Pork & Leek Dumplings

Asian-inspired pork and leek dumplings simmered in seasoned stock and served with rice. Leftovers were also good served in the stock as a dumpling soup.

This is not Polish pottery. This is from the Inker pottery in Croatia. I got it while I was deployed.

When I get leeks in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share they usually come in big bunches. I can't use them all up in a week, so I will chop them in half long ways, then chop into a useful dice, soak to remove grit, and spin in my salad spinner. After they are clean I spread them out on a tray to freeze before popping them into a zip top bag. During the winter I'll add leeks to whatever looks good. Like these dumplings.

This post is an example of letting go of the quest for perfection, because less than perfect-looking food still tastes good. Sure, I'm going to try and get a photo that looks as good as I can style it because you can't smell or taste through the screen, but I'm also going to show you how we really ate these dumplings--off plastic plates, without a healthy green vegetable side dish in sight.

Where to start? I suppose with the dumplings. I picked up a package of dumpling wrappers without a plan. They got shuffled around the fridge, stuck into the freezer, forgotten then rediscovered during a freezer reorganization. Finally I got the idea for dumplings. This recipe comes primarily from Mark Bittman's app How To Cook Everything. I won the app years ago in a giveaway from The Naptime Chef. I have the app on my phone, and if I'm sitting waiting for a kid and dreaming up recipe ideas I can search for inspiration to fan those flames. I had some Thai turkey stock on hand, so I figured I'd give the dumplings a Thai twist then simmer them in the turkey stock.

After mixing up the filling, my son and I spent an enjoyable afternoon assembling the dumplings. [Ok, it wasn't the entire afternoon, but it wasn't 10 minutes of work. There's a big reason I don't list preparation times on this blog--I AM SLOW IN THE KITCHEN. If I read that it takes 10 minutes to prep the ingredients for a recipe, I can guarantee that it will take me easily 30 minutes. I'm just slow, and I'm OK with that.] We chatted about life, as folks typically do when working together towards a common goal, and didn't really focus on creating the perfect photo-worthy dumplings. We weren't in a hurry, it was a Sunday, and we were just enjoying the moment. The dumplings don't look perfect, and that's OK. After all that time crimping and chatting I just wasn't into fixing a side dish, so we ate these dumplings with rice my daughter started in the rice cooker. Not every meal has to meet the perfection of whatever meal ideals are currently in vogue.


If you'd like to make wonton, here's an excellent tutorial of Shannon's son Brady working on a boy scout badge and folding wonton.

Pork and Leek Dumplings (serves 4 to 6)

(the recipe is mostly Mark Bittman's Potstickers with a Thai twist)
½ pound ground pork
1 cup chopped leeks (these can be thawed from frozen)
¼ teaspoon chopped galangal
¼ teaspoon chopped kaffir lime leaves
¼ teaspoon chopped thai basil leaves
¼ teaspoon chopped lemongrass
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt
about ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 egg
1 package round wonton wrappers (there were 60 in my package and we used all but 2 broken ones)
2 quarts stock (I used Thai Turkey, but chicken or vegetable would do)
to serve--hot cooked rice, scallions, sesame oil and soy sauce

In a large bowl, mix together pork, seasonings and egg until thoroughly combined. Set aside. Prepare a space and have chairs--it can take a while. You'll need a tray to hold the assembled dumplings, a dish of water for wetting your fingers/the wrapper, and a space to fill and fold. On the fill & fold space, put a generous ½ teaspoon to scant 1 teaspoon--I'm saying about ¾ teaspoon here--of filling in the center of the wrapper. Moisten your finger and the edge of the wrapper, then bring the edges up and pinch closed. Or fold it over into a half moon shape. Or just whatever you can manage.  Set completed dumplings on the tray.  When you're out of wrappers or filling or--magically--both, bring stock to simmer over medium heat in a wide shallow pot. I used my Pretty Purple Pot (Amazon affiliate link). Gently lower the dumplings into the stock (I did cram them all into the one pot). Simmer for 10 minutes after you get them all in. Serve with hot cooked rice and drizzled with soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions if you've got them. Mine are growing in a shot glass so I have some now.

{Reality} On Sunday nights our family likes to watch TV together. Usually it's a How It's Made, Top Gear, or anything with Sir David Attenborough followed by America's Funniest Videos. When we eat dinner in the basement we use plastic plates, due to a tragic kid vs Polish pottery incident years ago in Virginia.** I want to love my kids as much as I love my Polish pottery, so we use plastic while carrying food on the stairs. And yes, we eat while watching TV.

**The kids were fine and still remain members of the family. The Polish pottery did not survive being dropped on the edge of a wooden stair tread when both kids spontaneously and simultaneously abdicated responsibility for taking the plates upstairs. Otherwise it's very sturdy stuff--microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe.

This post is linked up with What's Cookin' Wednesday, twice because I need more tea this morning.