Chapter 103 Steamed Dumplings with Soup Filling
Hibernation is one thing, but work still needs to be done.
In winter, besides storing vegetables for the winter, we also have to go back to our old ways and grow some small green vegetables indoors to eat.
Growing bok choy is now a piece of cake for me. I just pick the ones I like to eat, are easy to care for, and have a high yield.
First, we went outside to get some soil. Since we hadn't prepared in advance, the soil wasn't easy to dig.
Only the surface layer is digable; the bottom is frozen solid.
But it's okay, if I can't dig down there, I'll just dig up the top. I'll take a shovel and slide back and forth in the woods.
About three buckets of soil were enough. After digging for more than twenty minutes, I finally filled three buckets, put them on a wheelbarrow, and pushed them home.
After arriving home, I took out the vegetable pot I used before and started planning which vegetables to plant.
In autumn, scallions pulled up by the roots can still survive. Simply fill two pots with soil, insert the scallions with intact roots that feel firm when squeezed into the soil.
Water it plenty of time, and after a while the scallions will grow tender roots again, and then sprout tender green leaves.
Green onions love warmth, and since the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) is big enough, we put two small wooden stools on the kang and placed the bowl of green onions on the stools.
In warm temperatures, scallions can sprout tender green leaves in just a few days.
Find some coriander seeds, celery seeds, and romaine lettuce seeds, and scatter them sparsely into the pot filled with soil.
Water them and wait for them to sprout.
I regret planting vegetables so late; I've been so busy lately that I forgot about it.
But it's okay if it's a little late. It's warm inside, so it will sprout quickly and we can always eat tender vegetables in winter.
By the time all the vegetables were planted, it was already afternoon, and I was starving, especially craving large steamed dumplings with pure meat filling.
Also, there was a lot of leftover lard residue from making toiletries yesterday, which I can chop up today and use to make some sauerkraut and lard dumplings.
"Oil residue" is what we call "oil dregs" in my hometown.
Pickled cabbage and oil dumplings are a famous local dish, fragrant but not greasy.
Pick out a smaller sauerkraut from the jar, squeeze out the sour water, and then shred and chop it into sauerkraut pieces.
Rinse it once in warm water, squeeze out the water and set aside.
Take out all the leftover grease and chop it up on the cutting board.
Put the lard cracklings and chopped pickled cabbage in the same bowl, then add a large spoonful of lard.
Chop some scallions, add minced garlic, and then add various seasonings for the filling.
Pour in a spoonful of boiling water to melt the lard, then mix it all together with the lard residue, pickled cabbage, and other ingredients.
The sauerkraut and lard filling is now very appealing in color. The sauerkraut is a tender yellow, mixed with browned lard bits, tender green scallions, and the brown color of various seasonings, all glistening with the oily sheen of lard.
You can already smell the rich aroma of pickled cabbage and oil; you just want to take a bite of the mixed filling right away.
Resist the urge, let the sauerkraut and pork fat marinate for a while, and then turn around to make pure minced meat.
I don't want ground meat from a meat grinder today; I want ground meat chopped by hand.
Take out a piece of pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, cut it into small pieces with a cleaver, and then chop it up. It sounds troublesome, but it's actually quite quick to chop.
In no time, it turned into a meat patty stuck together.
Place a spoonful of soybean paste, a spoonful of lard, and various spices such as thirteen-spice powder, chicken essence, and chopped green onions at the bottom of a ceramic bowl.
Pour in a large spoonful of hot water and stir quickly to melt the lard and bring out the aroma of the soybean paste.
Once the base sauce is ready, add all the minced meat from the cutting board and stir in one direction.
As you stir, the meat filling may feel a bit dry. At this point, add warm water in small amounts several times.
When you can hear a slurping sound while mixing the minced meat, that means the moisture content is just right.
After kneading the dough, we started making dumplings.
If you want to eat really satisfying steamed dumplings, they must have thin skins and lots of filling.
The dough pieces were cut quite large at the beginning. A piece of dough, not much smaller than the palm of your hand, was wrapped with two large chopsticks of meat filling and then pinched tightly closed.
Brush a layer of oil on the steamer rack and carefully place the large steamed dumplings with pure meat filling on it.
Because fresh meat is so precious, I don't plan to share the large steamed dumplings with pure meat filling with my dog.
Since you're not sharing it with the dog, there's absolutely no need to skimp on the meat filling if you're eating it yourself. Just put as much meat filling as possible into the dough.
One bowl of minced meat yielded eighteen large steamed dumplings, each about the size of a fist.
The steamer is very large and comes with a large iron pot. The other half is empty, which is perfect for making steamed dumplings with sauerkraut filling.
At this point, the sauerkraut filling had already solidified somewhat, probably due to the high amount of lard.
But this way it's easier to wrap, as it can hold the soup inside, and the steamed dumplings will be very juicy when cooked.
It was still one dough wrapper and two large chopsticks of sauerkraut filling, and eighteen fist-sized steamed dumplings, this time filling the entire steamer.
There's still some sauerkraut filling left, so I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. I can use it to make steamed dumplings or pies tomorrow morning.
Add plenty of firewood to the stove, and the water in the pot will boil in no time.
I timed it carefully and placed the steamer basket into the pot. The meat filling was so firm, I planned to steam it over high heat for 20 minutes.
But when the 20 minutes were up, I was still a little worried that it wasn't cooked through, so I waited another 5 minutes.
25 minutes later, I lifted the lid on time, and the unique aroma of the steamed dumplings filled with sauerkraut oil wafted out, making my mouth water instantly.
It must be very hot to handle now, but if you leave it in the pot for too long, the dough will become soft and won't taste good.
On a whim, I put on cotton gloves, carefully took the entire steamer out, and carried it directly into the room, placing it on a heat-resistant mat.
The dumplings are still very hot, so I took the opportunity to prepare my own secret sauce.
Chop the scallions and dried chili peppers, put them in a bowl, and pour in plenty of vinegar and a little soy sauce.
This sauce is my favorite; I always dip my dumplings in it.
The dumplings were ready to eat after cooling down for a while, and I couldn't wait to pick up the first steamed dumpling.
The first thing we ate was naturally steamed dumplings with pure meat filling. Underneath the milky white dough was a large, soy sauce-colored meatball.
Afraid that the chopsticks would puncture the dumpling skin, I used my hands to gently lift the dumpling by the edge and slowly put it into the bowl.
Bit open a corner, pour the soup from the steamed dumpling into your mouth. It's slightly sweet, with a rich aroma of meat juice. If you savor it carefully, you can even taste a hint of umami.
After finishing the soup, you can confidently dip the dumplings in sauce and eat them.
Dip it in my secret sauce, take a big bite, the dumpling skin is smooth and tender with a low profile, and a big, chewy ball of meat filling bursts with rich aroma in your mouth.
After chewing a few times, the contact area between the meat filling and the mouth increases, and the whole person is immersed in the super fragrant meat filling.
After finishing a fist-sized steamed dumpling in a few bites, my hunger was finally relieved.
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