Chinese Boiled Dumplings

Jeff Smith brings this addictive little treat with a promise: "I always eat too many of these when I make them... and so does everyone else at the table." The dumplings are made from a very simple dough and stuffed with a distinctly Chinese pork filling. They're absurdly easy to produce and fun to shape!

Makes about 36 dumplings.


DOUGH

1 1/2 cups unsifted flour (sifted works, too)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
1 tbsp shortening (lard is best, butter will do)

Mix the flour and salt. Add the boiling water and stir it up. Dump in the lard and knead this for a couple of minutes, just until everything pulls together and the dough becomes softer and slightly elastic.


THE FILLING

It's possible that you may not have all the ingredients below, but I'll be honest: you can get away without them. Yes, they're best with everything included, but just be sure that you have the items with the asterisks (*) next to them.

*1 lb lean ground pork
*2 tbsp light soy sauce (use 1/2 as much if using dark soy)
2 tbsp dry sherry
*1 tsp freshly grated ginger
*1/2 tsp ground white pepper
*1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp MSG
*Pinch of sugar
*1 tbsp chopped green onion
*1 egg white
*1 tbsp cornstarch
*1 tsp salt
4 tbsp medium chopped bamboo shoots or water chestnuts
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp chili garlic paste (or some other spicy condiment)

Jeff says that you should add a cup of finely chopped cabbage, squeezed completely dry (I skipped out on the cabbage). Mix all the filling items together in a big bowl.


THE CONSTRUCTION

Break off teaspoon-sized pieces of dough and roll them into (roughly) a circle 3'' across. Get them quite thin, but not so thin that they tear. Drop a teaspoon of filling inside and bring the edges together, pressing all the air out and sealing in the meat.

Jeff says that you can cook these by dropping them in boiling water until they float to the top, then giving them an extra five minutes. I cooked them in a bamboo steamer for about 8-10 minutes on a high heat. They'd be great just dropped into boiling soup stock, too!