Pork Dumplings

Pork Sui Mai, or as I like to refer to them, Pork Dumplings, make a great appetizer for entertaining.  They aren't too difficult, you can mix your ingredients a few hours before your guests arrive, they look super cute, and most of all EVERYONE loves them, EVERYONE.  You can easily adapt this recipe to fit your guests tastes or eating restrictions and you can always freeze and save half for another occasion!

We were having a small dinner party and I decided to send out a quick note before planning the menu to check if anyone had any dietary or personal restrictions ... at the end of the day (my own pickiness included) we were at no beef, no peas, nothing from the sea, no uncooked mushrooms, no salads with egg, and no lamb.  Luckily pork dumplings fit the bill for an appetizer.  If you steam them in a bamboo steamer, I suggest just serving them right out of there!

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork (about 500 g)
1 cup cabbage shredded (about 1/8 head) plus a few large leaves line steamer
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ginger, grated
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 egg white
1/2 tsp black pepper
50 wonton wrappers

Dipping Sauce:
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup green onions, minced
1 tsp ginger finely chopped
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar

Directions

1. In large bowl, combine all ingredients down to pepper.  Refrigerate until you prepare the dumplings.

2. For dipping sauce, add oil to sauce pan over medium heat and sautee onions and ginger until soft.  Add soy sauce and rice vinegar and bring to boil, remove from  heat and let cool.

3. Line levels of bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves to prevent sticking.  Alternatively, line whatever you are using to steam with baking paper.

4. Working with one wrapper at a time, place a large tsp of mixture into center, wipe water around the edges with your finger,  and pull all of the sides up and squeeze into a beggar's pouch.  Place on backing sheet dusted with cornflour or place directly on steamer and cover with plastic wrap until ready to steam.  Keep wrappers covered with damp paper towel to keep them from drying out. 

5. Steam for 5-7 minutes until pork is cooked through.  Serve with dipping sauce.

To freeze, place uncooked dumplings on baking sheet in freezer.  Once frozen, transfer to aircontainer placing baking paper or plastic wrap between layers.  Steam directly from a frozen state for 10-12 minutes.