Pork Dumpling (咸肉粽子)

Making dumpling is never simple, but I will try to explain as clearly and as simple as it could so that anyone could try and successfully make their own dumpling at home.

salted pork dumpling

Ingredients (1 kg portion make about 15 dumpling +-) suggest to make more to justify for the effort as there are many preparation steps.

1. 1 kg glutinous rice (糯米)
2. 1 kg pork belly (三层肉)
3. 25 garlic
4. 25 Shallots
5. 100g dry shrimp
6. 150g Chestnut （栗子）
7. 1 cup Cooking oil
8. 100g Dry mushroom
9. 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
10. 3 teaspoon five spice powder （五香粉）
11. 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce

It might be too much work to be done all in a single day.  Those steps that can be done days ahead are indicated.

Method part 1 (prepare chestnut) – can be done 1 or 2 days before

1. In a pot, bring water to boil and put in dried chestnut. Off heat and soak overnight or 4-5 hours. Next day, using paring knife or any small knife remove the red skin in between the grooves.
2. In a pot with water just enough to cover the chestnut, add in 10 table spoon sugar. Bring to boil and simmer low heat with little water till almost dry, watch out not to burnt it.
3. The chestnut should be soft.
4. Put aside, and if to be kept overnight, put into fridge. Set aside for part 6.

Method part 2 (prepare shallot oil) – can be done the day before, and be done before part 3 onwards.

1. Peel and slice shallots. In a pan or wok, heated with 1 cup cooking oil, fry the shallots till golden. Separate the shallots and oil and standby both. Let’s call this shallot oil.

Method part 3a (prepare rice)

1. The night before, rinse the rice.
2. Soak with water and 1/2 table spoon salt. Soak overnight. Was told that this will prevent bloated feeling after eating (涨肚子).

Method part 3b (prepare rice)

1. Drain off water in the rice the next morning by using a bamboo sieve or stainless steel wire sieve.
2. Heat up wok, and add in rice and 1/2 cup shallot oil and dark soya sauce and stir fry for 5 mins.
3. Set aside for part 6.

Method part 4 (cutting of ingredients for filling)

1. Cut the pork into huge chucks. In a pot with boiling water, boil the pork for 3-5 mins to abt medium to medium well. This makes cutting easier.
2. Cut the pork into thick slice of 1.5 cm or 1/2 inch thick. Standby.
3. Rinsed dried shrimp, and soak in little water for 3 hours. Drained shrimp. Standby.
4. Rinsed dried mushroom, and soak in little water for 3 hours. Drained and cut away the stem (can keep the stem for boiling soup instead of discarding) and cut the mushroom into half or quarters if they are big else keep them as whole. Standby.

Method part 5 (frying the filling)

1. Peel the garlic and minced.
2. Heat up wok. Without oil, put in the dry shrimps and stir until nice fragrant of the shrimp can be smelled. Add in 2 tablespoon shallots oil and continue frying. Set aside for part 6.
3. Heat up wok, add in 6 tablespoon shallot oil and half of minced garlic. Add in sliced pork, sprinkle in pepper, 5 spice powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir fry till pork is cooked. Set aside for part 6.
4. Heat up wok, add in 4 tablespoon shallot oil and half of remaining minced garlic. Add in mushroom, and stir fry 3 mins. Set aside for part 6.

Method part 6 (wrapping and boiling)

1. Wrapping instruction can be found in another post (http://werynice.com/home/?p=309). Each dumpling should have 2 pieces mushroom, 2 teaspoon scoop of dried shrimp, 2 chestnut, 1-2 slice pork. Optionally you may also prepare small pieces of salted egg yolks, or even dried oyster (pre soaked) to be inserted as fillings. Another option is to pre soak some split green beans (yellow colour, those used to make tau suan) and add 1 teaspoon into the dumpling too.
2. In a big pot, fill with water and 1 teaspoon salt, a bunch of pandan leaves. Bring to boil.
3. Put in the dumpling and make sure they are fully submerged. Boil the dumping for 3 hours, and checking constantly if the water level has reduced and top up with boiling water.