Chinese Dumplings and Pot Stickers

Dumplings are a household favourite. These are one of my favourite foods and can be made in so many different ways - steamed, cooked, fried. I like to throw them in a pot of water because they're the quickest :p I then fry up the leftovers the next day as pot stickers as I don't like reheating them in boiling water again.
My hubby is also a big fan of dumplings but he never liked the package-bought ones from the grocery store. His mum used to make dumplings and sell them to the store so he had high expectations when it comes to making and eating dumplings. 
So I wanted to make them for him. As my mother in law turns her nose up at dumpling skins bought from the grocery stores (they can last forever in your fridge - so imagine the preservatives that go in them), so I decided to make mine the traditional way. 
Here's my secret to hubby-approved dumplings. Even making them for the first time, he said they tasted better than store bought dumplings and that the skin was comparable to his mothers :) Suffice to say, that we now make and eat these regularly.

Dumplings are also fun to make together with family/friends and it never goes to waste. I always choose to make more than 1 batch as the leftovers can always be made as potstickers the next day. I also keep uncooked dumplings in the freezer for lazy days (just throw them in a pot of boiling water - voila) :p!

The fillings for dumplings are also flexible. I never have the habit of measuring what I use as I always use whatever's available at home. You can do the same or google for ideas. Mine's obviously a vegetarian version :)

Ingredients

Dough

• 340g water
• 600g bakers flour (plus more for rolling)

Filling - I never use the same ingredients, just whatever I happen to have in the fridge/pantry. I also never weighed the veggies, just estimated (sorry!). This is a very versatile dish and you can use whatever you like. This is an example of what I used in the below pictures

• (Chinese) Cabbage 
• Carrots
• Ginger
• Rehydrated shitake mushrooms
• Rehydrated black fungus
• Rehydrated Mung bean thread
• Celery
• Tofu

Binding Mix

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp salt

Dipping Sauce Again, I don't measure the amounts and do this all by taste (my hubby and I make our own sauces to suit our diets and palate)

• Water
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Fresh chilli
• Coriander, chopped
• Ginger
• Vinegar (we use black or red vinegar as it's healthier, but white vinegar is fine too)
• My hubby adds garlic to his

Method

1. Combine the dumpling dough in the Thermomix for 5 seconds, speed 7 and then knead for 3 min. Set aside to rest while you work on the filling
2. Using the TM, chop all the veggies (I do them separately as they're all different textures) on speed 4-5 and pour into a separate bowl
     
3. Add binding mix to the veggies. Pour out any excess water (as it will give you soggy dumplings). The greens tend to expel a lot of liquid so I normally do the cabbage separate and squeeze the extra liquid out before combining it with the rest.
4. Flour your surface bench. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour while you are rolling it out. Hand roll it out into a cylinder shape (Jack also spins it a few times like a skipping rope - show off :p), pull apart small pieces approx 2-3cm.
   
5. Using the rolling pin, roll each piece out into a circle (roll, turn, roll, turn) with a rolling pin leaving a pillowy centre
   
6. Fill the dough in the centre and wrap them securely. There are many ways to wrap dumplings, some prettier than others. I however, prefer the traditional way where you pinch the openings together in the center, then bring in the sides with both hands using  the space between your thumb and index finger. This is because it ends up tasting better and cooks more evenly compared to the pretty ones with several folds. A successfully rolled dumpling is one that can stand by itself. You can probably YouTube on wrapping methods as I really don't know how to articulate the art of dumpling wrapping
    
7. Heat up a pot if water and bring water to boil. Thow in your dumplings (do not throw them all in at once, don't overcrowd the pot). Dumplings should be ready once they float. My hubby tells me with meat dumplings, they generally take longer as it takes longer to cook the meat, I wouldn't know as I've never made/eaten meat dumplings. So if you are making them, you might have to test one
8. Prepare your favourite dipping sauce (I normally use soy sauce, sesame oil, water, coriander and fresh chilli. My hubby likes to add garlic to his) 
9. Enjoy them while its hot! We also eat our dumplings with pickled vegs. Any leftover dumplings should be put in the fridge. Any uncooked dumplings can be stored in the freezer.
   
10. For Pot Stickers, take the leftover dumplings out of the fridge and throw them in a heated frying pan with some oil. Once the bottom turns to a golden/brown colour (careful not to burn them like mine in the picture :p - I was too busy making our morning smoothie), add a little water and put a lid over the frying pan.
    Sometimes I skip these steps and just fry them all by turning them on all sides. I like it that way but the above method ensures the insides are thoroughly heated. We normally have the leftover dumplings as pot stickers for brekky the next morning :)