Dumplings are a popular favourite among many. When everything is cooked right: its dough, the filling and the sauce, one cannot help but have more and more of it. However, none of us is naive enough to think that deep-fried dumplings are any good for our health. The more we add this oil-laced dish to our daily diet, the more harm we would be doing to our body.
So, is there any way we can have our favourite meal and take care of our body at the same time? Yes, there is! We can steam dumplings and pack them with either vegetables or meat. We will walk you through the whole process of making steamed dumplings.
A Complete Guide on How to Steam Dumplings
Steamed Dumplings Dough Recipe
For the steamed dumplings dough recipe, you can use a dough mixer or knead it yourself with your hands. We need to knead the dough in hot boiling water to make sure the dough absorbs more moisture. This will keep the texture tough and easier to roll out.
Take three cups of all-purpose flour and one teaspoon oil. Gradually add one cup of boiling and a quarter cup of room temperature water. Keep kneading the dough as you add more and more water. If the dough is too tough and hard to roll, you need to add more water. If it is too soft, you need to add more flour. Make a ball out of the kneaded dough and place it in a bowl that has been oiled. Cover it with plastic wrap. and let it rest for an hour. You can store this dough in the fridge for up to twenty-four hours.
After the dough is done, divide it into four parts. Roll out each part into a long stick that is approximately 8 inches long. Cut the stick into equal-sized balls. Using flour and a rolling pin, roll out the balls into a circular disc until it becomes like a sheet. It should be thinner at the edges and thicker in the centre.
Steamed Dumplings Filling
There can be various kinds of fillings for the steamed dumpling. For example, lamb with zucchini and carrot, beef filling, pork with mushrooms or vegetarian filling containing carrot and eggs.
For ground meat, add seasonings for marination. Cover it with a plastic wrap or a plate and keep it in the fridge for one hour. Once the beef has been marinated, add vegetables. Mix it well with sesame oil.
Take about two tablespoons of filling and add it to the dough discs you made in the above step. Fold the dumpling by holding it in one hand and using the other hand to seal it at the ends. Press down multiple times to make sure it has closed properly.
Steam Dumplings Using a Steamer
This is the simplest step among all the other steps. Pour water into the steamer until it is half full. Bring this water to a boil. Put the steaming rack over the boiling water. Place the dumplings over the rack with one finger distance between them. The dumplings may stick is possible that the dumplings stick to the steaming pan. To avoid that, place some cabbage leaves below each dumpling. Cover the steamer and let it cook over medium heat for ten minutes. Check to see if the dumplings are cooked or else cook a few more minutes.
The next step in the process to steam dumplings is to have the sauce ready and serve the prepared dumplings with it.
Steamed Dumplings Sauce Recipe
The dumplings itself would be quite juicy and flavourful without the need for any sauces. However, if you want to add some more flavour to it, we will walk you through the steamed dumplings sauce recipe.
The spicy dumpling sauce is made by combining a clove of garlic and a piece of ginger. You also add in one sprig of cilantro. Finely chop each of these and add two tablespoons of vinegar, one teaspoon of sesame oil, one tablespoon of soy sauce and one teaspoon of hot sauce. Mix all this and your spicy sauce is ready.
Another recipe is a Shanghai-style dumpling sauce. This just asks you to thinly slice two tablespoons of ginger. Add this ginger in four tablespoons of vinegar and about one teaspoon of salt. Mix well and the Shanghai-style sauce is ready.
The last recipe for steamed dumplings sauce is a Cantonese-style dumpling sauce. For this, you take two tablespoons of shredded ginger and green onions. In this add three tablespoons of chicken stock, one tablespoon light and dark soy sauce and one teaspoon sugar. Mix it well and keep it marinated for at least half an hour before serving.
The above three recipes are three ways you can enhance the flavour of your delicious steamed dumplings.
Conclusion
It would not be wrong to say that cooking dumplings is a teamwork task. It is too hard of a job to be done by someone all alone. However, the recipe to steam dumplings is a one-person job since it is so simple. For starters, the steamed dumplings dough is much easier to roll and shape. Moreover, we can make bigger dumplings as it would not require too much work. In the sealing process, if some gaps are left, the steamed dumplings would still cook perfectly. However, in the standard way, such a mishap can lead to the loss of the whole dumpling. The filling can get burned or the dough can get overcooked.
Hence, steamed dumplings have a number of benefits over the standard way of cooking dumplings. You can also store the dough, filling or sauce in the fridge for up to one day. You can even make a dumpling and keep it frozen until you need to cook it. This is a good way to cook dumplings for people who have not made them ever before. So, let’s get cooking!
