Step by step

1. Line a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put the pork on the baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes before proceeding. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Drain the mushrooms and reserve the liquid; set aside.

2. Attach the Food Grinder Attachment with the coarse grinding plate to your Stand Mixer. Place a large bowl under the grinder to catch the ground meat and aromatics. Combine the pork, mushrooms, scallions, ginger, garlic and cilantro in the large food tray. Turn the mixer to speed 4 and feed the meat and aromatics through the grinder using the food pusher, one to two pieces at a time. Take care not to force it through.

3. Remove the bowl from under the grinder and add 1 tsp of soy sauce, cornstarch and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients until well combined, slowly incorporating up to ½ cup of the reserved mushroom liquid. Mix thoroughly: the final product should be fairly wet but sticky and hold together. Rest the filling overnight in the refrigerator, if possible. This extra step will improve the final texture of the dumplings. If not, proceed to the next step.

4. On a clean work surface, lay out 24 dumpling wrappers. (Work with only 12 at a time if you have limited space.) For traditional shumai, hold a wrapper in one hand and use a spoon to spread about 2 tablespoons of filling over the entirety of the wrapper. Gather up the sides and lightly pinch the top while flattening the bottom of the dumpling on your work surface, leaving the top of the filling exposed. You should end up with a purse shaped dumpling. See chef’s notes for a potsticker option.

5. Fill the bottom of a steamer with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Line the flat steamer basket with a perforated circle of parchment paper or a parchment round. (Ideally, the steamer has 2 to 3 tiers. Line all tiers with parchment.) Arrange the dumplings in the lined steamer basket(s), spacing the dumplings about 2.5 cm apart. Cover and steam the dumplings over the boiling water until the pork is cooked through, 6 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 70°C on a probe thermometer.

6. To make the dipping sauce, stir together the light soy sauce, vinegar, 2 tsp of sesame oil, and 2 tsp of ginger in a small bowl. Divide among individual dipping bowls. Serve the dumplings fresh out of the steamer alongside the dipping sauce.

7. Tip: The uncooked dumplings can be frozen on the baking sheet and then transferred to a covered freezer container, layering them between sheets of parchment paper. Freeze up to 1 month. Steam from frozen, without thawing, adding an additional 10 minutes to the cooking time.