The Best Pork Dumplings
Prep
40m
Cook
15m
Total
55m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. Pork dumplings. We're talking pork dumplings today and I'm going to be straight with you because that's what we do here — straight talk, just the recipe, the way it should be — and these are THE BEST pork dumplings. The greatest pork dumplings in the history of dumplings. Hands down. Believe me.
I've had dumplings everywhere. Chinatown in New York. Chinatown in San Francisco. A backstreet in Taipei where a woman handed me a basket through a window and never spoke a word. Even a place in OHIO — Ohio! Of all places! — that made a dumpling so good I had to sit down on the floor of the strip mall. Three countries you've never heard of, twice. Big strong men, tough men, men who never cry, they eat one of these dumplings and they get emotional. They say, 'Bigly, the dumpling. The dumpling.' I tell them I understand. I've been there. The dumpling does that to a person.
Now the secret — and most chefs are afraid to do this, they cut the corner, they call it good — the secret is the cabbage. You salt the cabbage. You let it sit. You SQUEEZE the water out. SQUEEZE. If you don't, your filling is wet, your dumplings are soggy, and you've ruined dumplings forever. Soggy dumplings are a disaster. Wet sadness on a plate. We're not doing that. Not on Bigly's watch. It's just a fact.
Ingredients
- 1 pack (about 40)round dumpling wrappers(store-bought is fine, life is short)
- 1 lbground pork (not lean)(fat is flavor, lean pork is sad pork)
- 3 cupsnapa cabbage, finely chopped
- 1 tsp (for the cabbage)kosher salt
- 4scallions, thinly sliced
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 1 tbspfresh ginger, grated
- 2 tbspsoy sauce
- 1 tbspShaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tbsptoasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tspwhite pepper
- 2 tbspneutral oil (for pan-frying)
- 1/3 cupwater (for steaming)
- 1/4 cupsoy sauce (for dipping)
- 2 tbspblack vinegar (Chinkiang)(the good stuff, ridge of the wrapper smell, you'll know)
- to tastechili crisp or chili oil
Steps
- 1
Toss the chopped cabbage with 1 tsp salt in a colander and let sit 15 minutes. Squeeze HARD with your hands or a clean kitchen towel to remove as much water as possible.
- 2
In a large bowl, combine the squeezed cabbage, ground pork, scallions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and white pepper.
- 3
Mix vigorously in one direction for 1-2 minutes until the filling looks tacky and slightly springy. This builds the bouncy texture.
- 4
Set up a workstation: wrappers, a small bowl of water, the filling, and a parchment-lined tray for finished dumplings.
- 5
Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Dip a finger in water and run it around the edge.
- 6
Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the top center closed. Make 3-4 small pleats on one side, pressing each pleat against the flat back side to form a curved crescent. Stand the dumpling on its flat bottom on the tray.
- 7
Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Cover the tray with a damp towel so they don't dry out.
- 8
Heat 1 tbsp neutral oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange dumplings flat-side down in a single layer, packed but not overlapping.
- 9
Pan-fry 2-3 minutes until the bottoms are deep golden brown.
- 10
Carefully pour in 1/3 cup water, immediately cover with a lid, and steam 6-7 minutes until the water has evaporated and the wrappers look translucent.
- 11
Uncover, let the bottoms re-crisp 1-2 minutes more, then transfer to a plate, crispy-side up.
- 12
Whisk soy sauce and black vinegar for the dip. Top with chili crisp to taste. Serve immediately.
One more thing
Forty dumplings. FORTY. You can freeze half, you can eat them all, you can give some to a neighbor and ruin their week because now nothing else they eat will measure up — that's on them, that's a them problem, you gave them a gift — and the dipping sauce, the black vinegar, do not skip the black vinegar, the black vinegar is what separates the dumpling artists from the dumpling tourists. Save me a piece.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Best Pork Dumplings.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
★ MORE LIKE THIS ★
KEEP COOKING.
Bigly Banh Mi
A classic Vietnamese banh mi with quick-pickled carrot and daikon, soy-glazed pork, jalapeno, cilantro, and a crispy baguette. Sandwich royalty.
Bigly Beef and Broccoli
Velveted flank steak and crisp-tender broccoli in a glossy ginger-garlic soy sauce. Twenty-five minutes start to finish. The takeout classic, done right.
Tremendous Bibim Guksu
Cold Korean somyeon noodles tossed in a spicy-sweet gochujang sauce with crisp vegetables, sesame, and a jammy egg on top. Ready in 15 minutes.
Huge Bibimbap
A huge sizzling bowl of bibimbap with seasoned vegetables, marinated beef, a runny egg, gochujang sauce, and a crispy rice crust at the bottom.