PARENT & CHILD: ASIAN DUMPLINGS WITH CHEF KENJI LOPEZ-ALT

Central Market Presents

Parent & Child: Asian Dumplings with Chef Kenji López-Alt
October 15, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. CST

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• Chicken & Vegetable Dumplings

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 PARENT & CHILD: ASIAN DUMPLINGS WITH CHEF KENJI LOPEZ-ALT

CHICKEN & VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS

Recipe by Kenji López-Alt. Adapted from Every Night Is Pizza Night.

Yield: 40 – 50 Dumplings

Ingredients
For the Chicken Dumpling Filling:
1/2 pound (225g) finely minced Napa or green cabbage (about 1/2 a small head)
1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided (for table salt, use half as much by volume or use
the same weight)
12 ounces (225g) ground chicken
2 teaspoons (8g) sugar
Up to 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (optional)
Up to 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger (optional)
Up to 1/4 cup minced scallions (optional)
Up to 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, mint, or dill (optional)
Up to 1 teaspoon (5ml) toasted sesame oil (optional)
Up to 1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce (optional)
Up to 1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder (optional)

For the Dumplings:

1 package dumpling wrappers (40 to 50 wrappers)
Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking

For the Dumpling Sauce:

2 teaspoons (8g) sugar
2 tablespoons (30ml) hot water
2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce
1 tablespoon (15ml) Chinkiang, rice, or balsamic vinegar
Aromatics such as garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and minced scallions, as desired

Equipment
Fine Mesh strainer
3 Clean dish towels
Large Mixing Bowl
Tongs
2 Teaspoons from a place setting
Mortar and Pestle
2 cup Liquid Measuring cup (optional – to measure liquid released by cabbage)
2 teaspoons/2 Tablespoons
Microwave-safe plate
Small bowl for water
1 cutting board
Parchment Paper
Plastic wrap
Rimmed Baking Sheets

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 PARENT & CHILD: ASIAN DUMPLINGS WITH CHEF KENJI LOPEZ-ALT

Sponge
Zip Lock Freezer Bags
To Cook the dumplings:
Large pot/Bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves or parchment paper over a wok/nonstick skillet
Slotted Metal Spoon or Spider
Small bowl with spoon or whisk for dipping sauce

Instructions
1. For the Dumpling Filling: Line a fine mesh strainer with a clean dish towel. In a large mixing bowl, combine
cabbage and 1 teaspoon salt and toss to combine. Transfer cabbage to the towel-lined strainer, set it over
the bowl, and let stand at room temperature until the cabbage has started giving up its moisture and is
wilting, about 15 minutes. Let kids massage the cabbage if they’d like (it’ll help speed the process along).
Now is also a good time to start picking which aromatics you’ll want to use in the meat mixture, and to chop
up the garlic, ginger, scallions, and herbs (if using). My daughter, Alicia, likes to peel ginger using the edge
of a teaspoon, and smashing garlic and ginger in a mortar and pestle is a very kid-friendly task.
2. Gather up the edges of the dish towel and twist them to squeeze the cabbage. Kids can help wring out as
much excess moisture as possible. I like to measure how much liquid came out to show Alicia how much
water is inside a cabbage. Discard the liquid, then return the cabbage to the bowl.
3. Add the ground chicken, sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and any aromatics you choose to the bowl
and, using clean hands, knead and mix until the filling is homogenous and starting to feel tacky/sticky.
Transfer a teaspoon-sized amount to a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power until cooked
through, about 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. This is a good time to let kids taste the
mixture and offer input. ("Do you think this needs more salt? Maybe more ginger?," etc.) Make sure kids
wash their hands after handling the raw chicken mixture and before eating.
4. Set up a work station with a small bowl of water, a clean dish towel for wiping fingers, a bowl with the
dumpling filling, a couple spoons for putting the filling into wrappers, a parchment-lined rimmed baking
sheet for the finished dumplings, and a stack of dumpling wrappers covered in plastic wrap.
5. For the Dumplings: To form dumplings, hold one wrapper on top of a flat hand, or lay it flat on a cutting
board (make sure the remaining stack of wrappers stays under plastic—they dry out quickly). Using a
spoon, smear a 2 teaspoon- to 1 tablespoon-sized amount of filling in the center of the wrapper. Use the tip
of a finger to very gently moisten the edge of the wrapper with water (try not to use too much water, though
with toddlers it’s almost inevitable—if the work surface is visibly wet, transfer the wrapper you’re working on
to a separate small board or plate to finish, then have a sponge handy to dry off the main board before
starting on the next). Wipe your fingertips dry on a kitchen towel.
6. Working from one side, carefully seal the filling inside the wrapper by folding it into a crescent shape while
pushing out as much air as possible. As you get better, you can start to add pleats to the shape to form
small purses. Transfer finished dumplings to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Your kids’ dumplings (or
yours) may end up misshapen, or the filling might be squeezing out one end, or there may be a hole in the
wrapper. This is all okay; I promise they will still taste great.
7. At this point the dumplings may be frozen by placing the baking sheet in the freezer. Freeze dumplings for
at least 30 minutes then transfer to a zipper-lock freezer bag for long-term storage. Dumplings can be
frozen for up to 2 months and cooked directly from the freezer.
8. To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add dumplings, and boil until they are cooked through, about 2
minutes if fresh and 3 minutes if frozen. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon or metal spider.
Alternatively, dumplings can be steamed in a bamboo steamer lined with cabbage leaves or parchment, set

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 PARENT & CHILD: ASIAN DUMPLINGS WITH CHEF KENJI LOPEZ-ALT

on top of a wok with an inch of simmering water. Steam for 4 minutes if fresh and 6 minutes is frozen. If
you like your dumplings crispy, transfer them to a non-stick skillet preheated with a little vegetable oil over
medium heat, spread them into a single layer, and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until they are golden
brown and crisp. Serve the dumplings with dipping sauce.
9. For the Dipping Sauce: Combine sugar, hot water, soy sauce, vinegar, and any aromatics. Stir well to
combine.

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