Napa Cabbage Dumplings - Cute Bok Choy Shaped! (猪肉白菜水饺)
Featuring a vibrant two-toned wrapper and a juicy, flavorful pork and Napa cabbage filling. They’re a delicious and symbolic dish perfect for any occasion! This recipe makes about 70 dumplings.
Ingredients
Filling
- 500 g Ground pork 70% lean, 30% fat for best texture
- 800 g Napa cabbage finely chopped, add 2 tsp salt to extract the water
- 1 tbsp Grated ginger 15g
- 2-3 stalks Green onions finely chopped
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns soaked in 150ml hot water
- ½ tsp Salt 3g
- 1 tsp Sugar 5g
- 1 tsp Chicken bouillon powder 4g
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder 1g
- 1½ tbsp Cornstarch 15g
- 3 tbsp Soy sauce 45g
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce 15g
- 2 tbsp Neutral oil 30g
- 2 tbsp Sesame oil 30g
Wrappers
- 250 g All-purpose flour (for green dough)
- 250 g All-purpose flour (for white dough)
- 130 g Spinach leaves
- 60 g Water (for blending spinach) use total of 160g spinach juice to make the green dough
- 130 g Water (for white dough)
Instructions
Making the Dough:
- *Boil water. Blanch 130g spinach leaves for 30 seconds, then drain. Blend spinach with 60g water until smooth.
- In a bowl, create a well in 250g flour. Pour in 160g spinach juice and mix with chopsticks until it forms lumps.
- Knead into a rough dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat previous steps for the white dough, using 130g water instead of spinach juice.
- After resting, knead both doughs until smooth.
Making the Filling:
- Pour 150ml hot water over Sichuan peppercorns and let it cool.
- Sprinkle 2 tsp salt over chopped Napa cabbage, mix, and let sit for 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, ginger, 1 tsp salt, sugar, white pepper, chicken bouillon, and cornstarch.
- Add soy sauce and oyster sauce, mixing well.
- Strain Sichuan peppercorn water and gradually mix it into the filling in three batches, ensuring full absorption before the next addition.
- Stir the filling in one direction until it becomes sticky and cohesive.
- Add neutral oil and sesame oil, mix until absorbed.
- Gently squeeze excess water from Napa cabbage (do not over-squeeze) and mix it into the filling along with chopped green onion.
Shaping the Bok Choy-Like Wrappers:
- Shape the green dough into a rectangle and roll the white dough into a log.
- Place the white dough in the center of the green dough and wrap it completely.
- Lightly wet the green dough’s surface if needed for sticking.
- Roll the combined dough into a long log.
- Cut into small pieces, about 10g each. Rotating the dough after each cut to maintain a circular shape.
- Sprinkle flour to prevent sticking.
- Flatten each piece and roll into a thin round wrapper.
Assembling and Cooking the Dumplings:
- Place about a tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper, then pinch two sides together and seal tightly.
- Dip the bottom of the dumpling in flour to prevent sticking and place it onto a tray.
- Boil a large pot of water over high heat. Drop the dumplings into the water one by one.
- Gently push them around with the back of a spoon to avoid sticking.
- Turn the heat to low-medium and boil for 6-8 minutes until cooked through (the dumplings will puff up like a balloon).
- Strain and enjoy while hot (optional with a dipping sauce).