
Dumplings are an important Chinese New Year food in northern China. On Chinese New Year's Eve, Northerners usually make and eat dumplings. There are many ways to cook dumplings, including boiling, steaming, and frying.
Here we introduce dumplings with pork and Chinese cabbage filling. If you do not want that filling, replace it with another filling.
Ingredients: 600g wheat flour, 400g ground pork, 100g Chinese cabbage, 2 eggs, some ginger, green onion and some garlic
Seasoning: 5–10g salt, 20g soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, sesame oil, chicken powder
(The amount of the seasonings listed above can be adjusted according to personal taste.)
Preparation and Cooking Instructions
1. Make the Dumpling Wrappers
a) Put the wheat flour in a basin. Add some salt and mix evenly. Pour water in the center of the flour. Knead and stir the flour into dough. Cover the dough with a wet cloth for about half an hour.
b) Sprinkle some flour onto a board and place the dough on the board. Knead the dough into a long strip and cut it into dumpling-skin-size pieces.
c) Roll each small piece flat with a rolling pin to make the dumpling wrappers. Stack the wrappers aside, sprinkling some flour on each to prevent them from sticking together.
2. Make the Dumpling Filling
a) Clean and mince the pork.
b) Clean and mince the Chinese cabbage.
c) Mix the ground pork with the minced Chinese cabbage, salt, cooking wine, chicken powder, sugar, eggs, and some water, and stir them evenly.
3. Fill the Dumplings
a) Put a spoon of filling into the center of each wrapper.
b) Fold and pinch the wrapper edge together hard.
c) Make sure the wrapper edge is sealed.
4. Make the Dipping Sauce (Adjust to Your Taste)
a) Clean and chop some green onion, ginger, and garlic.
b) Make starchy sauce by mixing starch, boiled water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
c) Add the sliced ginger and garlic to an oiled wok, and stir-fry them until the fragrance is released.
d) Add the starchy sauce to the wok and bring to the boil.
e) Add the chopped green onions. Stir-fry quickly to finish the dipping sauce.
5. Cook the Dumplings
a) Boil some water, and add the dumplings one by one. While boiling the dumplings, stir them to prevent them from sticking together or to the pot.
b) When the water boils again, add a small cup of water. Cover and repeat twice more.
c) Drain the dumplings and serve them in a dish.
Travel with Us and Learn to Cook Traditional Chinese Dishes

We at China Highlights have prepared opportunities for you to learn to cook traditional Chinese dishes. See our most popular food tours, which offer cooking classes as well as must-see attractions.
- The Flavor of China - a 12-Day Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, and Hong Kong cuisine tour
- A Culinary Adventure - an 8-Day Beijing, Chengdu, and Guangzhou tour
Or contact us and we can tailor the experience of learning to cook Chinese dishes into your own unique China tour.