Delicious, photogenic, and auspicious New Year dishes: Learn to DIY Five-Element Colorful Dumplings

Winter is the peak season for napa cabbage, which is crisp and sweet. As the Lunar New Year approaches, why not see how local moms make “Five-Element Auspicious Cabbage Dumplings”? Using locally sourced ingredients, they craft dumpling wrappers in vibrant red, white, black, yellow, and green. Not only can you control the healthiness yourself, but these will also be eye-catching highlights on your New Year’s dinner table — delicious, great for photos, and full of luck.

As the Lunar New Year draws near, dumplings shaped like ingots are an essential lucky dish for many families. The “Five-Element Auspicious Cabbage Dumplings” developed by moms from the Xiluo Township Farmers' Association’s Home Economics Class use specially made wrappers in five colors — plain (white), spinach (green), black bean (black), red radish (red), and pumpkin (yellow) — symbolizing the Five Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. This allows everyone to make their own lucky-colored dumplings according to their personal element, inviting smooth luck and good fortune.

Cabbage is rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin A, C, and more. It’s suitable for stir-frying, cold mixing, soup-making, or pickling. To showcase cabbage in more diverse flavors on family dining tables, the Council of Agriculture has launched a series of “Easy Cooking, Happy Meals” home-style dishes in addition to the Five-Element Dumplings. These include cabbage rice, cabbage pot, cabbage pancakes, golden kimchi, and more. Of course, winter nourishing hotpots like lamb hotpot and ginger duck hotpot — perfect pairings with cabbage — are also star combinations. For those who want to cook easily at home, you can download the “Creative Cabbage Recipes” from the Council of Agriculture’s official website.

[Five-Element Auspicious Welcome Spring – Dumpling Recipe]

%Ingredients for filling:

600g ground pork

600g napa cabbage

50cc water

30g minced ginger

30cc soy sauce

25g sugar

200g chopped scallions

20cc sesame oil

6g salt

4–5g white pepper

Steps:

1. Finely chop the cabbage, mix evenly with 6g salt, let it sit for 5–10 minutes to draw out moisture, then drain and set aside

2. Mix the ground pork with 6g salt until sticky, then add minced ginger, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper, and mix well

3. Add the chopped cabbage and scallions, mix well, then add sesame oil and stir

4. After mixing, wrap the filling in dumpling wrappers to complete

%Ingredients for dough:

200g high-gluten flour

100g M50 rice flour

190cc cold water

3g salt

Steps:

Salt 3g

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, slowly add cold water while stirring until a lump-free dough forms.

2. Knead the dough for about 5–6 minutes until smooth.

3. Let the dough rest briefly, then divide it into 10g portions, roll each into a circle about 6cm in diameter, and fill with desired ingredients.

4. Cabbage Fresh Harvest Promotion Event – Easy Recipes for Happy Cooking

%恫げ怂?绕え绿)

High-gluten flour 200g

M50 rice flour 100g

Blanched spinach (wrung dry) 110g

Cold water 80cc

Salt 3g

Steps:

1. Drain the blanched spinach and blend it with cold water into a puree.

2. Place all ingredients and the spinach puree in a bowl, stir until a lump-free dough forms.

3. Knead the dough for about 5–6 minutes until smooth.

4. Let the dough rest briefly, then divide it into 10g portions, roll each into a circle about 6cm in diameter, and fill with desired ingredients.

Cabbage Fresh Harvest Promotion Event – Easy Recipes for Happy Cooking

%逗诙顾?绕え黑)

High-gluten flour 200g

M50 rice flour 100g

Cold water 190cc

Salt 3g

Black bean powder 8g

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, slowly add cold water while stirring until a lump-free dough forms.

2. Knead the dough for about 5–6 minutes until smooth.

8g black bean flour

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, slowly add cold water while stirring until a smooth, lump-free dough forms

dough in grain-like form

2. Knead the dough for about 5–6 minutes until smooth

3. Let the dough rest slightly before dividing it into a 10g piece, then roll it out into a circle with a diameter

of about 6 cm to encase the filling.

Press Conference on Freshly Harvested Cabbage Cooking Promotion and Easy Recipes for Happy Meals

%逗?顾?绕え红)

200g high-gluten flour

100g M50 rice flour

190cc cold water

3g salt

18g red? powder

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, slowly add cold water, and mix until you get a smooth dough without flour

particles.

2. Knead the dough for about 5–6 minutes until it becomes smooth.

3. Let the dough rest slightly before dividing it into a 10g piece, then roll it out into a circle with a diameter

of about 6 cm to encase the filling.

Press Conference on Freshly Harvested Cabbage Cooking Promotion and Easy Recipes for Happy Meals

%赌瞎纤?绕え黄)

200g high-gluten flour

100g M50 rice flour

240g pumpkin

190cc cold water

3g salt

Steps:

1. Steam the pumpkin first, then mash it into a puree.

2. Add all the ingredients and the pumpkin puree into the bowl, and mix until you get a smooth dough without flour particles.

3. Knead the dough for about 5–6 minutes until it becomes smooth.

4. Let the dough rest slightly before dividing it into a 10g piece, then roll it out into a circle with a diameter

of about 6 cm to encase the filling.

A circle about 6 centimeters in diameter is ideal for wrapping the ingredients.