Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings is a special treat in my house. It’s not something I make all the time. The flavors are so amazing homemade and worth the extra work! They can be made ahead and frozen raw to cook at a later date.

I surprised my family and made these last weekend. My husband was so excited when he walked in the door. He told me he could smell the Asian food from the driveway! You can make these as an appetizer or for dinner.

These Pork and Cabbage Dumplings are a lot of work folding each dumpling, but if you get the family involved it is much faster. Furthermore by the time you get half way done your like a pro and speed through each one. Don’t let that keep you from making up a batch you won’t be sorry you did all that folding

When you make this amazing recipe (or any of my recipes) tag me on social media using the #MyWorldSimplified
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
Dumplings:
3 cups chopped Napa cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground pork, not sausage
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
1 pack dumpling wrappers
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Cornstarch for dusting
Water for steaming

Directions:

Start by mixing the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. The longer it sits the stronger the flavors. Will keep for about a week in the fridge.

The next step is simple. Place the cabbage in a colander and sprinkle salt over it. Let sit for about 15 minutes.

Squeeze out any water the remains in the cabbage. Add to a large bowl along with the pork, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, and white pepper.

Mix the ingredients together. Gather a small bowl of water, the dumpling wrappers, a baking sheet dusted with cornstarch, and the pork mixture.

Add about a teaspoon of the mixture to the center of a wrapper. Wet the edges and seal just the top of the wrapper like a taco

These folds seem tricky to learn a first but its quite simple. You are only folding the front. Fold the front section over 3 times on each side. Place on the baking sheet with cornstarch. Below is a video showing how.

At this point you can stop and freeze them on the baking sheet until frozen then place in a freezer bag, remove air, place back in the freezer for up to a few months.

To cook: place about a teaspoon of the sesame oil in a hot non stick pan (although I didn’t use it in the photos a cast iron skillet works best)

Heat the skillet over medium heat. Add a few dumplings leaving plenty of room around each one. Cool for about 3 minutes.

Add enough water to cover the bottom the of the pan (about 3/4 cup) add the lid and cook for about 10 minutes.

Most of the water will be gone. Remove lid and cook for about 2 minutes or until the dumplings release from the bottom of the pan. Serve hot with the sauce and enjoy!