Dumblings

Dumplings are a large category of foods made up of bits of dough (produced from a range of starch sources) wrapped around a filling or just dough. The dough can be made from bread, flour, buckwheat, or potatoes and stuffed with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, fruits, or desserts. Dumplings are featured in many international cuisines and can be made in a variety of ways, including baking, boiling, frying, simmering, or steaming.

Ingredients

• 1.6-1.8kg duck , fresh or thawed thoroughly if frozen
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp clear honey
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 150ml Shaohsing rice wine or dry Sherry

Instructions

• Wash your vegetables properly before blanching them in hot water. To cool, place them in an ice bath. Remove all of the water from the vegetables and finely chop them.
• Combine the vegetable, meat, wine, oil, sesame oil, salt, soy sauce, white pepper, and 2/3 cup water in a large mixing bowl. Mix for 6-8 minutes, or until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
• Dampen the edges of each circle with water before wrapping the dumplings. Fill the center with a little less than a tablespoon of filling. Fold the round in half and squeeze the top of the wrapping together. Make two folds on each side of the dumpling until it resembles a fan. Check to see if it's completely sealed. Rep with the remaining filling, placing the dumplings on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Check to see if the dumplings are stuck together.
• Wrap the baking sheets tightly with plastic wrap and place the pans in the freezer if you want to freeze them. Allow them to freeze for at least one night. The sheets can then be removed from the freezer, the dumplings transferred to Ziploc bags, and the bags returned to the freezer for later use.
• Boil or pan-fry the dumplings to prepare them. To boil the dumplings, simply bring a large pot of water to a boil, drop them in, and simmer until the skins are cooked through but still somewhat al dente.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat to pan-fry. Allow the dumplings to cook for 2 minutes in the pan. Cover the pan with a thin layer of water and reduce the heat to medium-low. Steam the dumplings until the water has disappeared. Remove the cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to fry until the bottoms of the dumplings are golden brown and crisp.
• Serve with soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, chili sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce!