PORK DUMPLING RECIPE BON APPÉTIT RECIPES

Steps:

• Place pork skin in a small stockpot or large saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil; drain and rinse with cold water. Slice skin lengthwise into 1"-wide strips, trimming any fat, then slice strips crosswise into about ¼"-wide pieces. Return skin to same stockpot and add bones, foot, scallions, ginger, wine, and 8 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, skim surface of any foam, and reduce heat. Simmer, skimming often, until liquid is almost opaque and reduced to 2 cups, 60-75 minutes.
• Strain liquid into a 13x9" baking dish; discard solids. Season with salt and chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. If making ahead, cover soup with plastic wrap once jelled.
• Mix ground pork, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, salt, wine, sugar, oil, ginger, and pepper with chopsticks in a medium bowl, stirring in one direction until it all comes together and a light film forms on the sides of bowl, about 20 seconds.
• Cut a fine crosshatch pattern in jelled soup to create very small pieces (about ?" squares). Scrape into bowl with filling and mix to combine. Cover and chill until ready to use.
• Place 3 cups flour in a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle in 1 cup very hot tap water, mixing constantly with chopsticks or a fork, until dough starts to hold together in shaggy pieces. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes (this allows flour to hydrate).
• Add oil and mix until dough comes together and forms a shaggy ball. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking, until dough is very soft, smooth, supple, and just a little bit tacky, about 10 minutes. Dust dough lightly with flour and wrap in plastic. Let rest 1 hour.
• Mix scallions, ginger, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl; set aside.
• Place several large cabbage leaves in steamer, leaving about a 1" border around the sides for steam to travel through. Lightly coat cabbage with nonstick spray (a dumpling that sticks is a dumpling that tears) and set steamer next to work station.
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping other pieces covered with plastic wrap, roll out dough with your palms to make 12"-long ropes.
• Cut each rope into twelve 1"-pieces with bench scraper. Using a ruler as a guide means all your pieces will be the same size, resulting in uniform dumplings. You’ll look like a pro!
• Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping other pieces covered in plastic wrap (it’s important to keep the dough covered while you work because it dries out very easily), press your thumb into cut side of dough to flatten.
• Dust very lightly with flour and use dowel to roll out into thin rounds, about 4" in diameter—work from the center moving outward, applying slightly more pressure as you reach the edges to make them a little thinner. Cover with plastic.
• Lay a wrapper across the upper part of your palm and bottom half of the fingers of your nondominant hand. Spoon 1 Tbsp. filling into wrapper, making sure to get some pieces of jelled soup.
• Lightly spread out filling with the back of the spoon, leaving at least a ½" border. Spoon a couple more pieces of jelled soup into center of filling. Slightly cup your palm around dumpling and gently grasp edge of wrapper between your thumb and index finger. Position your other thumb and index finger ½" away in the same fashion.
• Using fingertips on one hand, gently pull and stretch wrapper outward before bringing it in to meet opposite fingers. Carefully fold stretched area in on itself, creating a pleat. Pinch to seal.
• Rotating dumpling as you work, repeat process to create a series of 18 pleats, leaving a small hole in the center. You’ll probably get only 10 or 12 pleats the first few times you do this; as your skill increases, so will your folds.
• Cradle dumpling in your palm, gently rotating it and working filling upward so dumpling is shaped like a fig. This step elongates the dumpling, eliminating air between wrapper and filling.
• Pinch edges together and gently twist to seal. Place dumpling in prepared steamer and cover with plastic wrap.
• Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Work relatively quickly to keep edges of wrappers from drying out while you work.
• Remove plastic wrap. Place steamer over a large skillet of rapidly boiling water, making sure water doesn’t touch steamer, and cover. Steam dumplings 8 minutes (10 if frozen). Serve directly from steamer with reserved dipping sauce alongside.
• Do Ahead: Make and freeze dumplings 1 month ahead. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets that have been coated with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap lightly coated with nonstick spray and freeze solid. Transfer to resealable plastic freezer bags. Steam directly from freezer.

Steps:

• Place 8 oz. ground pork (not lean) in a medium bowl. Trim roots and 1" from tops of 8 scallions; discard. Thinly slice; transfer 2 Tbsp. scallion to a small bowl and set aside for dipping sauce. Coarsely chop remaining scallions and add to bowl with pork.
• Peel 1" piece ginger with a spoon and finely grate into bowl with pork using a Microplane.
• Add 2 tsp. soy sauce, ¾ tsp. kosher salt, and ½ tsp. freshly ground white or black pepper to pork. Rake through pork with chopsticks or your hands to quickly but thoroughly combine ingredients.
• Get ready to form the dumplings: Place twenty-four 3½"-diameter wonton wrappers on a work surface and cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Place a small bowl of water nearby.
• Place 1 wrapper in the palm of your nondominant hand. Scoop out a rounded teaspoonful of filling and place into center of wrapper. Use teaspoon to nudge filling into a football shape. (This will make it easier to fold the wrapper around it.)
• Dip a finger on your dominant hand in water and lightly moisten the half of the wrapper that is closest to you. Using your dominant hand, fold wrapper in half over filling and pinch closed using both of your hands. Using your fingers, make 6–7 pleats along the edge, pressing each pleat closed after you form it. Repeat process with remaining wrappers and filling.
• To make the slurry for your crispy skirt, whisk 3 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar, 4 tsp. all-purpose flour, 4 tsp. cornstarch, remaining ¼ tsp. kosher salt, and 2 cups water in a large measuring glass to combine.
• Now you are ready to cook your dumplings. Heat 2 tsp. vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Arrange 6–10 dumplings in pan (steam fewer at a time if you want a more crispy skirt) and cook until they start to sizzle, about 1 minute. (You don’t want them to take on any color at this point.) Stir slurry well and add a generous ½ cup to pan. Cover and steam dumplings 5 minutes. Remove lid. Dumplings should be plumped and cooked through and most of the water should have evaporated, leaving a thin lacy layer of slurry beneath them. Cover and cook a minute longer if needed.
• Uncover dumplings and cook until all the liquid evaporates from slurry and it becomes a crisp, golden brown skirt, about 2 minutes. You may need to rotate your pan as some areas will brown faster than others.
• Invert a plate over pan and flip dumplings out onto plate. (You can also slide them out onto a plate if that’s more your comfort level.) Repeat cooking process with remaining dumplings and slurry (stirring well before each batch) in 2–3 more batches, adding 2 tsp. vegetable oil to pan after each batch.
• While the dumplings are cooking, make the dipping sauce. Add 2 tsp. chili oil (if using), remaining 2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar, and remaining 2 Tbsp. soy sauce to reserved sliced scallions and mix well.
• Serve dumplings with sauce alongside.
• Do ahead: Filling can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Dumplings can be formed 3 months ahead; freeze on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet until firm, at least 12 hours. Transfer to an airtight container and keep frozen. Cook from frozen (time will not change).