Guo Tie

Photo: flickr user Gary Soup

Ingredients

2 cups All-purpose flour

cup Cold water

1 pound Lean ground pork, (or chicken, 2 tablespoons Cold water

1 tablespoon Dry sherry

1 tablespoon Soy sauce

1 tablespoon Toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Finely chopped fresh ginger

pound Chinese cabbage, (or bok choy, 4 tablespoons Toasted sesame oil

4 teaspoons Minced fresh ginger

4 tablespoons Minced scallion

6 tablespoons Soy sauce

4 teaspoons Chinese rice vinegar or cider vinegar

cup Low salt chicken stock

2 teaspoons Sugar

Preparation

Dumpling dough: If the dough feels stiff, add a little more water a tablespoon at a time, but don't exceed 3/4 cup total.

Yields 48 three-inchwrappers. Sift flour into a bowl. Gradually add water, mixing with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and springy, about 5 minutes. Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rest at room temperature for 20 mins.

Put rested dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 min. Divide dough and shape each half into a 12" long cylinder that's about 1" in diameter. With a serrated knife, cut each cylinder crosswise into 24 rounds. Lay the rounds on a lightly floured surface and flatten with the palm of your hand to about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle flour lightly on the pieces to prevent sticking. With a rolling pin, roll each slice into a 3 inch circle about 1/8" thick. Pinch the edges of the rounds to make them thinner than the middle. Arrange the rounds in a single layer on a lightly floured tray or baking sheet, and cover with a towel.

Fill each wrapper with about 2 tsp. filling. Fold the wrapper in half, pinching together in the middle. You are going to make pleats on each dumpling, but only on one side. Make two small pleats on either side of the pinched middle. To do this, gather the dough and fold it over onto itself.

Point the pleats toward the middle of the dumpling. Seal the pleated and unpleated sides by pinching along the top.

You may freeze any portion at this point. Arrange them in a single layer on a tray and seal with plastic. When you are ready to eat them, do not defrost. Simply add a few minutes to cooking time.

In a 12 inch non stick pan, heat 1 tbs cooking oil over medium low heat.

Arrange the dumplings in the pan, pleated side up, starting from the center and radiating out, with the sides just touching. Cook the dumplings until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of water or chicken stock; cover the pan and cook over medium heat until all liquid has evaporated, about 10 min. Uncover and drizzle 1 tbs oil around the inside edge of the pan. Fry the dumplings until the bottoms are golden brown, about 3 min. Loosen the dumplings around the edges with a spatula, and then set a large serving plate over the pan. Wearing mitts to protect your hands, quickly invert the pan. Serve the dumplings fried side up.

Dumpling filling: In a large bowl, combine ground meat with water, sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, ginger. Add cabbage and mix until thoroughly blended.

Dumpling dipping sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the oil over low heat.

Add the ginger and scallion. Stir for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Serve at room temperature.