# Different Meat and Vegetable Combinations in Dumplings?



## Chausiubao (Aug 21, 2006)

I learned how to make dumplings from my mother, she taught me to make dumplings with garlic chives and ground pork. And there are also other combinations I've thought up to myself. 

Recently I made these. 

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38146856/

Does anyone know any other good combinations besides pork and chive?

I was thinking, chicken and napa cabbage. But that is also a traditional combination.


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## Billy Cea (Aug 21, 2006)

One of my favorites is cucumber and scrambled egg, oh another is cilantro and pork (probably my favorite).


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Aug 21, 2006)

In Chinese Restaurants, aren't those known as pot stickers?

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## thumpershere2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Yep, those are potstickers, I like to fill with mashed potatoes and cheese or mashed potatoes and saur kraut, sausage and cheese and kraut. Every Nationality calles them something different.


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## Robo410 (Aug 21, 2006)

ground chicken green peas and mint is very good
ground or chopped beef, hot chilis and cilantro is awesome
smoked fish, spinach, rice and ginger also great.  none of these are "traditional" but the mixtures are not unusual.


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## Claire (Aug 21, 2006)

Because the quality of ground pork can be iffy, I usually make mine with ground dark meat turkey. I used to make a vegetarian version for my mom with very finely chopped mushrooms instead of the meat. Always onion of some sort (chives, green or round). I tend to not season mine heavily because there are SO many and there are only two of us. So when I make them I freeze most of them (freeze on wax paper on a cookie sheet. When frozen they go into a bag) and I can make a variety of dishes with them, using them as pierogi as well as various Asian dishes. I boil in soups, steam, make potstickers or deep fry. Then I let the sauce or soup be the determination.


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## Andy M. (Aug 21, 2006)

Shrimp and scallion

Crab and cream cheese.


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## Chausiubao (Aug 21, 2006)

I think the only difference between dumplings and potstickers is the method of cooking. But then that may also decide the different ingredients. I know for a fact that dumplings and potstickers have different skins, as boiling water is more...disastrous? to the wrappers. 

But its no big difference. 

I can't say i've ever heard of scrambled egg and cucumber...maybe i'll try that.


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## Loprraine (Aug 21, 2006)

My favourite is ground pork, napa cabbage, scallions, garlic, ginger etc.  But, I'm also partial to duck mixed with a bit of hoisin sauce.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Aug 21, 2006)

Dumplings to me are defined by those wonderfully light, biscuit kind-of things that floated on top of my Mother's chicken soup. That's how I make dumplings as well. The dumplings described above have various names and purposes. They can be boiled, deep-fried, pan-fried, cooked into casseroles, etc., and depending on the filling can range from perrogies, to pot-stickers, to ravioli, etc. But whatever you like to call them, they are so versatile and can be taylored to virtually any meal.

Great thread by the way.

Oh, and if you have trouble with the skins staying sealed, remember that the liquid doesn't have to boil. Take it up to 180 to 200 degrees and let the littel pillows simmer at that temp. Also, brush the inside edges with egg-wash before sealing.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Chausiubao (Aug 22, 2006)

I don't know about anyone else, but my dumplings are sealed with a beaten egg, so in addition to the egg, and resting or freezing, they stay nice and shut. 

Oh. u said that already. 

Well anyway that always works. Overstuffing is the main culprit in the spontaneous combustion of dumplings. 

But about your dumplings, "Dumplings to me are defiend by those wonderfully light, biscuit kind-of things that floated on top of my Mother's chickn soup." How does one make those? What are they good for?


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## Claire (Aug 23, 2006)

You're thinking of a European type dumpling, which isn't stuffed.  It isn't a stuffed dumpling like potstickers, won ton (both Chinese), mandoo (Korean), pierogi (Polish), but more like a noodle, but fatter.  Spatzle is a basic one, and then there is the mother of them all, a big fat knudle.  A Czech friend used to make them with liver as an ingredient, in a chicken broth.  Yummm!


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## urmaniac13 (Aug 23, 2006)

We just had some wonderful "dumplings", if you call it so, but really called Knodel in German, Canederli in Italian, while we were holidaying in the Alps.  Hearty balls of delicacy, with the texture not unlike many of the stuffing used for Thanksgiving turkeys.  Indeed they were made of chunked breads, with some eggs as a base.  The ones we had were of chives and speck, gorrrrrgeous, but really you can use many different items to your fancy, like different kinds of cheese, spinach, mushrooms etc., also for a base there are some other variations mixed with semolina, buckwheat or potatoes (sort of big hunk of gnocchi).  They are most typically served in broth, but also can be served with rich, thick sauces of different types.
We collected tons of recipes, as soon as we sort them out I will post some of the typical recipes for them


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## Chausiubao (Aug 23, 2006)

sounds kind of like a boiled meatloaf.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Aug 24, 2006)

The dumplings of which I spoke consist of a loose biscuit dough that is dropped by spoonfull into a gently simmering liquid (no boiling liquid, not even little bubbles please).  The biscuits are steamed to perfection as they float on top of the broth.  To serve, the biscuits are removed to a seperate bowl and the person eating the soup either places them back into their soup bowl or eats seperately as they please.  The dumplings pick up some of the soup flavor as tehy cook, and they are spongey and moist in texture, without being too soggy.  You can also form them around a good cheese before placing in the simmering liquid.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Chausiubao (Aug 25, 2006)

Ah... i understand biscuit dough. Generally in my experience, a random piece of dough tossed into some simmering water would be heavy...tight, or that sort of thing. But maybe biscuit dough acts differently. It would make sense ne way.


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## marmalady (Aug 25, 2006)

Here's a different one for ya - much yum!

 
*GARLIC SCALLOP GYOZAS*

 ​makes about 36 gyozas
 
½ lb. minced scallops   
¼ cup minced shallot                
2T soy sauce
1T minced ginger                      
½ tsp. chili oil                                       
36 gyoza skins (or wonton wrappers)
4 minced garlic clove    
1T cornstarch
 
Combine scallops, ginger, shallot, soy sauce, chili oil, garlic, and cornstarch; mix well; spoon about 1 ½ tsp. into center of each gyoza skin; pinch edges together.  Place on a baking sheet and cover with damp towel to keep from drying.  Heat 1 tsp. oil in skillet over medium high; place dumplings in skillet; don't crowd; cook 2-3 minutes, til bottom is lightly browned.  Add about ¼ cup water, reduce heat to med. low, cover and simmer 5 minutes.  Uncover and return heat to medium high to cook off extra water. Repeat with remaining dumplings, bringing heat to medium high and making sure skillet is dry before adding more oil.  Serve with ponzu dipping sauce.


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## Can'tStopCooking (Aug 31, 2006)

I lived in China for 11 years and learned some Chinese cooking while there. Dumplings of various sorts are found all over China. The ones we call potstickers, if made at home in the North, are the exact same as jiaozi, the water boiled ones. It does just depend, as one poster said, on how you cook them. If bought at a street stall, however, there is another type of pot sticker that is open at both ends and couldn't be boiled.

The trick to boiling handmade, closed Chinese-style dumplings so they don't open up is to bring the water to just under boiling, put in a batch, then when the water wants to start boiiling again, add one small bowl of cold water to bring the temperature down. They will do this one more time, then when the water comes to a boil the third time, the dumplings should be done.

There are many kinds of fillings you can make. My favorite is the same as the poster from Shanghai's, and is a very standard one: ground pork, Chinese cabbage, scallions, and ginger (and a little bit of soy sauce and sesame oil). But another good one is with ground beef and carrots, also scallions and ginger in there. In the north, they usually put jiucai, a strong garlic grass, in the pork ones. It's okay...everyone seems to love that filling but me. I guess I just love the above pork one more. Once in a while I make the pork ones from scratch, wrappers and all, but it's very time consuming.   I have a Chinese friend in New York City who makes pot stickers using Pillsbury biscuit dough. They're tasty, but you can't eat as many of them; they're too heavy to have more than a couple of.

Usually making jiaozi is a social affair in China.  You invite friends over to do it with you.  You make up the fillings, perhaps two or three kinds (probably a pork filling and one with shrimp), and the wrapper dough in advance, then when your helpers/dinner guests have arrived, you work together rolling the dough into little circles and filling them.  When they're all wrapped, trays and trays of them, you start boiling them.

I'm living in Korea now, and they put that (rice? sweet potato or mung bean starch? I forget now) translucent vermicelli, cooked and chopped up small, in their potstickers, with hmm...what else? sometimes tiny bits of chopped up firm tofu, sometimes a little scrambled egg. And minced leeks, and pepper (black).


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