Final Fantasy XV: Crown City Dive-Style Dumplings

Final Fantasy XV is one of the few Final Fantasy’s I’ve seen to the end. Over the years I have played many Japanese RPGs but the Final Fantasy series is one that I kind of skipped. It is most likely because I did not own a Playstation 1 when I was younger. FFXV is the first game that Jeff and I shared a save file for a single player game. We were playing the first half of the game and then realized we had a huge backlog of games building up and needed to finish. I’m happy we decided to do that because I’m sure after the Leviathan fight I would not have played the game much longer alone. The second half of the game was a disappointing departure from the first half. I enjoyed the adventuring, hanging out with the car boys, and general quest setup of that first half. Suddenly, most of that was taken away and the game felt very hollow in comparison. I’ve heard the game was fixed up with a few updates but it is hard to find time to play again.

I love all the food found in Final Fantasy XV. Just looking at the images has a way of making me extremely hungry. The game is not afraid to have a handful of extremely difficult to execute recipes, like the Crown City Dumplings. Soup dumplings are something that I didn’t have until about 3 years ago. They are steamed dumplings with filling and soup inside. I knew I wanted to figure out how the soup inside the dumplings was done, but it took quite a few attempts before I was happy with the result. The most important thing when making the broth is to let it cook, simmer slowly, and do not add more water. Letting it cook down really helps thicken the broth into a very thick gelatin the next day after it is refrigerated. This will take a long time, so have a lot of patience. This recipe is easily one of the most difficult ones on this site.

Broth
6 cups cold water
1 lb pig feet, rinsed and cleaned
1 lb chicken wings
½ lb chicken feet
2 scallions, chopped into large chunks
1 leek, chopped into large chunks
1 celery stalk, chopped into large chunks
1 carrot, chopped into large chunks
1 2-inch piece ginger, chopped into large chunks
1 tbsp rice wine
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
salt

Place the water, pig feet, chicken wings, chicken feet, scallions, leeks, celery, carrot, ginger, and rice wine in a large pot. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours.

Add the dried shiitake mushrooms and sichuan peppercorns. Simmer for another 2 hours. The water level will reduce as the broth cooks but do not add additional water. This will keep the gelatin levels in the broth high.

Once the broth is ready, strain all the pieces out and pour the broth into a large deep baking dish. Taste the broth and season with salt to your liking. Allow to cool completely and then put in the refrigerator overnight.

Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
¾ cup boiling water
1 tbsp canola oil

The next day, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add the water and mix until just combined. Transfer to a counter and knead for 5 minutes.

Add the canola oil and then knead for another 5 minutes. The dough at this point should be soft. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Filling
1 lb ground pork
3 scallions, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp cornstarch

napa cabbage, for steamer

Combine the pork, scallions, garlic, and ginger in a bowl.

Add the soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Mix until it all just comes together.

Take the gelatinized broth and cut into small cubes. Carefully mix with the ground pork. Set aside or in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Prepare a steam basket by placing a layer  of napa cabbage on the bottom, set aside.

When you are ready to make the bao, place water in a pot that can have a steamer basket placed on top of it and bring to a boil. Split the dough into 4 portions.

Take one of the portions and place the rest back under the damp towel. Cut the dough into 10 gram portions. Roll out each piece into 4 inch rounds. Add 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Pleat the dough until the dumpling is sealed.

Place in the prepared steamer, but do not overcrowd the steamer . Repeat this until all the dumplings are made. If there are too many, you can place them on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Once the water is boiling, place the steamers on top of the pot and steam for 8 minutes (11 minutes if frozen).

Sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 scallion, finely diced
1 tsp ginger, julienned

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Print Recipe

Crown City Dive-Style Dumplings

Ingredients

Broth

• 6 cups cold water
• 1 lb pig feet rinsed and cleaned
• 1 lb chicken wings
• 1/2 lb chicken feet
• 2 scallions chopped into large chunks
• 1 leek chopped into large chunks
• 1 celery stalk chopped into large chunks
• 1 carrot chopped into large chunks
• 1 2- inch piece ginger chopped into large chunks
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
• salt

Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ cup boiling water
• 1 tbsp canola oil

Filling

• 1 lb ground pork
• 3 scallions finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 2 tbsp ginger minced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• napa cabbage for steamer

Sauce

• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 scallion finely diced
• 1 tsp ginger julienned

Instructions

Broth

• Place the water, pig feet, chicken wings, chicken feet, scallions, leeks, celery, carrot, ginger, and rice wine in a large pot. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours.
• Add the dried shiitake mushrooms and sichuan peppercorns. Simmer for another 2 hours. The water level will reduce as the broth cooks but do not add additional water. This will keep the gelatin levels in the broth high.
• Once the broth is ready, strain all the pieces out and pour the broth into a large deep baking dish. Taste the broth and season with salt to your liking. Allow to cool completely and then put in the refrigerator overnight.

Dough

• The next day, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add the water and mix until just combined. Transfer to a counter and knead for 5 minutes. Add the canola oil and then knead for another 5 minutes. The dough at this point should be soft. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Filling

• Combine the pork, scallions, garlic, and ginger in a bowl.
• Add the soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Mix until it all just comes together.
• Take the gelatinized broth and cut into small cubes. Carefully mix with the ground pork. Set aside or in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Prepare a steam basket by placing a layer of napa cabbage on the bottom, set aside.
• When you are ready to make the bao, place water in a pot that can have a steamer basket placed on top of it and bring to a boil. Split the dough into 4 portions.
• Take one of the portions and place the rest back under the damp towel. Cut the dough into 10 gram portions. Roll out each piece into 4 inch rounds. Add 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Pleat the dough until the dumpling is sealed.
• Place in the prepared steamer, but do not overcrowd the steamer . Repeat this until all the dumplings are made. If there are too many, you can place them on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Once the water is boiling, place the steamers on top of the pot and steam for 8 minutes (11 minutes if frozen).

Sauce

• Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Note: This is an unofficial recipe and not approved by Square Enix.