Techniques

Making a Soup Dumpling

The trick to soup dumplings is a collagen-rich pork stock that gels as it cools; the jelly can then be sliced and mixed with ground pork and aromatics and used as filling. The soup reliquefies as the dumplings steam, ready to be slurped out upon serving.

1. Lightly dust 1 of the dough balls with flour, then flatten it with your fingertips into a disk. Set disk on a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out edge of disk closest to you (avoiding center 1" of disk) with a small dowel with one hand while holding opposite edge of disk with the other hand, rotating disk as you roll out edge, until disk is about 3" in diameter.
3. The outer edge of dough will be thin all around, and the center portion will be slightly thicker.
4. Put 1 tbsp. of the filling on the thick center of dough.
5. Pleat dough at ¼" intervals to encase filling.
Hold dumpling in one hand, put tip of index finger of your other hand in center of pleated dough, then gently twist pleats shut, removing index finger as you twist, to completely encase filling.
7. Repeat rolling, filling, pleating, and twisting with remaining dough to make 16 filled dumplings in all.

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