Christmas Eve Dumplings

We had the Winning Gyoza for dinner Christmas Eve along with another favorite dumpling, Pearl Balls.  Both originated from Deanna Luke’s Chinese Cooking, Pocket Text.  My mom altered the recipe a little by adding green onions, garlic and sesame oil.    Both of these recipes are really  delicious and so festive.

-Andra

Pearl Balls

1 lb ground pork

2 teaspoons corn starch

1 egg

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

4 green onions, chopped fine

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon mirin

1 clove of garlic

1 teaspoon Siracha (optional)

1 cup of sushi rice, soaked for at least three hours.

Combine all of the ingredients, except the rice.  Measure out tablespoon sized portions of the meat mixture and roll into 24 balls. Roll each ball in the rice until well covered.

Put the balls of meat into a steamer basket that has been lightly oiled.  Steam for 30 minutes until the rice is tender.

Gyoza

1 pound ground pork

1 cup dried shitake mushroom, rehydrated and finely chopped

1 tablespoon green onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoon corn oil or light flavored oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

50 round gyoza skins

Mix all of the ingredients for the filling together. Refrigerate for one hour.

To assemble the gyoza, place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Dip your index finger in water and wet the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and seal the edge. Starting from one end and working your way to the other end, pleat the gyoza about 4-5 times. Set gyoza on a sheet pan lined with wax paper or a Silpat mat.

At this point, the gyoza can be frozen. Make sure they are placed in the freezer so that none of the dumplings are touching each other. Once frozen, you can place them in a ziplock bag and pull them out when you are ready to steam them.

To steam the gyoza, place a wok filled about halfway with water over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to simmer. Spray a bamboo steamer basket with non-stick cooking spray and fill each layer with the dumplings. Make sure that they are not touching and that the steam can circulate around each dumpling. Put the lid on the steamer basket and steam for 12-15 minutes. Steam frozen gyoza for 16-20 minutes.

Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce 

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 hot peppers, chopped with seeds

Mix ingredients and serve with gyoza.