Spicy Beef Dumplings

Raw Garlic Sauce:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, cold water, and lemon juice. Transfer to a glass jar or plastic container and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days to let the flavor mellow. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Makes about ¾ cup.

Filling:

1. In a medium skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until they turn soft and translucent. Stir in the chili oil, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, use your hands to combine the beef, cooked onions, scallions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, sesame oil, pepper, and salt, and mix until well blended.

Dough:

1. Place a large mixing bowl over a damp paper towel on your work surface, to keep in place while mixing. Add the flour and make a well. Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour while you add the water in a steady stream. Mix together until you have a lot of lumpy bits, then knead the hot dough in the bowl until the dough comes together. Add water by the teaspoon if the dough does not come together.
2. Continue kneading the dough on a lightly floured surface (only flour if necessary, and do so sparingly) for a couple more minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic (my mixing bowl was very large so I finished kneading directly in the bowl and it was just fine). The dough should bounce back when pressed with your finger, but leave a light impression of your finger. Place dough in a zip-top bag, seal tightly, pressing out excess air, and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the bag and soften. After resting, the dough can be used right away, or refrigerated overnight and returned to room temperature before using.

Assembly:

1. Remove the dough from the bag, turning the bag inside out if the dough is sticky. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it into quarters. Put three-quarters back in the bag, squeezing out the air and sealing it closed to prevent drying.
2. Roll the dough into a 1-inch-thick log and cut into 8 pieces (cut in half, then cut each half in half, and so on to create pieces that are even in size. The tapered end pieces should be cut slightly larger). If your pieces are oval, stand them on one of the cut ends and gently squeeze with your fingers to make them round, like a scallop. Take each piece of dough and press each cut end in flour, lightly pressing the dough to about ¼ inch thick and set aside.
3. Lightly roll an Asian-style rolling pin across them to flatten them out a bit more. Hold one disk by its edge and firmly but gently roll your pin from the disk's edge to its center. Roll the same edge a few more times, using more pressure at the edge than at the center. Use your other hand to turn the dough disk and reveal a new edge of the disk; roll again. Continue until all edges are rolled out and the wrapper is about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. When a batch of wrappers is formed, fill them before making wrappers out of the other portion of dough.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (if planning to refrigerate dumplings for several hours, also dust with flour to prevent sticking). Add about 2 tablespoons of the filling to the center of the wrapper, then lightly pat down the filling to get rid of any air bubbles.
5. Fold the dumpling into a half-moon, pinching it shut with your thumbs and index fingers, then press the center of the dumpling while pulling on the corners to push out any air bubbles and shape it into a curved crescent. Inspect the dumpling for any holes and pinch them shut. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers.

Cooking:

1. When you’re ready to cook your dumplings, use a medium or large nonstick skillet with a lid (or cook two batches at the same time using two pans). Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add about 1 tablespoon neutral oil (like vegetable oil).
2. Place the dumplings 1 at a time, sealed edges up, in a winding circle pattern. The dumplings can touch. Medium skillets will generally fit 12 to 14 dumplings, large skillets will fit 16 to 18 dumplings. Fry the dumplings for 1 to 2 minutes until they are golden or light brown on the bottom.
3. Holding the lid close to the skillet to lessen splatter, use a measuring cup to add water to a depth of roughly ¼ inch (about ⅓ cup water). The water will immediately sputter and boil vigorously. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil, lower the heat to medium, and let the water bubble away for 8 to 10 minutes, until it is mostly gone. When you hear sizzling noises, remove the lid as most of the water is now gone. Let the dumplings fry for another 1 or 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown and crisp.
4. Turn off the heat and use a spatula to transfer dumplings to a serving plate. Display them with their bottoms facing up so they remain crisp. Serve immediately with the Raw Garlic Sauce.