Dumplings

 I have a new favorite kitchen gadget.  It sat in the cupboard, and after surviving a few cleanouts, the small multilayer bamboo steamer that I purchased for $4 from a second hand shop nearly one year ago, tumbled out of the cupboard just a few days before date night. Perfect timing!   I was immediately inspired. Not only would we save money by ordering in, but my husband and I could spend time in the kitchen together, concocting the evening's meal.

Dumplings are one of our favorite Asian appetizers so the decision to  make them was an easy one. I researched a bit and then decided to keep it simple. In lieu of making the dough, I bought the pre-rolled dumpling rounds. One of the things that I admire about Asian cookery is the simplicity of the ingredients: fresh, minimal and quick preparation for the most part. 

The pork filling was an aromatic mix of  ground pork, Napa cabbage, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and eggs. Despite our careful preparation of the ingredients, we processed the ingredients to create a finer mixture which made filling the dumpling wrappers easier. 

Next, we created a simple dipping sauce with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, scallions, ginger and sesame oil. By this time, the kitchen was filled with rich aromas of ginger and garlic. With preparations out of the way, we set up for dumpling production. A sheet pan lined with parchment, wrappers, the filling, a small bowl with water for sealing the pockets of goodness, a wok with a few inches of water and the bamboo steamer.

Once we got into a rhythm of filling and folding, dumplings seemed to fill the tray. One pound of pork was clearly more than enough for the two us. Rather than fill all of the dough rounds, we elected to refrigerate the remaining filling to use for another meal. 

Our borrowed DVD from the library was loaded into the player and ready to go. Dumplings were loaded into the bamboo steamer. Within ten minutes, the floury soft rounds of dough that we had carefully filled and pinched closed, emerged from the steamer as sticky plump pockets begging to be plucked from the plate, plunged into the sauce and savored. 

Give them a try! Pork and Cabbage Dumplings and Asian Dipping Sauce for Dumplings