Chinese Cooking Was a Huge Success, and for those who asked, here is Aurora’s recipe for dumplings.

Ingredients:

  • Minced pork: slightly fatty
  • Pickled mustard greens (酸菜): equal weight to the pork
  • Spring onions: finely chopped
  • Ginger: sliced and minced (small amount)

Seasonings:

  • Sichuan peppercorns
  • Salt
  • Cooking oil
  • Five-spice powder
  • White pepper powder
  • Light soy sauce
  • Sesame oil

Instructions:

  1. Soak spring onion slices, ginger slices, and Sichuan peppercorns in hot water to make a small bowl of infused water.
  2. Rinse the pickled mustard greens briefly in water, then squeeze out excess moisture and finely chop. Use a 1:1 ratio of greens to pork.
  3. Choose minced pork with a slightly higher fat content for better flavor and texture.
  4. Gradually add the infused water (from step 1) into the minced pork in small amounts, stirring in one direction (clockwise) to allow the water to be absorbed into the meat.
  5. Add light soy sauce, salt, five-spice powder, white pepper powder, minced ginger, extra finely chopped spring onions, and sesame oil.
  6. Heat a small amount of cooking oil  until it’s smoking hot, then pour it over the mixture.
  7. Add the chopped pickled mustard greens.
  8. Mix all the ingredients in one direction until the mixture becomes glossy and well-combined. If it’s too dry, you can add a little more of the infused water or hot oil.
  9. Use the mixture to fill and wrap dumplings.
  10. Bring a pot of water to a boil, adding a small pinch of salt. Add the dumplings and cook until done.
  11. Dipping sauce options:
    1. Traditional: black vinegar + minced garlic + chili oil (garlic and chili oil are optional).
    2. Or create your own dipping sauce to taste.

Enjoy your homemade dumplings!

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