Mom’s Best Pork Dumplings

The version on the blog is the one my mom makes frequently on the weekend when I was growing up, a northern style steamed dumpling that lands somewhere between a daily dinner and a holiday tradition. Where most pork dumplings rely on pork and cabbage alone, ours folds chopped fresh shrimp into the filling for a sweeter bite and a lighter texture against the meat. If this is your first time wrapping, my step by step guide on how to make Chinese dumplings walks through the pleating in more detail than this post will.

The fresh shrimp twist came from my grandmother in the north, where dumplings were closer to a daily staple than a celebration food, so dried shrimp was the practical move and fresh shrimp was a quiet luxury. My uncle thought she was wasting good shrimp on something so ordinary the first time he watched her chopping it into the filling, and then he asked for the recipe by the second round. I have wrapped these with my mother in her kitchen, with my husband at our own counter, and now with my son standing on a stool with a floured ball of dough.

To pull this together, I basically mix ground pork with chopped shrimp, ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, and white pepper into a sticky paste, then chill the meat while I salt and squeeze the napa cabbage to pull water out of the leaves. Once the napa cabbage is lightly dehydrated, I fold it back in with green onion and sesame oil, scoop the filling into wrappers, pinch the pleats closed, and line a bamboo steamer with whole cabbage leaves before steaming the dumplings. I love placing a small dish of black vinegar with a little chili oil, call my family to the table, and the meal is full enough on its own to skip a side. I highly recommend giving my mom’s pork dumplings recipe a try.

Ingredients

Pork dumplings hide most of their work in 2 places, the seasoning of the pork and the moisture management of the cabbage. I keep the rest of the list pared down on purpose, below are all the ingredients you need to make this recipe:

The pork and shrimp filling base: I use ground pork with at least 20% fat, which creates a juicy filling than the lean type. Fresh shrimp is the difference between an everyday filling and the version my grandmother made, since the bite is bouncier and the flavor turns sweeter than dried shrimp ever does.

The seasoning: Fresh grated ginger, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sea salt, and white pepper season the meat.

The vegetables and finishing oil: Napa cabbage is salted, rested, and squeezed dry before it goes into the filling. Chopped green onion and toasted sesame oil go in at the very end so the cabbage stays crisp and the oil flavors the filling without getting beat up by the salt cure.

The wrappers and steamer setup: I roll my own steamed dumpling wrappers for this recipe, since the dough is mixed with hot water and stays soft and pliable after steaming. Cold water dough is the one to use for boiled dumplings instead, because it turns tough under steam, so I do not swap one for the other here. A few whole napa cabbage leaves line the bamboo steamer, which keeps the dumplings from sticking and saves me from cutting parchment to size every time.

Do not want to make the dumpling wrappers from scratch?

That’s totally OK too. Store-bought dumpling wrappers works just fine. I would use a slightly larger type such as Shanghai style Chinese dumpling wrappers, which is good for both boiled dumplings or pan fried dumplings. Because this filling is quite juicy, a larger and thicker wrapper holds more filling and won’t turn soggy during cooking. I would avoid small gyoza wrappers (usually found in Japanese grocery stores) since those are too thin.

How to Make

1. Mix the pork base: In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped shrimp, grated ginger, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sea salt, and white pepper. Cover the bowl and refrigerate while you prep the cabbage so the salt and wine work into the meat.

3. Reserve cabbage leaves for the steamer: Pull off 6 to 8 whole napa cabbage leaves and set them aside. They will line the steamer later.

4. Salt the chopped cabbage: Dice the rest of the cabbage as finely as you can manage, transfer to a bowl, and toss with a couple of pinches of salt. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes so the cabbage releases its water.

5. Squeeze the cabbage dry: Wrap the cabbage in a clean cheesecloth or kitchen towel and squeeze with both hands until it stops dripping.

6. Combine the filling: Add the squeezed cabbage, chopped green onion, and sesame oil to the pork mixture. Stir again in one direction until everything is evenly distributed.

7. Wrap the dumplings: Place a generous spoonful of filling in the center of each wrapper. Wet the wrapper edge with water, fold the wrapper in half over the filling, and pinch the middle closed first.

8. Pleat the edges: Working from the middle outward, fold pleats along one side of the wrapper and press them firmly into the back side to seal. Set the finished dumpling on a floured board if you are cooking right away or on a foil lined sheet if you are freezing. Always keep the dumplings and the wrappers covered, with a wrap or damp paper towels, to prevent them from drying up.

9. Line the steamer: Lay the reserved whole cabbage leaves across the bamboo steamer baskets so the leaves cover the bottom completely.

10. Arrange the dumplings: Set the dumplings on the cabbage leaves with a finger width of space between each one so they do not stick together as they steam.

11. Steam the dumplings: Bring water to a boil in a wok or a steamer, with enough liquid to sit just below the steamer base. Set the steamer on top, cover, and steam over high heat for 10 minutes.

12. Serve hot: Carry the steamer baskets straight to the table and serve the dumplings while the wrappers are still glossy.

How I Love Serving

Most weekends my husband and I set up an assembly line on the counter, where one of us rolls the filling and the other pleats, and we eat the first basket standing at the kitchen island with small dishes of black vinegar and chili oil before anyone bothers to set the table. For a fuller meal around the dumplings, I add a quick egg drop soup, plus a quick stir fried green like garlic baby bok choy on the side.

For a dumpling party, I rotate the filling through my mom’s lamb dumplings and carrot dumplings for the vegetarian eaters. I will fold a batch of pork and sauerkraut dumplings when there is a jar of sauerkraut to use up, and serve all 3 fillings from the same bamboo stack so the table looks generous without three times the wrapping.

Frequently Ask Questions

Mom’s Best Pork Dumplings

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 36 votes

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 40 to 50 dumplings

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My pork dumplings are a Chinese steamed dumpling I learned from my mom, with juicy pork, chopped fresh shrimp, and napa cabbage folded into pleated wrappers and finished in a bamboo steamer over whole cabbage leaves. These are great to serve as an appetizer or as a main dish.

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 lb ground pork (at least 20% fat)
• 1/2 lb shrimp (about 16 medium-size shrimp) , peeled and deveined and chopped to small pieces
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 lb napa cabbage
• 4 green onions , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 package frozen dumpling wrappers (or homemade steamed dumpling wrappers OR homemade boiled dumpling wrappers)

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Instructions

Prepare filling

• Combine ground pork, shrimp, ginger, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, and white pepper in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula until the ingredients are well combined and form a sticky paste. Thorough mixing is essential here, so your dumpling filling will stay together when you wrap dumplings. Cover with a plastic wrapper and allow to marinate in fridge until you’re ready to wrap the dumplings.
• Cut 6 to 8 pieces napa cabbage leaves (just enough to line the steamer) and keep for later. Cut the rest of the cabbage into small cubes and set aside.
• Sprinkle 2 pinches of salt onto the cabbage and mix well with your hands. Allow this to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Use a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towel to squeeze out extra water.
• Just before wrapping dumplings, add the napa cabbage, green onion, and sesame oil into the pork mixture. Stir to mix well.

Wrap

• Work on the dumplings one by one. You can watch this video if you’re using frozen dumpling wrappers. Or watch this video if you’re using homemade dumpling wrappers.
• Scoop about 1 to 2 tablespoons (depends on the size of dumpling wrapper you use) of dumpling filling and place it in the center of the wrapper. If you’re using pre-made dumpling wrappers, dip your finger into a small bowl of water and wet the outer edge of the dumpling wrapper. Fold both sides into a half-moon shape and pinch the middle points together. Hold the dumpling with one hand and start sealing the edges into pleats with the other hand. Once you have sealed the dumpling, firmly press the pleated side with your fingers to make sure the dumpling is well sealed. If you put in too much filling and have trouble sealing the dumpling, remove extra filling and fold the dumpling again.
• If you plan to cook the dumplings immediately, place dumplings onto a well-floured cutting board about a finger width apart.
• If you plan to freeze the dumplings, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place dumplings on top.

Cook

• Line the bamboo steamers with napa cabbage leaves. Place dumplings into the steamer a finger width apart. Add two inches of water into a wok or a large pan that can comfortably fit your steamer. Place the steamer into the wok making sure the water doesn’t touch the dumplings when it begins to boil. Cover the steamer and cook over high heat for 10 minutes.
• You can also check this post for boiled dumplings for this post for cooking potsticker.
• Serve immediately.

Store

• Store the wrapped, uncooked dumplings in the freezer for up to 1 month. To freeze properly, seal the baking sheet tight with plastic wrapper and allow the dumplings to freeze completely. To save freezer space, transfer the frozen dumplings into large containers or a gallon bag. Be careful not break them when you stack the dumplings and do not place other things on top of your dumplings bag.
• To cook the frozen dumplings, steam directly from the freezer without thawing. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook through.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutrition

Serving: 43g, Calories: 63kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 4.9g, Fat: 1.2g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 121mg, Potassium: 93mg, Vitamin A: 500IU, Vitamin C: 6.6mg, Calcium: 20mg, Iron: 0.7mg

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