Boiled "Three Fresh Stuffing" Dumplings

Lin Fu
Fu Shun, China
Fall 2008

Recipe | Story

3 cups all-purpose flour
up to  1 1/4 cups hot water (80 in Celsius)
1 cup pork minced (better with some fat)
3 eggs
1 pound leeks
1/2 pound shrimp (without husks and heads)
rice wine

1 1/4 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon white pepper
3 Tablespoons sesame seed oil, 5 Tablespoons any kinds of oil
1/2 green onion, finely minced
2 slices fresh ginger, finely minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

Add the hot water into the flour while stirring and mixing in the same direction until it forms smooth dough.  

Knead the dough in a smooth ball. The dough should be flexible, so when pressed, it goes back to shape in several seconds.

Cover the dough (to avoid loss of water) for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, cut the leek into 1/2-inch pieces.

Scramble the eggs into small pieces. Then cut the egg grains into smaller pieces.

Cut the shrimp into pieces about the size of a soy bean. Then mix them into the minced pork and sir in the same direction.

Add the minced green onion, ginger, and garlic.

Continue stirring in the same direction.  

Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, other oil, salt, white pepper, and the rice wine into the stuffing.

Stir in the same direction until all of the flavoring and the foodstuff mix equally.

Divide the dough into small pieces about the size of a cap of a bottle of water.

Roll each piece out into a 3-inch circle.

Place a small portion of the filling into the middle of a wrapper.

Fold the dough over the filling into a half circle shape and pinch the edges and make sure the filling is sealed in the wrapper.

Repeat the process for the rest of the dumplings.

To cook, bring a half of the large pot of water to boil.

Add half of the dumplings carefully. Stir them gently so they do not stick together or break.

Bring the water to boil again, and add about 1/2 cup of cold water.

Cover and repeat until they are completely cooked. Usually, it will boil for three minutes.

To check, pick one, cool it, and try it to taste if it is cooked.

Then turn off the fire.

Move the dumplings to big plates. Now they are ready to eat!

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Making delicious dumplings is not a secret for Chinese families, especially for Northern families. Almost every family in China can make dumplings. I do not know when, where, and who made the first dumpling in China in the ancient world, but I know he or she must have been a genius. We have an idiom: "No more delicious than dumplings, no more comfy than lying." It is just an idiom, but it shows how Chinese people like dumplings.

My grandparents are fans of dumplings, and they will eat a lot of almost any kind. All of my aunts can make dumplings. Dumplings are not just a traditional food that we make on the Chinese New Year's Eve; we make it a lot during weekends or on holidays. Of course, we have to make and eat dumplings on the Chinese New Year's Eve. On the Eve, my mom and all of the women in my family will make dumplings together for the whole family. When the bell rings at midnight, we all eat dumplings and celebrate the start of the New Year.

Even though my other family members are not that kind of big fan like my grandparents, they love to eat dumplings, too. The recipe of making dumplings is mostly taught by word-of-mouth. Kids will learn how to make them from their older family members. I know sixty percent of the whole process. But a lot of young people do not know how to make them or only know some.

My favorite stuffing is lamb and carrot. It is also the special stuffing in my family since my grandparents' cooking. But I am sharing another kind of stuffing of dumpling. There are eggs, leek, pork, and shrimp inside. People call it "The Three Fresh Stuffing," because there are three kinds of fresh foodstuffs inside: leek as the fresh vegetable foodstuff, pork and eggs as the fresh meat foodstuff, and shrimp as the fresh seafood foodstuff.

The Three Fresh Stuffing is the most popular stuffing dumpling in China. These three stuffs mixed together will keep their original special fresh flavors so people still taste the shrimp, leek, egg, and the pork when eating them. And they taste more appetizing when they mix together. Even though the dumpling is very appetizing, they are better with mature vinegar and soy sauce, and some chopped garlic. In China, most families boil dumplings instead of steaming them. The dumplings should be the salty fresh taste when cooked right.