Simple and classic pork and cabbage dumplings! Ground pork, napa cabbage, pantry seasonings, and dumpling wrappers. Make a lot and store the extra in the freezer. Boil, steam, or steam-fry the dumplings. Eat and enjoy ^_^
The ingredients are simple and everyone loves "freshly" folded dumplings. Nothing better than eating dumplings just minutes after folding them!
I like meat and vegetables in the dumpling filling so that it counts as a complete meal. This recipe is great for that because it has equal parts ground pork and napa cabbage.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Gound pork
- Napa cabbage
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Ground white pepper
- Salt
- Sugar
- Dumpling wrappers
Instructions
Let's get cooking!
Prepare the cabbage.
Chop the cabbage into very small pieces. I like to first cut the cabbage into thin slices. and then cut across (perpendicular) into even smaller pieces.
Place the cabbage into a colander. Add a teaspoon of salt. Place a shallow bowl under the colander (to catch all the liquid that will come out from the cabbage). Massage the cabbage with the salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
In small batches, use your hands to squeeze excess water from the cabbage. Squeeze well and tight. Repeat until you've done this with all the cabbage.
Place the ground pork, prepared cabbage (as prepared in Step 1), soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Mix well so that all the ingredients are evenly combined.
Prepare your dumpling wrapping station. You'll need:
- A large tray or multiple plates to place the wrapped dumplings.
- A small bowl of water. The water will be used to wet the edges of the dumpling wrappers.
- A plate or flat, clean surface to fold the dumplings.
- The large bowl with the prepared dumpling filling and a spoon to scoop the filling.
Place 1 tablespoon of the filling on a single wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper.
Gently fold and pleat. You can even fold them in the shape of wontons. Set aside. Repeat until you've used all the dumpling filling.
To cook the dumplings, you can boil, steam, or steam-fry (that's what we did in the photo above).
To serve, dip in red vinegar or make a dumpling dipping sauce. Eat and enjoy!
Top Tip
When it comes to wrapping the dumplings, most people do this on a large plate.
To make things easier, cover a portion of your table/counter with plastic wrap (as seen in the photo above). Then use that entire surface for dumpling wrapping.
Lay out multiple dumpling wrappers (I do a dozen at a time) and spoon the dumpling filling on all wrappers. Then wet the edges of each wrapper, and then fold them all. It makes things faster and easier.
Once you're done, remove and discard the plastic wrap. One less dish to wash, and one less table/counter to clean! Love it.
I always put on a good TV show while dumpling wrapping. Makes doing a fun thing even more fun ^_^
FAQ
Make a dumpling dipping sauce (very easy to do).
Or use red vinegar (as pictured at the top of this post).
Add a spoonful of chili oil or chili crisp to your dipping sauce.
Pork and Chive Dumplings are a classic.
Kimchi Dumplings are always a hit. And so are Sichuan / Szechuan Dumplings.
We love Pork Wontons and especially Pork Wontons with Sesame Sauce. And Spicy Wontons!
Do you know how to fold wontons?
Pork Hash is a local favorite in Hawaii. It's a local version of Chinese shumai. Think of as an open face dumpling!
Napa cabbage is the "classic" cabbage for pork and cabbage dumplings, but I've also made this with regular green cabbage and it was fine.
Definitely try to get napa cabbage though...it is so delicious.
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings Recipe
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound napa cabbage
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 50 pieces dumpling wrappers
Instructions
- Prepare the cabbage by chopping it into very small pieces. I like to first cut the cabbage into thin slices. and then cut across (perpendicular) into even smaller pieces. Place the cabbage into a colander. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Place a shallow bowl underneath the colander (to catch all the liquid that will come out from the cabbage). Massage the cabbage with the salt and let sit for 10 minutes. In small batches, use your hand to squeeze out excess water from the cabbage. Squeeze well and tight. Repeat until you've done this with all the cabbage.
- Place the ground pork, prepared cabbage (as prepared in Step 1), soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix well so that all the ingredients are evenly combined.
- Prepare your dumpling wrapping station. You'll need:- A large tray or multiple plates to place the wrapped dumplings.- A small bowl of water. The water will be used to wet the edges of the dumpling wrappers.- A plate or flat, clean surface to fold the dumplings.- The large bowl with the prepared dumpling filling and a spoon to scoop the filling.
- Place 1 tablespoon of the filling on a single wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper. Gently fold and pleat (you can even fold them in the shape of wontons). Set aside.Repeat until you've used all the dumpling filling.
- To cook the dumplings, you can boil, steam, or steam-fry.To serve, dip in red vinegar or make a dumpling dipping sauce. Eat and enjoy!
Mahalo for Reading!