Fennel (茴香 huí xiāng) is one of my favourite vegetables in China, not only because of the taste but also because of its amazing health benefits. Except, I was used to cooking the stalks and fronds instead of the root. Minced pork mixed with finely chopped fennel stalks, fennel fronds is a very popular dumpling stuffing mix in northern China.
I have to admit it was a bit of a shock when I first discovered that only fennel root was commonly sold in local shops here in the UK but not the stalks and fronds. If you happen to have the whole plant, don’t rush to throw away the upper part of this vegetable, as there are many ways to make good use of the stalks and fronds.
In this recipe, I will share with you my favourite dumpling stuffing mix with fennel stalks, fronds, and minced pork.
Making Chinese Dumplings
The first couple of times it may seem challenging to make the dumplings. But after a few tries, you will get the hang of it and soon realize how easy it is to make and how versatile this dish can be as well as your life easy feeding a big family.
One of the most important parts of dumplings is the dumpling skin/dumpling wrapper. You could easily purchase them from your local Chinese shop. Or, you could try our handmade dumpling wrappers recipe to make fresh dumpling skins at home! If you are making the dumpling skins at home, my suggestion is to work on your stuffing while your dough is resting. This will greatly reduce your overall cooking time.
Fennel Stalks and Fronds Dumplings Recipe
Course: DumplingsCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes20
minutesThis recipe shows you how to make delicious and healthy Chinese pork dumplings with fennel stalks and fronds.
Ingredients
Fennel stalks and fronds 270g
Minced pork 500g
Spring onion 11g
Fresh ginger 5g
Fresh garlic 8g
Bay leaf 1 piece
Star anise 1
Sichuan peppercorn powder 3 shakes
Oyster sauce 1 tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Chinese cooking wine ¼ tsp
Light soy sauce ½ tbsp
Sesame oil ½ tbsp
Salt to taste
Dumpling skin (store-bought or handmade)
Directions
- Finely chop 11g spring onion, 5g fresh ginger, 8g fresh garlic, set them aside.
- Wash and drain your fresh fennel stalks and fronds, finely chop them, set them aside.
- Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil into a saucepan, and heat up the oil using medium heat.
- Add 1 piece of bay leaf, 1 piece of star anise, 3 shakes of Sichuan peppercorn powder, cook until the bay leaf is nicely browned. Turn off the stove.
- Add your finely chopped spring onion, fresh ginger, and garlic mix to the hot oil and mix quickly to release the aroma. Pick the bay leaf and star anise out, leaving the rest to cool on the side.
- Add 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ of Chinese cooking wine, ½ tbsp of light soy sauce and ½ tbsp sesame oil into your minced pork, mix well.
- Add the cooled oil mix to your minced pork and mix well.
- Add your finely chopped fennel stalks and fronds into your minced pork mix, use your hand or your kitchen aid until the stuffing is well mixed.
- Take 1 piece of dumpling skin/wrapper, put a tsp of stuffing in the middle of the dumpling skin.
- Take the top edge and bottom edge and push them together, I don’t usually use water for this, but if your dumpling skin is store-bought and hard to stick together, you could try using some water to get the job done.
- Fold the sides with one of your hands, while the other hand holding your dumpling.
- I usually start boiling water when I start to fold the dumplings, with my big cooking pot, I could usually boil 10-15 dumplings in one go.
- Normally when you see the dumplings are floating, that means they are ready. I roughly boiled them for 6-7 mins before plating them.
- Serve.
How to Serve Chinese Dumplings
The traditional way to serve dumplings is with Chinese dark rice vinegar and chili oil. Garlic is also great when eating dumplings, you could try mince a few cloves and soak the garlic in your dark vinegar. If your dumpling is not salty enough, you could add some light soy sauce to your dipping sauce.
Variations
We hope you have enjoyed our fennel stalks and frond dumpling recipe. If you are not a fan of pork, you could easily replace the minced pork with scrambled eggs. Fennel fronds and scrambled eggs’ taste go very well together. 请慢用（qǐng màn yòng )!
Try It Yourself!
And there you have it! This is how you can make pork and fennel Chinese dumplings. Give it a go and show us your creations on Instagram by tagging us at @linschinesekitchen.
