When your garden is brimming with zucchini, and you are tired of making zucchini bread, try making these super duper juicy zucchini beef dumplings! I love the mild sweet taste of the zucchini paired with beef spiced with cumin, but if you don't like the taste or smell of cumin, feel free to omit it, or add only a pinch. Also make sure you have plenty of napkins around when you bite into these delightful pockets of goodness, because as I said, these dumplings are juicy!
Here, I made my own dumpling skins using the recipe for the dough here, but if you are tight on time, using store bought pot sticker skins are perfectly fine. If you are going the store bought route, I usually get the New Hong Kong Noodle Company Brand of Su My (Sui Mai) Wraps in the refrigerated aisle of my Asian grocery store, but use whatever brand of round Sui Mai wrappers you can find at your Asian grocery store.
Pleat on one side, fill, and seal edges. Cook right away or Place in a single layer to freeze and cook laterThese dumplings also freeze really well, so you don't have to eat them all at once. Make extra to stock your freezer for quick meals on busy days.
Yields approximately 40 dumplings
Ingredients for wrappers:
- Dough wrappers from Vegetarian Dumpling recipe (link here)
- OR 1 package of sui mai wrappers (14 oz package, you may not need the entire package)
Zucchini and Beef Filling Ingredients:
- 2 large zucchinis, grated (about 1.5 cups after squeezing out liquid)
- 1 t salt
- 1 lb ground beef (80:20)
- 1 T grated fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 t sugar
- 1 t ground black pepper
- ½ t cumin (OPTIONAL, omit if you don't like the taste or smell of cumin)
- 1 T soy sauce
- 2 T cornstarch
- 1 t mirin
- 1 T chopped dried onions
Procedures for Making the Filling, and Dumplings:
1. In a bowl, grate the zucchini. Sprinkle in 1 t salt and mix. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, squeeze out the accumulated water and discard water. This is important, or else your filling will be way too wet. Set grated zucchini aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the ground beef with the ginger, garlic, scallions, sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, cornstarch, mirin and dried chopped onions. Add cumin if using. Then add in the squeezed grated zucchini. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Take a sui mai wrapper, OR a homemade rolled dough skin, and place 4 to 5 pleats on one side of the wrapper. Put a small spoonful of the filling in the newly formed pocket. Use your finger to wet the edge of the wrapper with water and press to seal against the pleated side. (See photo) Tap the dumpling on the work surface to slightly flatten the bottom so it can stand upright in the pan. Repeat until all the filling is used up. (About 40 dumplings)
4. IF YOU WANT TO FREEZE FOR ENJOYMENT LATER: Place dumplings on a freezer safe tray in a single layer and freeze for 2 hours. When frozen, transfer them to a labeled gallon zip lock bag and store in the freezer until ready to use. Otherwise, you can cook immediately as per the directions below.
Procedures to Cook Homemade Frozen Dumplings:
1. When you are ready to eat, heat a non-stick pan with 1 T oil under medium heat.
2. Place the frozen dumplings in a single layer, flat side down, on the pan without crowding. Drizzle about ½ to 1 cup of water (depends on the size of your pan and number of dumplings you are cooking) into the pan and cover quickly with a lid.
3. Allow the dumplings to steam for about 6 to 7 minutes.
4. Uncover the pan and reduce the heat to medium low, and continue to cook until the water evaporates and the bottoms are browned and crunchy (about 2 minutes).
5. Serve hot or warm with your favorite dumpling dipping sauce which can be as simple as just soy sauce, or a mixture of soy sauce plus hot sauce and vinegar.