Chinese Pork Chive Dumplings (2024)

Chinese Pork Chive Dumplings. Delicious savoury morsels of heaven packed with ground pork and chives made from scratch (yes even the wrapper)! Great as a meal, side dish or snack. You can also easily make these with store bought dumpling wrappers.

What are Pork Chive Dumplings?

Pork Chive Dumplings are made of a wheat flour dough wrapper and filled with a ground pork mixture with chives, aromatics and seasonings. They are either pan fried, steamed or boiled and usually enjoyed with a soy vinegar dipping sauce. You can find pork chive dumplings or a variation of it at most Chinese restaurants. In Chinese culture, these are usually cooked on the Lunar New Year because the dumplings have a similar crescent shape to the moon. Dumplings also symbolize best wishes for a wealthy year. These are often enjoyed as a meal, side dish or as a snack with a dip.

Dumplings are probably my most favorite food in Chinese cuisine. My grandma taught my mother and I how to make dumplings from scratch whenever she visited Toronto. So my mom and I would spend some weekend evenings together the dumpling wrappers and the filling together.

We would rarely buy them from the store as those typically contained additives and they just didn't taste the same. The best ones were the ones we fried right after a laborious dumpling making session! We would freeze the rest so we could simply pan fry or boil them in a matter of minutes. Though these dumplings take some time to make, it's definitely worthwhile because you can make so many at a fraction of the cost. Plus the thick chewy wrappers pairs deliciously with the soft ground meat filling and it's not easy to find thicker wrappers.

Ingredients

• Neutral oil: for steam frying
• Water: for steam frying

Pork Chive Dumpling Filling:

• Ground pork: or sub with ground chicken, ground turkey or ground beef
• Garlic chives: not the same as regular chives as these are wider and very long
• Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
• Sugar
• Cornstarch: or sub with potato starch
• Fresh ginger
• Garlic
• Chicken Bouillon Powder
• Sesame oil
• Water

Dumpling Wrapper:

• All-purpose flour
• Hot boiling water
• Salt
• More flour for working surface

Pork and chive dumpling dipping sauce:

• Soy sauce
• Black Vinegar Vinegar
• Sesame oil

These dumplings are best served with my easy 3 ingredient dumpling dip or my Chinese chili oil.

How to make Pork Chive Dumplings

Prepare Filling

In a large mixing bowl, mix the Filling ingredients as listed in one direction with chopsticks or a fork. Mix very well until the meat is broken down and pasty.

Create Dough for Dumpling Wrappers

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Pour hot boiling water into the dry ingredients. Then mix together until it forms a clumpy ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, sprinkle a few more tablespoons of flour over top and knead it into a ball until it's no longer sticky. There's no need to proof the dough.

Shape Dough Into Two Logs

Flour your working surface. Then pierce a hole into the middle of the dough ball. Then shape it into a very loose circular "hoop". The hoop should be 1.5 inches thick. Cut the hoop in half to form two long logs.

Slice Logs into Pieces

Next slice the logs into 1 inch wide pieces or until you have 50 equal sized pieces.

Roll into Balls

Roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls back into the mixing bowl and cover them with a moist clean towel so they do not dry out.

Roll into a Thin Wrapper

Re-flour your surface and roll out one ball at a time with a rolling pin until thin. The wrappers should be about 3 inches wide in diameter.

Fill Dumpling Wrapper

Place 1 levelled off tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Do not over fill.

Seal the Edges

Dab a little bit of water on the edges of the wrapper. Then fold one side over and pinch edges together to seal it.

Pinch & Fold Dumpling

Then fold & pinch the edge to create a classic looking dumpling.

For Pan Fried Dumplings

Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Place dumplings flat bottom side down. Careful not to over crowd the pan, about 12-14 pieces per batch. Pour just enough cold water to cover the base of the pan. Cover with a lid.

Let this cook for 12-13 minutes. In the last minute, remove the lid and let any excess water evaporate so the bottoms of the dumplings can crisp up until golden brown.

For Boiled Dumplings

Bring a pot of water to boil and carefully lower dumplings. Boil until they float, about 5-7 minutes. Strain out the dumplings with a slotted spoon and serve.

Create Dipping Sauce & Enjoy!

In a small bowl, combine the dipping sauce ingredients and enjoy with your dumplings!

Storage & Reheating

Freeze leftover dumplings in a freezer friendly bag set on a tray to keep dumplings apart from each other as they will stick together. Remove tray once dumplings are fully frozen. Dumplings can keep for 4-6 months or until freezer burn begins to form.

To reheat, pan fry the same way but cook for 13-14 minutes until cooked through.

Expert Tips

• Make sure to mix it one direction until the ground meat becomes pasty. Mixing in one direction extends the protein strands making the filling taste more tender. It also makes the filling stick better.
• The dough should be sticky but not too sticky. Almost flakey around the sides. If it's too tacky to work with, add a bit more flour.
• Kneading the dough is important before rolling out the individual wrappers.
• Knead out the dough on a floured surface so it doesn't stick
• Roll out the wrappers on a floured surface to prevent tearing or sticking.
• Use a damp clean towel to keep your dough and mini dough balls moist.
• Do not over fill the dumpling wrappers.

FAQ

Can I substitute the ground pork with another protein?

Yes, ground chicken, turkey or beef would work.

Can I substitute the garlic chives with another vegetable?

Yes, nappa cabbage will work and if you choose to make that check out my Pork Cabbage Dumplings recipe below.

Other dumpling recipes you may like!

• Pork Cabbage Dumplings
• Vegetable Dumplings
• Pork Chive Wontons
• Pork and Shrimp Dumplings

📖 Recipe