The savory filling creates an extraordinary experience, with aromatic flavors lingering on your palate.
Scalded dough steamed dumplings are a Shanxi-style dish that I've been eating since childhood and never tire of. There's a technique to eating them too: hold the large dumpling in your left hand, gently bite open a small hole, then use a small spoon in your right hand to drizzle a bit of aged vinegar inside, followed by a big bite—repeating this process is the ultimate way to enjoy them!
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
300 g (about 2 1/2 cups) bread flour
180 g (about 3/4 cup) boiling water
For the filling
200 g (about 7 oz) ground pork
60 g dried vermicelli noodles (about 2 oz)
150 g (about 5 oz) Chinese chives
Using a slightly fattier meat filling will make the dumplings more flavorful.
Seasonings
20 g soy sauce
10 g (about 2 teaspoons) Shaoxing wine
Ginger, minced, to taste
Dried shrimp 10 g (about 1/3 oz)
five-spice powder to taste
6 g salt
Sesame oil to taste
Instructions
Instructions
Knead the dough
Step 1: Pour boiling water over high-gluten flour, stirring constantly with chopsticks to scald evenly, then spread it out to cool, knead until smooth, and let it rest, covered, until ready to use (Image 2).
*For hot-water dough, the usual method is to gradually pour boiling water over the flour while stirring; another method is to bring water to a boil in a pot, then dump the flour directly in and stir quickly. The dough must be completely cooled before kneading, otherwise it will not become smooth and pliable.
*Steamed dumplings are prone to breaking, so using high-gluten flour to make a hot-water dough provides better elasticity while keeping the wrapper tender.
Stir-fry the meat filling.
② Cook the vermicelli briefly, then soak until needed (Image 3). Heat a wok over medium heat with some oil, add the ground meat and stir-fry slowly until the moisture reduces (Image 4). Add soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and minced ginger, then turn up the heat and stir-fry briefly before turning off the heat (Image 5). Finally, add dried shrimp, a pinch of five-spice powder, and salt to taste, mix well, and let cool (Image 6).
Quality vermicelli will soften after soaking for a while, but poor-quality or additive-laden vermicelli sometimes won't soften even after boiling for a long time, so be sure to choose carefully.
*After stir-frying the meat filling, some oil will render out—don't discard it, as this oil adds more flavor, since you'll be adding chives and glass noodles later.
*The filling needs to be salty enough—even though you're using soy sauce and dried shrimp, you still need to add enough salt, otherwise the dumplings won't have enough saltiness and the aroma won't come through.
Mix the filling ingredients together until well combined.
Step 3: Cut the softened vermicelli into small pieces (Image 7), chop the chives into small pieces (Image 8), add them to the completely cooled meat filling (Image 9), mix well, and finally stir in some sesame oil (Image 10).
*You must wait until the meat filling has completely cooled before adding the chives and vermicelli noodles; otherwise, the chives will quickly become soft, mushy, and discolored when exposed to heat, and their flavor will also change.
*Actually, as long as you add enough salt and sesame oil to the filling, it won't taste bad—especially the sesame oil, which should be used generously as it really enhances the flavor.
Steam over high heat for 8-10 minutes until the wrappers become translucent and slightly firm to the touch.
Knead the rested dough into a long log, cut into small pieces, and roll out into slightly thicker wrappers. Fill with the filling to make large dumplings (Figure 11). Once the steamer water is boiling and producing steam, place the dumplings inside and steam over high heat for 7-8 minutes (Figure 12).
*When steaming the dumplings, brush a layer of oil on the steamer rack to prevent sticking. Make sure to wait until the steamer water is boiling before placing the dumplings inside.
*Because the dough is pre-cooked with hot water and the filling is also mostly cooked, you don't need to steam them for very long.
*When the dumplings come out of the steamer, they may still be slightly stuck together, so carefully pick them up one by one, being careful not to burn yourself.
Cooking Notes
The difference between hot-water dough and cold-water dough is that cold-water dough develops gluten, giving it a chewy, elastic texture, as seen in noodles and boiled dumplings. Hot water, however, breaks down the gluten in the flour, resulting in a dough that is tender, soft, and slightly flaky—perfect for dishes like stuffed pancakes and steamed dumplings.
