Pork and Kimchi Dumplings

For a while, I have been meaning to upload these dumplings that I made. The grocery only had dumpling wrappers past their expiration date, so I had to buy wonton wrappers. They worked out fine. I ended up making them twice because there was enough ingredients. Below is the recipe for the dumplings and the kimchi from MyRecipe.com:

Dumplings

Ingredients
Dumplings:
1/2 cup finely chopped shiitake mushroom caps
1/2 cup finely chopped Shang Kimchi
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
4 ounces ground pork
24 gyoza skins
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Cooking spray

Sauce:
1 tablespoon minced green onions
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Preparation
To prepare dumplings, combine first 10 ingredients. Working with 1 gyoza skin at a time (cover remaining skins to prevent drying), spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons pork mixture into center of each skin. Moisten edges of skin with water. Fold in half, pinching edges together to seal. Place dumplings, seam sides up, on a baking sheet sprinkled with 1 teaspoon cornstarch (cover loosely with a towel to prevent drying).
Arrange half of the dumplings in a single layer in a bamboo or vegetable steamer coated with cooking spray. Steam dumplings, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove dumplings from steamer; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining dumplings.
To prepare sauce, combine 1 tablespoon onions and remaining ingredients. Serve sauce with dumplings.

Kimchi

Ingredients
14 cups coarsely chopped napa cabbage (about 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 1/2 tablespoons sambal oelek or Thai chile paste
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

Preparation
Place cabbage and salt in a large bowl, tossing gently to combine. Weigh down cabbage with another bowl. Let stand at room temperature 3 hours, tossing occasionally. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain and squeeze dry.
Combine cabbage, sesame seeds, and remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

It's not as pretty as the fruit tart...

I finally made my first spring roll. Kim Phung's, watch out. The recipe is easy and prep time is very short. Keeping the skins from tearing is the biggest challenge. It is also easy to over estimate the vermicelli noodle. I think that when I make them again, if I am eating them right away, I would add the peanut sauce on the inside to have a more even taste through out. Bridget, when you make yours, let me know how they are.