking that, he had wrapped them up with small scraps of dough. He shaped them into the form of what looks like an ear. The people had liked them so much that they made more of it even when spring rolled around. Even today we still make them, and many people from around the world still enjoy them. Other cultures have also made their own versions of dumplings such as empanadas and momo.

Recipe:

Ingredients – for 24 dumplings

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt, divide
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 cups red cabbage
2 cups green onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
½ lb ground pork
½ teaspoon pepper
¾ cup mushroom, diced
¾ cup carrot, diced
½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

Dipping Sauce –

¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Steps –

First, In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the warm water and mix until well-combined.
Next, roll out dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.
Then, roll out 1 piece of dough into a thin log and divide into 6 or 8 pieces, depending on the size of dumplings you want. Repeat with the remaining dough portions.
Lightly flour the dough pieces and roll out 1 piece into a thin circle roughly 4-inches (10 cm) in diameter.
Keep the dumpling wrappers separated with a small piece of parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough.
Combine the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a medium bowl and mix until well-incorporated.
For the pork filling, combine the ground pork with the remaining teaspoon of salt, the pepper and 1 cup (125g) of the cabbage mixture and stir until well-incorporated.
For the veggie filling, combine the mushrooms and carrot and microwave for 3 minutes, until soft. Add 1 cup (125g) of the cabbage mixture and stir until well-incorporated.
For the shrimp filling, combine the shrimp with 1 cup (125g) of the cabbage mixture and stir until well-incorporated.
To assemble the dumplings, add roughly 1 heaping tablespoon of filling to the center of a dumpling wrapper. With your finger, lightly coat half of the outside of the wrapper with water. Fold the moistened half of the wrapper over the filling and, using your fingers, pleat the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining fillings and wrappers.
Heat the oil over medium high in a large skillet and add a few dumplings, cooking them in batches. Once the bottoms of the dumplings start to brown, add a splash of water and cover with a lid. Steam for about 5 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked and the water has evaporated. Transfer the cooked dumplings to a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess moisture or grease.
After, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper flakes and stir to combine. Serve the dumplings immediately with the dipping sauce.
Finally, Enjoy!