Beef Dumplings with Cabbage and Cilantro in Broth

Serves 6 - 8

I love dumplings in all their endless variety – fried, steamed, boiled, baked, fancy, plain, veggie, beef, pork, seafood, savory, and sweet. There seems to be no end to what one can wrap in up in a thin layer of pillowy dough. One of my favorites is stuffed with a savory filling of ground beef, finely chopped cabbage, cilantro, aromatics, and seasonings and then gently boiled in savory broth.

To serve, I scoop a few dumplings into a bowl, ladle on some broth, and garnish with sliced scallions and a drizzle of chili crisp.

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 lb (454g) Ground Beef

• 1 (100g) Yellow Onion diced fine

• ½ bunch (20g) Fresh Cilantro chopped fine

• 1“knob (15g) Ginger diced fine

• 5 cloves (30g) Garlic diced fine

• ¼ small Cabbage (200g) chopped fine

• 1 T (15g) Kosher Salt

• 2 T Moromi Shoyu

• 1 t (3g) ground Black Pepper

• ¼ t (0.5g) White Pepper

• 1 T (10g) Corn Starch

• 1 Package of prepared frozen Gyoza Skins – about 50 skins/package

For the soup:

• 5 Cups (1.2 l) Chicken Broth

• 8 Cups (1.9l) Water

• 2 T Kosher Salt

• 1 (100g) Carrot halved and quartered

• 5 (40g) scallion bottoms (save the greens for another use)

• Sliced green onions for garnish.

Preparing the dumplings:

Thaw the gyoza skins in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 hours or overnight before preparing the filling. In a large pot, add all the soup ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer while you make the dumplings.

Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with your hands. Set a small bowl of water and the thawed gyoza skins on the countertop next to the mixing bowl.

Using a spoon, place about 1T (12g) of filling in the center of a gyoza skin. Dip your index finger in the small bowl of water and moisten the outer edge of the gyoza skin evenly. Gently fold the gyoza skin over the filling and press down on the edges to seal the filling inside making sure there are no gaps that the filling can leak out of when cooking. Continue until all the gyoza skins and filling are used. If there is any leftover filling, store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container and use it to make a nice sausage patty for breakfast.

Bring the soup broth back to a boil over high heat and add half the dumplings. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Reserve the other half for freezing or a second batch. Allow the pot to come back to a boil and reduce heat to med low so that it is just boiling. Gently immerse and stir the dumplings in the soup with a slotted spoon every few minutes so that they are evenly cooked, being careful not to break the dumplings open while stirring.

To serve, place several dumplings into a deep soup or ramen bowl and ladle on some of the soup. Garnish with sliced green onions, and optionally, chili oil or chili crisp. Serve with Moromi Shoyu for dipping or splashing.

Enjoy!

Note: To freeze the dumplings, place them flat on a cookie sheet and set the sheet in the freezer for an hour. Transfer the frozen dumplings to a freezer storage container and label with date. Frozen dumplings will keep in the freezer for 3 – 6 months. Store any leftover fresh dumplings in the refrigerator and use within 3 days.