Wrap It Up: How To Make Duck Dumplings
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These dumplings can be made with any of your favorite birds, but I believe duck is especially good. You can use either wild or domestic duck. This Chinese-inspired recipe no doubt has a long history because the Chinese were the first to domesticate duck and other birds.
Wrap It Up: How To Make Duck Dumplings
Prep Time
40
minutes
Cook Time
10
minutes
Servings
20
dumplings
Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups loosely packed, finely shredded napa cabbage
- About 1/2 cup ground duck meat
- 1 green onion
- About 4 medium fresh Shiitake mushrooms
- 1/4 bunch chives
- 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sake
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil
- 20 round Asian dumpling wrappers (3-inch) diameter
- canola oil
- sesame oil
Directions
- :::filling:::
- In a bowl, combine the 2 cups cabbage, duck meat, green onion, mushrooms, chives, ginger, sesame oil, sake, garlic, and soy sauce. Gently mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- :::sauce:::
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, and hot chili oil. Set aside.
- :::dumplings:::
- Place the dumpling wrappers on a work surface and keep covered with a clean, slightly damp kitchen or paper towel. Line a sheet pan with waxed or parchment paper for the assembled dumplings, and place a small bowl with water next to the work surface.
- Holding a wrapper on the palm of one hand, place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. With a fingertip, swipe one half of the edge of the wrapper with a little water, then fold over the other edge to meet the dampened edge, enclosing the filling and pinching to seal securely.
- With your fingers, make three or four evenly placed pleats along the sealed edge and place the dumpling flat-side down (pleats facing upward) on the prepared pan. Repeat until all of the filling has been used.
- Heat a large sauté pan with a lid over medium heat. Once hot, add enough canola and sesame oil (2 parts canola to 1 part sesame) to coat the bottom of the pan. Swirl to distribute and allow the oil to heat. Test the oil temperature by flicking just a drop of water into the pan. If it sizzles instantly, the pan is ready. You will need to work in batches of 10 dumplings in the pan at a time.
- Place the dumplings in the pan flat-side down as they were on the sheet pan, lining them up neatly to prevent touching. Cook undisturbed, until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. You may need to adjust your heat, possibly turning it down, to attain the right color in 3 minutes, so keep your eye on them.
- Move the pan off the heat to a cool part of your range for 1 minute. NOTE: If the oil is too hot when you add the water, it can ignite and splatter. Stand back and add about ⅛ inch of water, cover, and return the pan heat to medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook a few minutes longer to evaporate the water and crisp the bottom of the dumplings. The dumplings should be a deep golden brown. Carefully remove from the heat, being careful not to tear the wrappers. Repeat with the remaining dumplings until all are cooked.
- Arrange a little bit of shredded cabbage on a serving plate. Add the dumplings browned-side up. Serve with the dipping sauce.