Simple Pork and Scallion Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork shoulder or pork belly, trimmed of connective tissue, but with fat intact, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 pound slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, frozen
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock, pork stock, or cold water
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 16 scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced
• Round dumpling wrappers

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the pork cubes with the salt. Arrange the pork on a rimmed baking sheet with room around the pieces, then chill it in the freezer for 15 minutes, just until the edges begin to firm up while the meat can still bend.
2. Transfer the chilled pork to a food processor along with the bacon, egg, stock, soy sauce, and sugar. Run the machine until the mixture becomes a coarse paste and no pork bits are bigger than 1/8 of an inch, about 20 seconds. Add the scallions and use about 6 one-second pulses to mix them through evenly.
3. Set out a few dumpling skins and spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of filling into the middle of each. Dampen the rim of each wrapper with your finger, then fold it over the filling into a half-moon. Pleat one side 5 or 6 times, pressing the edges closed as you work. As each dumpling is shaped, set it on a parchment-lined baking sheet with space around it, and drape a clean damp towel over the batch so the wrappers do not dry out.
4. Prepare a bamboo steamer by lining it with softened cabbage leaves, lettuce leaves, or a parchment liner. Arrange the dumplings inside with a little room between them, then set the steamer over a wok filled with simmering water. Steam for 7 to 9 minutes, until the wrappers look translucent and the filling is fully cooked. Serve right away with soy sauce, chili paste, Chinkiang vinegar, black vinegar, or plain rice vinegar.