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

Recipe by LinCourse: DumplingsCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

This 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.

The post Pork and Fennel Stalks & Fronds Dumplings Recipe appeared first on Lin's Chinese Kitchen.

Chinese New Year Dumpling Traditions

During Chinese New Year, we usually put a clean coin in one of the dumplings and boil the dumplings close to midnight on New Year’s eve. The receiver of the coin will have good luck and good fortune in the upcoming year. This is an oddly similar tradition to what the Greeks do with their new year vasilopita. Let us know if in your country you have similar customs during special holidays or events.

Types of Chinese Dumplings

There are many types of dumplings in China. The most common types are boiled dumplings (水饺 shuǐ jiǎo), pan-fried dumplings (煎饺 zhēng jiǎo) and steamed dumplings (蒸饺 jiān jiǎo). This recipe is great for boiled and pan-fried dumplings. I usually prepare the stuffing when the dough is resting, which will greatly reduce your overall cooking time.

What are Chinese Dumplings Wrapped In?

Authentic Chinese dumplings are covered in a wrapper, also known as a skin. It’s chiefly made with flour and water as well as a little bit of salt. The process of making dumpling wrappers is straightforward. Rolling them, though, takes a little bit of practice. The secret is to get them down to a thinness that’s enough to keep them intact during boiling without being so thick they’ll be hard to eat.

Chinese Dumpling Wrapper Ingredients

To make authentic Chinese dumpling wrappers, you only need a few ingredients:

• 500g of plain flour – This is the base of the wrappers and can potentially be subbed with gluten free flour or other alternatives.
• 2g of salt – Just barely enough to add some seasoning.
• 240-250g of 30℃ temperature water – Of course you’ll need to make the flour wet in order to mould it.
• About 1 cup of extra flour for the rolling and shaping process

How to Make Chinese Dumpling Wrappers

The whole process of making the wrappers is quite simple:

1. Mix your 500g of flour with the 2g of salt. Then add the water and mix well until fully combined. You might have to experiment with the amount of water you use as I’ve found that different brands require different amounts.
2. Wash and dry your hands to prepare for the kneading process. Then knead for 3-5 mins until you get a consistency similar to pressing on your ear lobe.
3. Place the dough in a container and cover with cling film. Let it rest of 20 minutes.
4. Bring out the dough and knead it for another 1-2 minutes. Then put it back in the container, cover it with cling film then let it rest for 1 hour.
5. Sprinkle your extra flour on your working surface and poke a hole in the middle of your well-rested dough.
6. Gently and evenly expand it into a circle, then cut it into four equal sections. Take only one of them to work and put the remaining 3 back into the container and cover again with the cling film (this is important to keep the rest of the dough moist).
7. Roll the only dough that’s left on your working surface, until thin and long, then cut it into 2cm cubes (approximately 9g each).
8. Sprinkle some more extra plain flour on top of the cubes. Take one cube and sort it into a ball with your palms. (Do the same to the rest of the cubes). Flatten the balls with your palms.
9. Take your rolling pin and roll the flattened mini doughs into a thinner sheet. Now, this is important. Use one of your hands (not your dominant hand usually) to hold the top edge of the sheet, use the other hand to roll the bottom edge of the sheet while gently turning the sheet. (the reason for this step is to make the edges thinner because we will make folds with the edges). The size of your dumpling skin should be around 8-9 in diameter.

Storing Your Chinese Dumplings

The amount of dough for this recipe should be enough to serve 4 people. When I make dumplings I tend to make more and freeze the extra dumplings (uncooked). It can store up to 3 months. When I feel too bored to cook, I usually just take the frozen dumplings out and pan-fry them.

Now that you know how easy it is to make handmade Chinese dumpling skins/wrappers, check out our dumpling recipes and get inspired!

Handmade Chinese Dumpling Wrappers

Recipe by LinCourse: Dumplings, StapleCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

40

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

This recipe shows you how to make authentic handmade Chinese dumpling wrappers with the best method for keeping them thin and solid.

Ingredients

• Plain flour 500g

• Salt 2g

• 30 ℃ water 240-250g

• Extra plain flour 1 cup

Directions

• Mix 500g plain flour with 2g salt.
• Add 240g to 250g warm water, I find flour from different brands may require a different amount of water.
• Mix well using a fork or a pair of chopsticks.
• Wash and dry your hands, knead the dough for 3-5 mins. Press the dough gently with your finger, the texture should close to when you press your ear lobe.
• Cover with a piece of cling film and let the dough rest for 20 mins.
• Knead the dough again until the surface is smooth, approximately 1-2 minutes. Cover with a piece of cling film and let it rest a second time for 1 hour.
• Sprinkle some extra plain flour on your working surface, poke a hold in the middle of your well-rested dough.
• Gently and evenly expand the circle, cut it into 4 equal sections.
• Take only one of them to work and put the rest 3 back into the container and cover again with the cling film (this is important to keep the rest of the dough moist).
• Roll the only dough that’s left on your working surface, until thin and long, cut it into 2cm cubes (approximately 9g each).
• Sprinkle some more extra plain flour on top of the cubes.
• Take one cube and sort it into a ball with your palms. (Do the same to the rest of the cubes)
• Flatten the balls with your palms.
• Take your rolling pin and roll the flattened mini doughs into a thinner sheet.
• Now, this is important. Use one of your hands (not your dominant hand usually) to hold the top edge of the sheet, use the other hand to roll the bottom edge of the sheet while gently turning the sheet. (the reason for this step is to make the edges thinner because we will make folds with the edges.)
• The size of your dumpling skin should be around 8-9 in diameter.

Try It Yourself!

And there you have it! This is how you can make authentic handmade Chinese dumpling wrappers. You can use these to make any kind of dumpling with any stuffing you wish. Give the recipe a go and be sure to show us your creation by posting on Instagram and tagging us at @linschinesekitchen.

The post Handmade Chinese Dumpling Wrappers Recipe appeared first on Lin's Chinese Kitchen.