SRC Reveal - Chinese Pork Dumplings

This month for the Secret Recipe Club , I was paired with Bean of Without Adornment  and her Gluten-Free kitchen.  Bean has a lovely philosophy on life, and beautiful photography which shines through on her blog!  I am not familiar with gluten free cooking, and don't have many of the ingredients for her recipes, but I did come across her recipe for Ginger Beef and Chinese-esque Pork Dumplings .  I did have store bought won ton wrappers in the fridge.  I tried 2 different cooking methods - Shu Mai (steamed) and pan fried and steamed (pot sticker style).  These little gems had a bit of a kick from the ginger - so delicious!

Pork Filling for Dumplings

1 lb. lean ground pork

1/2 cup chopped green onion

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. sesame oil(original recipe called for 2 tsp. oil)
1 Tbsp. cooking sherry 

1 tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp. sugar(my addition)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch(my addition)

1/4 cup finely grated carrot (for garnish)

 In a medium bowl, mix pork, with above ingredients and mix until well combined.

Using a 3" biscuit cutter (I used an empty tuna can - perfect for this), cut rounds from won ton wrappers.  Cover rounds with moist paper towel to prevent drying.

Working with 6 rounds at a time, brush edges of each round lightly with water.   Place 1 Tablespoon of filling into center of each round.  Form dumplings by crimping wrapper around sides of filling and leaving top exposed.

Pinch opposite sides of wrapper.  Continue until you have eight folds.  Gather sides and squeeze gently.  Lightly pack down filling.

Top center of each dumpling with pinch of grated carrot.  These can be frozen up to 3 months.  When steaming add an additional 5 minutes.  This will make about 40 dumplings.  Any leftover meat can be used to make Asian Style Meatballs (as Mr. Bean suggested) or a nice Pork Fried Rice!

Cut a piece of parchment slightly smaller than diameter of steamer basket and place in basket.  Poke about 20 small holes in parchment and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.  Place batches of dumplings on parchment liner, making sure they are not touching.  Set steamer over simmering water and cook, covered until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve with chili oil.

To cook them pot sticker style, heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet,  Fry dumplings on one side until golden brown.  Add 1/2 cup water to skillet, cover and steam 8-10 minutes.

Chili Oil Dipping Sauce 

1/4 cup soy sauce

2-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)

1 tsp. Chinese Chili Garlic Sauce

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients and let stand one hour to meld flavors.

I know this is quite different from Bean's gluten free kitchen, but she gave me the inspiration to try these homemade dumplings!  Thank you Bean!

~Method from American's Test Kitchen