As the name suggests, these dumplings are filled with a rich and hearty broth. The trick is to first make a gelatin broth that’s solid at room temperature, but liquid once steamed. Be sure to eat them with caution, as the soup is piping hot. These dumplings can also be stored uncooked in the freezer for up to two weeks. If you can’t find all the pork ingredients individually, simply start with a piece of pork belly with skin: use the skin for the gelatin broth, and the meat for the ground pork.
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 8 minutes
Servings: 45 dumplings
INGREDIENTS:
Gelatin Broth:
250g pork skin
750g water
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin powder (optional)
Filling:
215g lean ground pork
85g fatty ground pork
1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce
½ Tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp MSG
½ tsp ginger powder
½ tsp onion powder
⅛ tsp white pepper
250g homemade gelatin broth
Wrappers:
300g bread flour
½ tsp salt
160g water
GELATIN BROTH INSTRUCTIONS:
Scald the pork skin in a quart of boiling water for 2 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Trim any fat off the skin, scrape both sides clean, and cut into 1-inch squares. Discard the water.
Place the pork skin cubes and 750g fresh water into a blender and blend on smoothie setting until the mixture achieves a creamy consistency. Transfer this mixture into a small nonstick pot and simmer on low with the lid on for 45 minutes.
Allow the broth to cool to room temperature, then strain it through a
large fine mesh strainer into a container. Press down the bits caught by the
strainer with a spatula to get the most liquid out. Discard anything that’s
left in the strainer and store the broth in the fridge for at least 2 hours,
until it sets like jello. If you didn’t use enough pork skin and the stock
isn’t firmly set, or if you’re new to folding soup dumplings, add 2 packets of
flavorless gelatin powder to the broth after you strain it, stir until well
combined, and let it set in the fridge.
WRAPPER INSTRUCTIONS:
Add the salt to the bread flour and mix well. You can use all-purpose flour here, but keep in mind the dough will be less sturdy and the dumplings will have a higher chance of leaking when steamed.
Slowly pour the water over the flour mixture while mixing with a non-stick spatula until clumps form and very little powdery flour is visible.
Knead the dough with your hand until a smooth consistency is reached, for about 5 minutes.
Roll the dough into a ball, cover with
cling wrap, and let it rest for 25 minutes in room temperature.
FILLING INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine all the filling ingredients except the gelatin broth and mix with a spatula in one direction for 5 minutes, until the proteins from the ground pork are released and the mixture becomes sticky to itself.
Roughly chop the 250g gelatin broth (after it’s set) into quarter inch
cubes, add them to the rest of the filling, and mix until well-incorporated. Place
the filling in the freezer for 25 minutes.
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:
Punch a hole at the center of the dough ball, and slowly stretch the dough out from all sides, working the dough into a large donut shape. Break the dough at one spot and continue working it into a rope.
Divide the dough into 10g portions, roll it into a tiny ball, and press down with your palm to form a small flat circle. Dust with extra flour as needed to prevent sticking.
If you’re right-handed, work the rolling pin with your right hand and turn the small circle with your left hand after each roll. This way the wrapper has a slight cone shape and is thin along the edges. Finished wrappers should be 4 inches in diameter. For a visual guide, check out this video.
As with all dumplings, it’s nice if you have a helper so that one person can roll out the wrappers and another person can wrap. If you don’t have that luxury, be sure to cover any dough you’re not working on with cling wrap to prevent it from drying out. As a shortcut, you can skip the above assembly instructions all together, use a pasta maker to press the dough into a one-sixteenth-inch thin sheet, and cut using a cookie cutter 4 inches in diameter; however, just keep in mind the edges will be thicker than the hand-rolled version and you’ll end up with more dough at the top of your soup dumplings.
To fold the dumplings, hold a wrapper (cone facing up) with your left hand and spread approximately 2 teaspoons of filling into a 2-inch circle at the center of the wrapper. It seems counterintuitive but spread-out filling is easier to wrap. To better portion the filling, I used a 1 ¼ inch cookie-dough scoop with spring release and spread the filling out with the bottom of the scoop.
As you’re folding each dumpling, push the underside of the wrapper with your left index finger to create the fold, then use your right thumb and index finger to pinch the folds together. As you pinch, lift your left ring and middle finger to rotate the dumpling clockwise, so by the time you’re done the dumpling should’ve made a 360 degree turn in your left hand. I prefer to close the eye at the end so that soup won’t escape from the top. but it’s up to you. For a visual guide, check out this video.
With water in the steamer already boiling, steam the dumplings for 6 minutes on medium heat, then turn off the heat let them rest for 2 minutes with the lid still on. Do not steam on high, as you risk popping the dumplings as the steam inside expands.
Once steamed, these dumplings cannot be stored and must be consumed
right away; however, you can freeze the uncooked ones for up to two weeks in
the freezer. I like to dust a disposable mini-cupcakes container with some
flour and place a dumpling in each spot. Since they’re frozen, you’ll need to
steam them for 10 minutes on medium heat, and rest for 2 minutes with the lid
on before serving.
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