Pork and Cabbage Dumplings with Stir Fried Bok Choy

Method

1. 1

   Harvest the Chinese cabbage and chop it up into tiny pieces. If the pieces are cut too large then the filling will be more rough to work with.

2. 2

   Mince the garlic.

3. 3

   In a mixing bowl, add the pork, cabbage, half of the garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and a dash of white pepper.

4. 4

   Mix everything together, put saran wrap over the bowl, and refrigerate for at least an hour so that the flavors may combine. Use within 24 hours.

5. 5

   Let's make the dumpling sauce now. Combine 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar, some sugar, a dash of sesame oil, and a little bit of garlic (like a quarter clove).

6. 6

   Once the mixture has sat for a while, break out your dumpling wrappers on a cutting board.

7. 7

   Put a little cup or small container of water next to the cutting board.

8. 8

   Now sit down and start making the dumplings. It might take a while.

9. 9

   Put a teaspoon of filling into the wrapper, then dip a finger in the water and wet the edges of the wrapper.

10. 10

    Fold the dumpling over so that the edges meet and press together gently to seal it.

11. 11

    Crimp the edges a bit by slightly folding them over sideways in at least 4 points.

12. 12

    Repeat the previous three steps fifty times (or however many dumplings you can make, I made approximately 50).

13. 13

    Since you will probably not cook all of the dumplings now, put the excess dumplings into a ziploc bag and stuff them in the freezer for some other time.

14. 14

    If you are going to eat rice with this like I did, then go start the rice now. I suspect you already know how to make rice (if not, please read the instructions on the bag).

15. 15

    Now go harvest the bok choy (if you are only making the dumplings, you can skip this step and the other bok choy steps)

16. 16

    Peel and mince some ginger, about a teaspoon (ginger is strong so don't use too much then set aside.

17. 17

    Chop up the bok choy. Don't cut the pieces too small since they will decrease in size as they cook.

18. 18

    Heat up some cooking oil on medium high in a pan or small pot. Make sure to use a pan or pot that you also have a lid for. Set aside a half cup of water next to the pot.

19. 19

    Put the dumplings into the hot oil (with the folded side on top, unfolded side on the bottom).

20. 20

    Within a minute or so the bottoms of the dumplings will be browned. At this point, pour the cup of water into the pan. The dumplings should be covered only about halfway up with water, there should not be too much water in the pan.

21. 21

    Put on the lid and cook for three to four minutes. Then remove the lid and keep cooking until the water has evaporated to help the bottoms get more crispy. Use a metal spatula to take them out - the way they stick to the bottom of the pan is why this style of dumpling is also known as potstickers.

22. 22

    Now put some cooking oil in a wok on high heat (we are going to make the bok choy now, if only making dumplings then you are already done).

23. 23

    First throw in the garlic and ginger, stir them vigorously into the oil for about 10 seconds then immediately add the bok choy. Be very quick so the garlic does not burn!

24. 24

    Stir fry for 2 or 3 minutes then add some soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and bonus points if you have some MSG to toss in.

25. 25

    If you made rice, put the rice in a bowl with the stir fried bok choy on top and serve the dumplings on a plate alongside the dipping sauce.