Beef & Pork Cabbage Dumplings

If we're taking votes on the most underrated vegetable then my vote is on cabbage. It's SO versatile and can be used in so many different cuisines. I previously posted a traditional polish recipe for stuffed cabbage, but I have to say this may be favorite version. If I explain this in the most American of terms, it's a juicy meatball wrapped in cabbage and topped with a salty, nutty, and spicy sauce (um, YUM!!).

When it comes to selecting your cabbage, I usually choose a napa cabbage which is super cute and typically has longer cabbage leaves that helps when you're building the dumplings. However, any sort of cabbage should work as long as you boil the leaves before to make them easier to work with.

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The Meat Situation

For the meat filling, you are going to want to pack this with tons of flavor. The easiest way to do this is to throw in your favorite herbs, seasonings, and vegetables. There are a ton of ingredients that you can put into your meat but here are a few different options to work with:

1. Green Onion

2. Cilantro

3. Lemongrass

4. Garlic

5. Shallots

6. Onion

7. Ginger

8. Mushrooms

9. Shredded Carrots

10. Cabbage

11. Celery

12. Shrimp

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Say Hello to Our Sauce Party

When it comes to your meat filling, marinading it with SAUCE is a much because I'm a SAUCY B%&$#. My favorite sauce options to put into this recipe includes:

• Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce

• Chili Crisp

• Toasted Sesame Oil

• Fish Sauce

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Dipping Sauce is a MUST

Dipping or topping these baddies is non-negotiable. You can either make this (recipe provided below) or you can grab a sauce from the grocery store (gyoza sauce would work!)

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Get Started!

Prep Time: 30 Mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Servings: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

Cabbage Dumplings

• 1 head of cabbage (preferably napa cabbage)

• .5 lb beef

• 1 lb pork

• 1/2 cup green onion

• 1/4 cup cilantro

• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

• 2 shallots, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1/2 cup aminos or soy sauce

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

• 2 tbsp fish oil

• 1 heaping tbsp chili oil

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 2 cups chicken broth

Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp chili crisp oil

• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine cabbage ingredients (meat, vegetables, herbs, seasonings, and sauces) to a large bowl. Massage the meat so everything is thoroughly mixed. I like to let this marinate for 2-3 hours before building, but it isn't necessary if you're in a rush (just highly suggested).

2. Prep the cabbage by separating and cleaning the leaves, then boiling them for a quick 3 minutes fully submerged.Take them from the boiling water and let them cool on a paper towel lined baking sheet until you are ready to build your dumplings.

3. When your cabbage is cool, build your dumplings by cupping the meat in your hand (size of a meatball) add the meat to one end of the cabbage and slowly wrap it up like a burrito.

4. Once the dumplings are all wrapped up, you can steam them on the stovetop for ~12-15 minutes using the chicken broth for moisture to steam. If you don't have a steamer basket, then you can make one using your stovetop or your oven.

   1. PRO TIP #1: I made these at my parents house and they didn't have one so I used these hacks from Food52 to make them! If you are using an oven to steam, then steam closer to 18-20 minutes.

   2. PRO TIP #2: cut open a dumpling to check that your meat has cooked through.

5. While the cabbage dumplings are steaming, work on putting the sauce together. Add all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a small bowl and mix.

6. After your dumplings are steamed, serve hot and use dipping sauce to top/dip the dumplings.

ENJOY!