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Jalapeño beef dan dan dumplings
Serves 4 (24-30 dumplings) Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 400g minced beef (less than 20% fat)
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 2tbsp chopped pickled jalapeños, plus 1tbsp of the pickling juice
- 2tbsp light soy sauce
- 1tsp sea salt
- 2tsp light brown sugar
- 2tbsp shaoxing rice wine
- 1tsp sesame oil
- 2tsp duck fat or beef fat, melted
- 3tbsp sui mi ya cai
- 24-30 dumpling wrappers (see recipe linked) or 450g frozen dumpling wrappers
- 1tbsp neutral oil
To season the bowls
- 8tbsp Chinese sesame paste
- 4–8tbsp crispy chilli oil
- 4tbsp jalapeño pickle juice
- 2tsp light brown sugar
To serve
- 2tsp toasted sesame seeds
- small bunch chives, finely sliced (optional)
- 1tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns, or to taste, sieved
Method
In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, garlic, spring onions, pickled jalapeños and juice, soy sauce, salt, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil and melted fat. Stir with a wooden spoon in a clockwise direction, beating the beef around the bowl, until it resembles a thick, sticky paste, incorporating a little water if necessary. Add the sui mi ya cai and stir through. Keep the mixture in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the dumplings.
To assemble, line a tray with baking paper. Take a dumpling wrapper (recipe here) in the palm of your hand and place 1tsp of the filling in the centre. Bring the edges of the wrapper together and gently press the dough to seal the dumpling, adding some pleats if you want to. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and place the completed dumplings on the prepared tray, at least 1cm apart.
Boil the kettle. Mix the Chinese sesame paste with 2tbsp boiling water and stir to dissolve. Take 4 serving bowls and add to each 2tbsp of the Chinese sesame paste mixture (this should still be warm), 1–2tbsp chilli oil (to taste), 1tbsp pickle juice and 1/2tsp sugar. Mix well to combine, until the sugar is dissolved.
Heat the neutral oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and reboil the kettle. Add some dumplings to the pan – they should be at least 1cm apart, so you may need to cook them in batches. After 3–4 minutes, the bottoms of the dumplings will become brown and crisp.
Standing well back, add enough boiling water to fill the pan to a depth of about 1cm. This will create a burst of steam, so make sure your face is not too close. Put a lid on the pan and leave the dumplings to steam for 6–8 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Remove the lid and let the dumplings fry on the bottom of the pan for another minute or two, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly – this will loosen them from the pan and make them easier to scoop out.
Serve the dumplings in the sauce, crispy side up. Top with the sesame seeds, sliced chives, if using, and a pinch of ground Sichuan pepper, to taste.
This recipe was taken from the January/February 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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