Meat dumplings typify the hearty, wholesome qualities of northern home-style cooking. Traditionally, they are filled with pork, cabbage, and flavored with a generous amount of Chinese garlic chives.

1. Place the minced cabbage in a large mixing bowl, add the salt, toss lightly to mix evenly, and let sit for 30 min. (this is done to remove the water from the cabbage, so the filling will not soak through the dumpling skin.) Take a handful of minced cabbage and squeeze out as much water as possible. Place the cabbage in a mixing bowl. Squeeze out all the cabbage and discard water. Add the pork, minced chives, and "dumpling seasoning". Stir vigorously in to combine the ingredients evenly. (If the mixture seems loose, add 2 Tbs cornstarch to bind it together.)

2. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of each dumpling skin, and fold the skin over to make a half-moon shape. Spread a little water along the edge of the skin. Use the thumb and index finger of one hand to form small pleats along the outside edge of the skin; with the other hand, press the two opposite edges of the skin together to seal. The inside edge of the dumpling should curve in a semi-circular fashion to conform to the shape of the pleated edge. Place the sealed edge dumplings on a baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with cornstarch or flour.

3. In a large wok or pot, bring about 3qts of water to a boil. Add half the dumplings, stirring immediately to prevent them from sticking together, and heat until the water begins to boil. Add 1/2 cup cold water and continue to cook over high heat until the water boils. Add another 1/2 cup cold water and cook until the water boils again. Remove and drain. Cook the remaining dumplings in the same manner. (This is the traditional method of cooking dumplings; for a simpler method, boil for about 8 minutes, uncovered, on high heat.

Serve the cooked dumplings with one (or both) of the dipping sauces.

sauces.

Most of this came from the book Nina Simonds, "Classic Chinese Cuisine", Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1982. It is an excellent Chinese cookbook. The recipes are straight forward and typically pretty easy. It contains nice (often wordy and sometimes slightly dated) descriptions and historical notes.

Eat-L Digest 14 July 96

From the Eat-L recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive,