Pork And Chive Dumplings In Garlic-Miso Broth Recipe

Everyone should try making dumplings at least once, whether using premade wrappers or starting from scratch. While the big frozen bags of potstickers are great, there's something enlightening about pinching dough around a homemade filling and steaming them slowly until soft. It could be the dexterity required to shape the dough or the patience it teaches along the way, but homemade dumplings are a lesson in valuing and respecting your food and those who make it for you. Oh, and they're really, really good.

Pork is a super common dumpling filling and is often paired with flavors like ginger, garlic, soy, and scallions. In this recipe developed by Michelle McGlinn, the pork is marinated with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame, and ginger, and mixed with delicate and herby chives instead of scallion. The milder flavor of chives is delicious with nutty miso, which we made into a broth for the dumplings to swim in here. Folded like soup dumplings, the purse-shaped pockets of dough soak up the soup for juicy explosions of flavor with every bite. It may not be a 30-minute meal (unless you're super fast) but the fresh flavors and silky dough will make it well worth making.

For the filling, you'll need ground pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, and chives. Since you only need a tablespoon of filling per dumpling, a little bit goes a long way, and a half pound will fill about 20 dumplings. Use store-bought wrappers to save yourself a few hours of prep – you can find round dumpling wrappers in the frozen section of Asian grocery stores, often near similar products like egg roll and spring roll wrappers. To cook the dumplings, you'll just need a little bit of oil and a little bit of water to sauté and steam.

For the broth, grab garlic, white miso, soy sauce, vegetable broth, and bok choy. White miso can be found near the tofu in the refrigerated section of grocery stores and may have "Shiro" on the packaging. Unlike brownish-red miso, white miso will be yellowy-white. Then, just grab some scallions for topping (or use a handful of chives instead).

You can do this step ahead of time if desired, covering the pork and keeping in the refrigerator until ready to use. Just mix the pork, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, and chives together until very well combined. If you need to test the filling for taste, you can always form a small meatball out of the filling and brown it on the stove for a few minutes, adjusting the flavors from there.

The dumplings you're most likely used to seeing are half moon shaped and pinched together on just one side. While you could do this technique, the best fold for this brothy dish is bao shaped, which requires pleating in a circular motion. Make sure your wrappers are completely thawed and pliable (If the edges are dried out, this fold will not work). Keep the wrappers wrapped in plastic or underneath a damp towel while you fold one at a time. Dunk the wrapper gently in water to soften, then add a spoonful of filling to the middle. Pinch a pleat into the dough diagonally, then make a second pleat following the first, leading the pleat around the curve of the dough. Continue folding, pressing the pleats together as you fold and rotate the dough, until you've made pleats around the circumference of the wrapper. Finish pleating and twist the dough slightly to seal, or press the edges together to form a small opening. If you mess up, have patience; scrape the filling out of the wrapper and try again with a new piece. And give it a few tries before giving up (you'll probably find that you won't need to give up after all).

Another trick to folding these dumplings is to fold 2 or 3 pleats with your thumb and forefinger, then rest the dumpling on a table and pleat using both hands. This method is a little easier because it allows you to see each fold come together. If the dough ever feels stiff, just add water with your fingers. And remember, these don't have to be perfect.

The best way to cook a dumpling is to steam it, slowly cooking the dough and meat until soft and tender. To get a crispy bottom, brown the dumplings in oil first, then add water to steam. Heat a very thin layer of oil in your skillet (the less the better) and add the dumplings. Cook without touching the dumplings until you can see a golden brown crust forming underneath. If the dumplings are sticking, add a little bit more oil.

Once the dumplings are golden brown underneath, carefully add ¼ cup of water and cover the skillet. Any oil left in the skillet after browning will cause the water to splatter, so the less oil is left, the better (hence why using a thin layer is important).

If you have a lot of oil in the skillet, turn the heat down a bit before adding the water, then add the water and cover the skillet quickly. Turn the heat back up to medium to steam, and steam for around 3 to 4 minutes, until the dumpling dough is translucent and shiny.

You can start the broth before making the dumplings and let it simmer on the stove while you pleat, or you can whisk it together while your dumplings are cooking. Sauté the garlic for about a minute, then stir in the soy, stock, and miso. Whisk the miso into the stock vigorously to combine, then add the rest of the stock and bring the mixture to a boil. If serving immediately, drop in the bok choy leaves and cook until bright green and soft, about a minute. If you are letting the broth simmer while you make the dumplings, save the bok choy for right before serving.

Add the dumplings to a bowl and ladle the miso broth over top, filling the bowl and topping with scallion. If serving 4 people, each bowl will have 2 cups of broth and 4 to 5 dumplings each. For a more filling option, you can add ramen noodles to the bowl, or add mushrooms, carrots, or tofu to the soup. Serve immediately so the dumplings retain their shape in the broth.

The dumplings and broth can both be saved for up to a week in the refrigerator, but should be stored separately to avoid the dumplings falling apart in the liquid. To reheat, bring the soup to a simmer on the stove and gently microwave the dumplings until warm or sauté until warmed through. This meal is delicious, nourishing, and well worth spending the time to make. It may not be a perfect weeknight meal, but it is the perfect meal to share when spending time with family and friends.