Cloud Swallows

Chinese dumplings....recipes to delight in....cookbook review..

May 11, 2023

I imagine, in my dreams, pillowy dumplings. They are light as air, floating like birds effortlessly hovering in the air. Cloud swallows. I imagine swallowing clouds.

The word for dumpling in Chinese is wonton, which roughly translates to “swallowing clouds”. Which is probably where my dream came from. And where my dreams want to take me.

I want to make the cloud-like dumplings because I love dumplings. They must be moist, and hopefully tender. The filling is delicious. And in my dreams, they are Chinese.

And I want to make them myself, not buy them and reheat. So I looked for ways to do that.

I first tried a really easy recipe to make them at home and they turned out great! Here it is:

Homemade Dumpling Wrappers

Makes about 24

These wrappers are a bit thicker than others because you gently boil them, then nap them with a sauce.

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (optional)

9 ounces flour

1/2 cup cold water

cornstarch to sprinkle

Directions:

Have your fillings made and ready to use. Boil water and have it ready to toss these in when you fill them. You want to use the dough right away. If you have a 3-inch in circumference glass or round pastry cutter, you can use those to cut perfect round wrappers.

Put the salt and flour in a bowl and mix with a whisk. Then slowly pour in the water and mix well with a fork or chopsticks. Then use your hands to pull the dough together in a ball that a you will transfer to a floured clean surface and knead until smooth, about 8 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for an hour on the counter.

On the floured surface, roll out the dough with your hands into a long rope about 1 inch thick. Cut it into 24 equal pieces. Dampen a tea towel and cover the pieces to keep them damp.

One by one, roll out each piece. Roll and turn. Roll and turn. Roll and turn. Do this until each pieces is a 3-inch circle. Sprinkle each one with cornstarch on both sides as you make them so they don’t stick.

Spoon some filling in the center of each (don’t overfill them), wet the edges, fold over, pinch the edges together. When all are finished drop into the boiling water. When they float to the surface, test one to see if done to your liking, then remove all of them with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl and pour the sauce over the top.

The best part is you can freeze the dumplings if you wish if you make more than you need.

You can also use a pasta machine to roll out the dough and then cut it into circles, OR use A Chinese Dumpling Maker!!!!! You can roll out the dough in your pasta machine, cut it, then put it in this contraption to easily make two at once…..I fell in love with this technique.

The process get exponentially easier if you do like many and buy pre-made wonton wrappers at the store, then make stuffing and create your dumplings. They aren’t as tasty was homemade, but in a hurry it works.

So now I need to share with you a recipe for filling your cloud swallow dumplings.

Pork Filling

If you have any leftover, freeze to use for another batch in the future.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons fresh finely chopped ginger

2 tablespoons finely chopped Kimchi (optional)

Directions:

Mix everything together to make the dumpling filling.

And here is the dipping sauce I make for the dumplings:

Sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

dash hot sauce

1 scallion, finely chopped

Directions:

Whisk well to combine and serve with the dumplings.

Cloud Swallows

Chinese dumplings....recipes to delight in....cookbook review..

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