Pork and Chive Dumplings (Gao Gee)

I have an addiction to dumplings.

It doesn't matter if fried, boiled, steamed, homemade, pre-packaged, in soup, in hotpots, vegetarian or meat. Dumplings are one of my all time favourite foods because I love the smooth, silky, soft, pliable texture of the wrappers (when boiled) and the crisp caramalisation and light smokey-ness (when fried). You break past the wrapper into salty, savoury and deliciously juicy and fragrant insides - even meatless varieties are full of flavour.

My family would often sit at the dining table one weekend afternoon or after dinner at night to make a large batch of dumplings. As I mentioned in a previous post, dumplings can be frozen and kept for aaaaggggeeeesss so you never really run out of food. The quickest and easiest way to cook them is to pop them into a rapid boiling pot of water (they are done about 1-2mins after they float).

The below is a take on my grandmother's recipe; typical Asian grandmothers/mums/aunts/mother-in-laws rarely every use accurate measurements and cook by feel, estimates and experience. She tried to measure things as accurate as possible for this post :)

Grandma's Pork and Chive Dumplings/PotstickersServes a lot
350g fatty pork mince
150g Chinese chives (garlic chives)
1 tbsp xiaoshin wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chicken salt/bouillon
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 packs of store bought dumpling wrappers, preferably round and white types (NOT the yellow egg wonton wrappers)
Optional: Shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, seafood, anything you feel like adding.

1. Remove excess fat from pork if you're using a big slab of belly and mincing it yourself, otherwise ask for a fatty pork mince at your butcher (not the lean ones as fatty has the best flavour and texture).

2. Finely chop up a large quantity of Chinese chives (Grandma: The more, the better). Alternatively you can add finely sliced shiitake mushrooms, sliced Chinese cabbage, etc. It doesn't matter what quantity because it's all up to you; if you like more meat or more veges.

3. Chuck everything into a large mixing bowl and add xiaoshin wine (Grandma: Optional, I don't use it), soy sauce, chicken bouillon powder, salt and vegetable oil (canola is fine, but not olive oil). You want to use a neutral flavoured oil for this.

4. Mix, mix, mix!

5. Prepare some trays and room in your freezer. Take your dumpling wrappers out of the fridge and fill a small plate with clean water. Take a sheet and place it on your palm, spoon a SMALL amount (roughly 1 teaspoon) of the mixture in the middle. Put a bit of water along the edges of the wrapper and fold using whatever technique you like. Make sure you leave a gap in between them as you line them up.

6. Done! They are ready to be cooked! My favourite method is frying - heat up a pan on medium, add some oil and line them up. Let the bottoms caramelise and brown up slightly, then pour in 1/2 cup of cold water and cover with a lid. This uses a combination of frying, stewing and steaming which I find is the yummiest. Check on it every so often and don't let the water dry up too quickly (add more if necessary). They are done when the wrappers turn translucent and shiny.

7. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce! Mine is balsamic vinegar, raw sugar and a dash of sesame oil.