One of my biggest food obsessions this year has been dumplings! And I know there are lots of you out there that share my passions for these pouches of deliciousness. From gyoza to shumai to the ever popular xiao long bao, better known as soup dumplings, it seems like everyone is crazy for dumplings. I love a good dim sum but I also wanted to try my hand at making dumplings at home! I started off with an easy pork and shrimp shumai recipe but there are so many. I’ll walk you through the steps!

PS- check out the video below!

The ginger and scallions make for a super fragrant and fresh tasting dumpling. When you are picking out the ground pork, go for one with a higher fat content like 80/20. Leaner meats will dry out during the steaming process, the fats will help increase the flavor profile so definitely go all out. A few tips, you’ll want to mince the ginger and scallions really well in addition to finely chopping the shrimp. This will help the dumpling mixture almost meld into one steamy piece of meat. And that is exactly what we are going for!

Pork and Shrimp Shumai Dumplings Recipe 

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup black vinegar (or sub 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar + 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese chili-garlic sauce

• 12 ounces ground pork
• 6 ounces raw medium shrimp—shelled, deveined and finely chopped
• 4 scallions, white and light green parts only, minced
• 3 tablespoon minced  ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 package round dumpling wrappers, thawed if frozen
• Napa cabbage leaves, for steaming
• Steamed green peas for topping

Directions:

1. Whisk the soy sauce with the black vinegar and chili-garlic sauce.
2. Combine the pork and shrimp with the scallions, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine and salt. It is best to mix with your hand. The heat of your hand will help the pork and shrimp meld together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
3. Hold a dumpling wrapper in your palm, keeping the rest of the wrappers covered with plastic or else they will quickly dry out. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper and gather up the edges all around to form an open cup, giving it a little squeeze near the top 1/4 of the cup so it slightly comes in. Transfer the dumpling to the prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. 
Repeat to form the remaining dumplings.
4. Fill a wok or large skillet with 3/4 inch of water and bring to a simmer. Line 2 tiers of a bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves, overlapping them slightly. Add the dumplings to the steamer and stack the tiers. Cover and set the steamer in the wok. Steam the shumai until firm and the filling is no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Garnish each with a pea and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.