Happy Lunar New Year Everyone!

@nikv suggested I make dumplings so I decided to make them today for Lunar New Year!
Also check out her blog.
She has really cool posts that I find very interesting.
Furthermore, if you like cute cats.
Check out @sirgatodaniel who likes to go on adventures!

Due to the amount of photos there were whilst making the dumplings, I decided to collate the pictures and instructions using a different program and save it as one image as sorting them here proved a little difficult. If you find any instructions difficult to read, please let me know so I can make it clearer.

Without further ado, lets get stuck into it.

Preparing the filling

Wrapping the dumplings

Usually I use my hands to make the dumplings, which can be tiresome on your fingers, however I saw on TV a professional chef use one of these contraptions. So I bought myself a set, meat pie maker. It was very cheap; only a couple of dollars.
So I thought I would give it a go today.
I must say, it made my job so much easier!
Not only was it quicker, but I was able to fill the dumpling more with less/no mess. Also my fingers didn't hurt since I didn't need to pinch the dumplings so many times.

Below is a picture of the pre-made dumpling skin I used. You can find them in the fridge at your local asian grocer.
I should really make my own but I have yet to try.
If you know a good recipe, please share it with me.

Note: pre-made dumpling skins are actually a bit too thick. I use to use a small rolling pin to roll them out thinner but it made my palms hurt by the end of it. So I thought I would use a pasta machine to roll them instead. Seriously why didn't I think of this earlier.

A little hard to see in the picture, but the dumpling skin shape is oval.
I placed it with the longer part going horizontal so when I roll it through the pasta machine, it will stretch the short part

Here is a picture of a non-stretched out piece against a stretched piece so you can see the difference.

What about the pasta rolling machine setting you might ask.
Errrr honestly this is the first time using it, I don't know how I'm suppose to read it. So here is the picture from up top of which number I had it on.

Below are the two methods of wrapping the dumplings.

Keep tissues nearby to wipe your fingers dry after you wet the edges. You want to keep your dumplings dry otherwise they will start to stick to each other when you store them.

Place your wrapped dumplings onto a flat plate slightly overlapping like this.
Then place the whole plate into the freezer to freeze them slightly.
Grab another flat plate and start wrapping more dumplings.

By the time you finish your second plate, your first lot of dumplings are now slightly frozen. You can take them off the plate and pop them into a zip locked bag for easier storage.
Place the bag back into the freezer to store.
Remember to wipe the plate dry before using for your next lot of dumplings as it will be wet from the condensation.

Cooking the dumplings

You can cook the dumplings straight from the freezer. It is better this way also because if you thaw them out, they will stick together and tear the dumpling skin when you try to separate them. Or cook them as they are freshly made; no need to freeze if you plan to eat them straight away.

Of course you can also steam the dumplings too.

I'm sure I don't need a lot of instructions on how to eat the dumplings.
However there are lots of difference sauces you can eat it with.
Or no sauce at all.

I like to eat chive dumplings with vinegar.
Here is a picture of the vinegar I use for dumplings.

Bon Appetite!