Pork Dumpling Soup

This recipe is really near and dear to me courtesy of my mother-in-law. I first had this dish when my husband’s parents came to visit us in San Diego. I clearly remember going through a stressful situation during that time and this dumpling soup really lifted my spirits!

I have had plenty of dumpling soups but nothing compares to the simple and clean flavors in this dish. It’s only made with a few simple ingredients of which the most important thing I highly recommend you do not to skimp on is the fresh homemade dumpling skins! Trust me, fresh dumpling skins have such a great chewy texture that is often lost in those store bought versions.

Now, like most dumpling recipes here like my Pelmeni Russian Dumplings, these do require a little time to make. Whenever my husband and I are craving these dumplings we make it a point to make time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to make a batch of these together.

What we like to do is put on a Netflix movie, get comfortable on our kitchen table and crank out a stock of these like a well oiled machine. He’s the dumpling skin roller while I put in the filling and pleat these little guys.

Another small note is to try to make these small enough to just fit onto a spoon as they are meant to be little one biters! To make your life easier, I also recommend investing in a dumpling rolling pin as it makes it a lot easier to roll out the dough. Give this recipe a go and let me know!

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Pork Dumpling Soup

Prep time: 1 h     
Cook time: 5 min     
Total time: 1 h 5 min     
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 3 bunches green onions finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper 

Dough

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups water

Soup Base

• 1 tsp of chicken powder
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. In a large mixing combine all ingredients for filling and mix well until consistency is sticky.
2. In another large bowl, mix flour and salt then gradually add in water while mixing until dough starts to combine. Add more water 1 tbsp at a time if the dough still feels dry.
3. Begin kneading dough until consistency is slightly elastic and smooth. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth.
4. To make dumpling skins, divide dough into 4 pieces and roll out each piece into a long cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. Next, cut the rolled cylinder into individual pieces about 1/2 inch thick and roll into balls.
5. Using a small rolling pin, flatten each dough ball into 3 inch diameter circles. Place about 2 tsp of filling into the center, fold over the dumpling skin, and pleat the edges. Arrange onto a floured baking tray and you can freeze them at this point. **See note.
6. To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook dumplings for about 5 min until floating.
7. In a serving bowl, place all ingredients for soup base then add in cooked dumplings and about 1 cup of the cooking water.
8. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve hot. Enjoy!

**Note: These dumplings can be made ahead of time and frozen. A small tip, freeze the dumplings first on the baking tray then transfer to a freezer bag. This will help avoid pieces sticking together 🙂