Juicy Pork Dumplings With Black Vinegar

Start with the sauce. The original recipe requires black vinegar, and I didn’t even know what that was until yesterday. So I did some investigative research and found this simple solution-rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and water. One part, one part and three parts if you’d rather do it your way because I made some extra. Once you’ve made the black vinegar add 1/2 cup to a small bowl.

Add soy sauce and sesame oil. Toast sesame seeds over medium heat in a pan on the stovetop. Be careful! These babies burn quickly, so just keep an eye on them. It should only take a minute or so for them to brown. Let cool, then mix into the sauce mixture. Use a fork to whisk it all together for a few seconds and set it aside.

Put all the ingredients for the dumplings in a medium-large bowl (everything except the dumpling wrappers and canola oil, silly). Mix together. Lay out some parchment paper so you have a place to set down your dumplings and dampen a few paper towels because you’ll need those too.

To assemble, lay a dumpling wrapper on a plate and brush all edges with water. Using a teaspoon, scoop a small ball of the pork mixture into the centre of the wrapper. Fold over one corner so that it forms a 3D triangle. Don’t be afraid to play with this–pick up your dumpling in progress and press the edges of your now formed triangle, feeling free to push the pork mixture further to the bottom and away from the sides. Pinch all your edges, so they are sealed. Fold the two bottom points down so that the pork mixture curves along with the dumpling, almost as if the middle looks like tortellini. You should have some semblance of a dumpling. Your first few may not be pretty, don’t be afraid and carry on. Place dumplings on parchment paper and cover with a wet paper towel until ready to cook.

Once they are all ready to cook, heat a skillet on the stovetop to medium-high heat and add canola oil, just enough to cover the bottom but not too much or else we’ll have oily, not as healthy dumplings. Place dumplings in the pan and let brown up for about 2 to 3 minutes. Once they have a nice crispy side, flip them and add 1/2 cup of water to the pan, just enough to cover the dumplings halfway. Cover your pan but not completely; let the lid slide into the pan a little, so there is a small crevice to let the steam out just a smidge. Leave the lid and let the dumplings steam for about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and add your next round of dumplings.