Sauteed Dumplings, Henan Style
By admin on 2015-01-28

For the dough:
4 1/2 cups (500 g) flour, sifted
4 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:
7 oz (200 g) boneless mutton, minced
4 tsp salt, or to taste
1 lb (500 g) turnips, cooked and chopped
3 1/2 oz (100 g) scallions, chopped 1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped 1 tsp five-spice powder
5 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp MSG

1.   Mix the flour and baking powder with 9 oz (250 ml) of water. Knead until smooth and elastic, then cover with a warm wet cloth and let rise.

2.   Place mutton in a bowl with 5 oz (150 ml) of water and the salt. Stir in one direction until it becomes a paste. Mix the turnips and scallions together and mince. Squeeze off any excess water and add to the mutton. Stir in the MSG, ginger, five-spice powder, 2 tbsp of the sesame oil, and the soy sauce, and mix well.

3.   Knead dough for three minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Divide the pieces into 3/4 inch or 12 g balls. Divide the filling into as many portions as there are dough balls. Roll the balls into flat circles about 3 inches (7 to 8 cm) in diameter. Place some filling in the centre of each round and pinch the edges together to make a dumpling. Repeat until all the filling is used.

4.   Heat 1 tsp of oil in a flat pan until it starts to smoke. Arrange the dumplings (they may need to be cooked in more than 1 batch) in the pan pinched side down, and add enough water to half cover them. Cover the pan and saute the dumplings for about 5 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned but there is still water in the pan. Turn the dumplings upside down and continue sauteing them until all the water evaporates. Trickle the remaining 3 tbsp of sesame oil into the pan around the dumplings. Turn them over and continue to saute for 1 or 2 minutes, or until crisp. Remove and set aside. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil and repeat until all the dumplings are cooked.