Meiyuan Crispy Dumplings

Meiyuan Crispy Dumplings

　　You’ve probably eaten dumplings before, but you may not have seen crispy dumplings. Produced in Meiyuan Town, Fuping, these crispy dumplings feature a unique shape, golden-yellow color, and a delightfully crisp texture. Their distinctive trait is that the filling must be aged over a year and through a summer before use. Though resembling regular dumplings in appearance, they are larger, with an outer layer of flour coated in edible oil and an interior filled with sweet filling made primarily from white sugar. Historically, crispy dumplings were a staple gift for locals (from Meiyuan Town, Xue Town, and Laomiao Town) to give when visiting relatives and friends during festivals and holidays. However, in recent years, as living standards have improved, crispy dumplings have gradually faded from being a popular gift item. That said, their flavor remains highly cherished among locals.

　　Ingredients

　　 500g flour, 175g lard, 150g lotus seed paste, 25g cooked flour, 10g sugar, 0g Meiyuan crispy dumpling seasoning, 25g sesame oil, 50g cooked sesame seeds, a pinch of Sichuan pepper powder, salt, and a small amount of red food coloring

　　1. Mix the cooked flour, sugar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, salt, and Sichuan pepper powder evenly to make a spicy salt filling.

　　2. Place 250g of flour on the work surface, add 125g of lard, and mix well to form a dry oil dough.

　　3. Combine the remaining 250g of flour with 50g of lard and 110g of warm water to form a water-oil dough. Knead well and let rest for 10 minutes.

　　4. Divide both the dry oil dough and water-oil dough into two equal parts. Add a small amount of red food coloring to one portion of the water-oil dough and knead it into a pink dough. Then wrap each piece of dry oil dough inside each piece of water-oil dough, press lightly, roll out into rectangular sheets about 3mm thick, and roll them up from top to bottom into cylindrical shapes. Seal the ends with water. Cut each cylinder into 12.5g pieces, flatten them into wrappers, fill the pink wrappers with lotus seed paste to form dumplings, and fill the white wrappers with the spicy salt filling to form dumplings. Pair the two-color dumplings together and crimp the edges with decorative scallops to form the raw dumplings.

　　5. Heat the oil to 60% heat, place the raw dumplings in the pan, and fry until they puff up and float to the surface. Once they do, they’re ready.