JALAPENO POPPER DUMPLINGS W/ PICKLING JUICE DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients

GREEN SCALLION WRAPPER: (see note *)
• 2 1/4 cup (290 grams) bread flour
• 1/2 cup (125 grams) water
• 1 large handful (40 grams) scallions green parts only
• 1/2 tsp salt
JALAPENO POPPER FILLING:
• 1 lb (460 grams) fatty ground pork
• 1 cup packed coarsely shredded or finely diced sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup packed chopped pickled jalapeno
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 medium shallot, finely minced
• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tsp light brown sugar
PICKLING JUICE DIPPING SAUCE:
• 1 cup jalapeno pickling juice
• 2 cloves of garlics, smashed
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Soy sauce to drizzle
• Black pepper to dust

Instructions

1. PREPARE DOUGH: (You can use store-bought dumpling wrapper as well). Place bread flour in a large bowl. In a blender, blend water, green scallions (green parts only) and salt until smoothly pureed. Add the liquid to the flour and stir the mixture together with a large fork, then knead until a shaggy and relatively dry dough comes together. Transfer the dough onto a working surface, and continue to knead for 5 minutes. The dough is definitely on the dry side, not sticking to the counter at all and may still have bumps and cracks even after kneading. If your dough is so dry that it has difficulty coming together at all, knead in a bit more water. Plastic-wrap the dough and let rest on the counter for at least 2 hours. The dough should be much smoother after resting.
2. MEANWHILE, PREPARE FILLING: In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients under "Jalapeno popper filing". Mix evenly with your hands, then cover with plastic-wrap and keep in the fridge until needed.
3. FORM THE DUMPLINGS: My favorite, easy way to roll out the wrappers is by using the pasta sheet-attachment on my Kitchenaid. I roll the dough out into a flat rectangle, then pass it through the machine starting from number 1 setting, until it reaches the number 4 setting of thickness. I cut the circles out with a cookie cutter (3 1/4" or 8 cm in diameter), then gather the scraps and repeat. You can of course do it the traditional way, dividing the dough into small nubs (about a tbsp each), then roll each one out with a wooden roller. Whichever way you choose, make sure each wrappers are thoroughly dusted with flour to prevent sticking.
4. To make the dumplings, place a heaping tbsp of filling in the center of the wrapper. Dab the edges of the wrapper with water, then bring the edges upwards and pinch tightly to close. I really don't think there's any right way to do this. As long as the wrapper isn't broken, or stretched too thinly that it may break during cooking, and the filling is securely encased, it's all fine I think. Place the dumplings on a well-floured sheet-tray. Once the tray is filled, flash freeze it in the freezer for 1 hour until the dumplings are hardened. After which, you can transfer the dumplings into a zip-lock bag and keep frozen until needed.
5. TO SERVE: In a small pot, boil the jalapeno pickling juice until it's reduced down to 1/4 cup. Whisk in the smashed garlic, light brown sugar, toasted sesame oil and extra virgin olive oil, and set aside.
6. Bring a large pot of water to boil on high heat, then add the dumplings. Swirl it gently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once the water comes back to a raging boil, add a few ice cubes to chill the water down, and repeat. This boiling and cooling process tightens the wrappers and yields a better texture as a result. After a few repetition, the dumplings will float to the surface of the cooking water. You can open one to see if they're fully cooked. If not, boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute more. I like to add more ice cubes right before I remove the dumplings from the cooking water with a slotted spoon, to give them a final shocking.
7. Give the dumplings a generous dousing of the pickling juice dipping sauce, and a few drizzle of soy sauce (the black spots make it prettier to look at) and dustings of black pepper. Dumplings are equally awesome hot or cold.

Notes