In my heart, dumplings are not just a food, they carry a lot of emotions and memories. From childhood to adulthood, every time I miss my relatives during the festive season, every household is a table of steaming dumplings, and the fragrance has almost become synonymous with reunion and happiness. Not only in China, but also around the world, there are similar gastronomy dishes, such as Japan's "dumplings" and Italy's "ravioli", which are equally loved despite their different shapes and flavors.
When it comes to making dumplings, I have more than 30 years of "fighting" experience. When I was a child, I followed my mom and watched her wrap one by one, expecting to eat the fullest one every time. When I grew up, I began to take on the challenge of making dumplings, experimenting with various fillings and seasonings, hoping to make a taste of home.
However, it wasn't until recently that I realized that there is one spice that we often use that is actually a big no-no – five-spice powder. Although five-spice powder is a rich and popular seasoning, it is not suitable for all dishes, especially in dumpling fillings. This is mainly due to the fact that the five-spice powder contains strong spices such as star anise and cloves, and the flavor of these spices may overpower the umami of the dumpling filling itself, making the dumplings lose their due meat flavor and vegetable sweetness. So how to mix a delicious dumpling filling? Let's use pork and green onion filling to give you an example to tell you the correct steps to mix the filling!
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
Pork Selection & Handling:
Choose pork with a combination of fat and lean (e.g. pork belly), as a certain proportion of fat can make the dumplings more tender.
Chop the pork into minced meat or grind it into a minced meat mill. Make sure the meat filling is not too delicate, and the small pieces of meat can add to the texture.
Green onion treatment:
Choose fresh green onions, wash them and finely chop them.
The amount of green onions can be adjusted according to personal preference, but in general, green onions should not be too much, so as not to affect the overall taste of the meat filling.
Step 2: Season to taste
Add an appropriate amount of salt (about 1-1.5% of the total amount of minced meat) and a little white pepper to the minced meat to increase the base flavor of the filling.
Add an appropriate amount of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce (mainly for coloring) and adjust to personal taste.
Depending on the taste, you can add a little chicken essence/monosodium glutamate to enhance the freshness.
If you don't use five-spice powder, consider adding a small amount of minced ginger or garlic to enhance the flavor and eliminate the smell.
Step 3: Mix
Introduction:
Add all the seasonings to the minced meat and stir in one direction using chopsticks until the seasoning is completely absorbed by the minced meat and the minced meat becomes a little sticky.
Then add the chopped green onions and continue to stir in the same direction until the green onions and minced meat are well combined.
Skill:
When stirring, you can add some cold water appropriately, which can make the meat filling more tender. It is best to add the water several times, and then add the next one after mixing it completely each time.
Stirring in one direction is key, so that the texture of the meat filling is more delicate and the texture is better.
Step 4: Let it marinate
It is best to cover the mixed filling with a protective film and let it stand in the refrigerator for half an hour to an hour, which can make the seasoning more flavorful, and also make the filling more firm.
When mixing the filling, whether the seasoning is used well or not directly affects the final taste of the dumplings. The right way to mix the filling can make the dumplings more tender, fragrant, and chewy. It's not just a matter of mixing the ingredients, it's an artistic process of letting the flavor penetrate into each grain of minced meat. What are you waiting for, come and try it!