Pork Wanton Soup

Pork Wanton Soup

20 small pork dumplings (see recipe below)
2 carrots, peeled and cut in thin strips
2 stalks celery, cut in thin strips
1 red pepper cut in thin strips
1 small bunch green onions cut thin diagonal
3 cans chicken broth
½ cup fresh bean sprouts
soy sauce

Bring chicken broth to a small boil. Add in your carrots, celery, and red pepper. Then gently drop in your fresh made dumplings into the pot. Cover and cook until dumplings are done. Serve with fresh bean sprouts, green onions and a teaspoon of soy sauce.
(If your dumplings are store bought and are frozen add them in before you add the vegetables and let cook about 2 minutes, then add the vegetables.)

WANTONS

1 pound well-ground, fatty pork

2 cups minced cabbage

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil (optional)

1 small garlic glove, minced

1 teaspoon fine salt

Pinch of white pepper

1 package frozen dumpling wrappers
small bowl of water

To make the pork filling:

If the pork is not finely ground, mince well with a knife. Mince your pork in the food processor, until the pieces are small about the size of a pencil eraser. If you do not have a food processor you can chop all of it, but make sure it is super fine. Put in a bowl and lightly salt, this will bring out the moister. Let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes transfer into think kitchen towel and ring all the moisture that you can out of the cabbage. Slice scallions lengthwise, then thinly slice. You should have a good mixture of white, light green, and dark green pieces. Add to the bowl with the pork. Place a strainer over the pork bowl; strain the ginger so that the juices are added to the bowl. Press down on ginger to squeeze out all juices. Discard ginger left in strainer. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture. Stir in chopped cabbage until completely incorporated.

To wrap the dumplings:

Using a spoon or chopsticks, place one heaping tablespoon of dumpling filling in the center of the dumpling wrapper. Using your fingertip, wet the outer edge of the dumpling wrapper with water. Fold up the sides of the dumpling into a half-moon shape. While holding the dumpling lengthwise, curved side up, use your index finger and thumb to pinch the edges of the dough on one side of the dumpling into "pleats," pressing each pleat against the flat side of the dough to seal the dumpling as you go. Start at one corner of the dumpling and work your way to the center (making three to four "pleats"). Then work from the other corner to the center creating another three to four "pleats."
Line all the dumplings in a row on a cookie sheet waiting to be used.
You can fry the dumplings in a small shallow pan then add water and cover and steam thoroughly or use them to make Pork Wanton Soup