Pork and napa cabbage dumplings (jiaozi) with smashed cucumber
80 min · 37 g protein · 551 cals / serving
The dumplings families fold together on Lunar New Year's Eve, each one shaped like an old silver ingot for luck. A juicy filling of pork and salted, squeezed napa cabbage with ginger, scallion, soy and sesame oil, beaten with a splash of stock until it turns springy, wrapped and boiled until the skins are silky. Twelve each, with a sharp soy, vinegar and chili dip and a cold, garlicky smashed cucumber salad on the side, the way northern Chinese dumpling houses serve them.
Ingredients
Filling
- 2/3 medium napa cabbage Chinese cabbage, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt, for salting the cabbage, plus 1/4 tsp for the filling
- 9 oz pork loin fillet, raw, pork tenderloin or loin, minced (or ask the butcher)
- 7 oz ground pork, regular ground pork
- 1/4 cup chicken broth, cold
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sherry, dry sherry or Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
- 4 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Dumplings
- 48 round dumpling wrappers (about 1 1/4 packages) dumpling wrappers
Dip
- 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar, or Chinese black vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 2 tsp chili crisp, or chili oil, to taste (optional)
Smashed cucumber
- 2 medium cucumbers, smashed and cut in bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- a pinch red pepper flakes
Steps
- Toss the cabbage with 1 teaspoon of salt and leave in a colander for 20 minutes. Then squeeze it hard by the handful, or in a clean tea towel, until no more liquid runs out. This is the secret to a filling that holds together.
- In a large bowl, combine both porks with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, ginger and white pepper. Stir hard in one direction with chopsticks or a wooden spoon, adding the cold stock a spoonful at a time, for 2–3 minutes until the mixture turns sticky and springy. Fold in the squeezed cabbage and the green onion.
- Put a heaped tablespoon (about 20 g) of filling in the middle of a wrapper. Wet half the edge with water, fold into a half-moon and pinch the centre shut, then pleat or press the edges together firmly, pushing out any air. Set on a floured tray, not touching. Keep the wrappers and finished dumplings under a damp towel.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add about 15 dumplings, stirring gently so they do not stick. When the water returns to the boil, add 1/2 cup of cold water; repeat twice more. After the third boil, about 6–7 minutes in all, the dumplings float, the skins look translucent and the filling is cooked through (160°F). Lift out with a slotted spoon and repeat with the rest.
- Stir together the reduced-sodium soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and chili crisp, if using, for the dip.
- For the cucumber, lay each one on a board and press down hard with the flat of a knife until it cracks open, then cut into bite-size chunks. Toss with a pinch of salt, the vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, sugar and chilli flakes. Serve cold beside the hot dumplings and the dip.
Good to know
Can I pan-fry them instead?
Yes, as potstickers: brown the flat bottoms in 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick pan, add 1/2 cup water, cover and steam 6–7 minutes until the water is gone, then let the bottoms crisp again for a minute.
Can I freeze them?
Freeze uncooked dumplings on the floured tray until hard, then bag them for up to 3 months. Boil from frozen, adding a minute or two.
Can I use a fattier pork?
Yes; a fattier filling is juicier still and very traditional. Tipping the mix to 300 g regular and 150 g lean gives about 47 instead of 51.
Per
- Calories
- 111
- Protein
- (27%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (26%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (47%)
- 13 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 376 mg
About 65% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2203 kcal goes into the pot and 2260 g of ingredients comes out as about 1980 g of food: 111 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.