Today we are all about the meat pies. Not your traditional pie per se, but more like Chinese potstickers on steroids. These green onion and pork filled pies are off the hook, crazy delicious. These are my Forbidden City Chinese Meat Pies with Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter!
I first saw a photo of these and had to check them out. I mean look at these? Mouth watering, drool worthy, right?
The name for these captivated me as did the story behind it, but I’ll let you read about that later – Jaded Door Nail Meat Pies. Now mine here are a little different, in the fact they aren’t as compact and tall as the ones I saw as inspiration for this post. But it’s all about the flavor and these are packed with it from pork, green onion, sesame oil and the like. Then they get emulsified with water and end up being the most tender, moist creations. Using homemade dough that is super elastic, but easy to make and then pan seared and steamed.
The kicker here is the Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter. Can I just say it’s outrageous? I added a few things to the original recipe and I will say this, holy smokes it’s a keeper. A few shakes of some red pepper flakes that I pulverized in my spice grinder and I served it up to applause. Trust.
So bust out the mixer and dough hook, get adventurous and creative and rest assured you will be impressed. Come on, you can do this!
You can make the dough using a hand mixer with dough hook, or in a stand-mixer with dough-hook. Knead the bread flour, 1 cup of warm water and kosher salt on low speed for 3 minutes, scraping down the bottom and sides if needed, until incorporated. This stuff gets sticky!
Switch to high speed and knead for another 8 minutes until smooth and very elastic. Be careful if using a stand mixer. I took my eyes off it for a few seconds and that bugger was bouncing on my countertop, caught it in time before the entire thing jumped ship and was headed to the floor tiles. No lie, the dough was spinning and thumping away like mad at high!
Now add 1 extra tablespoon of water and continue to knead on high for another 5 minutes, until the dough is shiny and elastic. Adding the water in 2 stages increases the water-absorbency of the flour. Cover the bowl with plastic-wrap and allow to rest for 2 hours. See how stretchy and elastic the dough becomes?
In a bowl, mix ground pork, diced scallions, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ground white pepper and brown sugar with your hand. Keep stirring with your fingers until you feel the mixture getting thick and resistant, then mix in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s fully absorbed into the mixture. About 30 seconds for each addition. Cover with plastic-wrap and set aside in the fridge.
Now let’s make that Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter. In a food-processor, pulse the room temp butter with diced, fresh ginger until evenly pureed, scraping the sides a few times. Add the scallions, cilantro and purée until finely minced into the butter. This took a minute or two, set aside.
This dough is extremely sticky, so dust it with more flour as you go. Pull about 2 tablespoons of the dough and set it on a flour-dusted surface. Flatten into a thin disk with your hands, but making the edges gradually thinner than the center with your fingers.
Place a heaping scoop of filling, about 3 tablespoons, in the center, then pull the sides of the dough up and pinch it tightly to seal on the top. This dough is super stretchy, don’t be afraid. Then with your palms, gently pat and squeeze all around the pie to evenly distribute the filling, then set aside on a floured tray. Repeat with the rest. After two or three you’ll be a pro at this!
This made 12 small meat pies. Flash freeze the pies for about 1 hour until slightly hardened, then shape them into round cylinders about 1 1/2″ tall with flat tops and bottoms. I tried to do this but got a phone call, and when I came back they were a little too moist to squeeze and shape. I felt they were fine as is anyways. The dough started to stick and was thin so I didn’t take any chances to develop the taller look of these.
Coat the bottom of a flat non-stick skillet with 2 tbsp canola oil and heat over medium-high heat, then arrange the meat pies with about 1″ space in between. Once they start to sizzle, add 3 tablespoons of water and put the lid on immediately (the pies are thick so they need steam to help cook through). Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 6 minutes until the steam has fully evaporated, and the bottom of the pies are a crispy, golden brown.
Flip the pies and cover with lid only halfway. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the second side is golden brown as well.
Transfer to a serving plate, and rub the tops with the scallion butter and dust with chili flakes. Serve immediately with rice wine vinegar (optional).
To read the “story” behind these and to check out a wonderful food blog with a writing style I love (full of wit and vinegar) you can find Mandy over on Lady & Pups.

Chinese Meat Pies with Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 2 cups + 1 tbsp 300 grams bread/high-gluten flour
- 1 cup 240 grams warm water at 125°F/55°C, plus 1 tbsp (15 grams)
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- Pork Filling:
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 cup finely diced scallions
- 3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 3/4 tsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp cold water
- Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter:
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tbsp diced fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup diced scallions
- 1/4 cup cilantro
Instructions
- Dough: In a stand-mixer with dough-hook knead bread flour, 1 cup (240 grams) of warm water and salt on low speed for 3 minutes, scraping down the bottom and sides if needed, until incorporated. Switch to high speed and knead for another 8 minutes until smooth and very elastic. Now add 1 extra tbsp of water and continue to knead on high for another 5 minutes, until the dough is shiny elastic. Adding the water in 2 stages increases the water-absorbency of the flour. Cover the bowl with plastic-wrap and allow to rest for 2 hours.
- Filling: In a bowl, mix ground pork, diced scallions, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ground white pepper and brown sugar with your hand. Keep stirring until you feel the mixture getting thick and resistant, then mix in the water, 1 tbsp at a time, until it's fully absorbed into the mixture, about 30 seconds for each addition. Cover with plastic-wrap and set aside in the fridge.
- Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter: In a food-processor, pulse butter with diced ginger until evenly pureed, scraping the sides a few times. Add the scallions, cilantro and purée until finely minced into the butter. This took a minute or two, set aside.
- Assemble Meat Pies: This dough is extremely sticky, so dust it with more flour as you go. Pull about 2 tbsp of the dough and set it on a flour-dusted surface. Flatten into a thin disk with your hands, but making the edges gradually thinner than the center. Place about 3 tbsp of filling in the center, then pull the sides of the dough up and pinch it tightly to seal on the top. Then with your palms, gently pat and squeeze all around the pie to evenly distribute the filling, then set aside on a floured tray. Repeat with the rest. This made 12 small meat pies. Flash freeze the pies for about 1 hour until slightly hardened, then shape them into round cylinders about 1 1/2" tall with flat tops and bottoms.
- Cooking the Meat Pies: Coat the bottom of a flat non-stick skillet with 2 tbsp canola oil and heat over medium-high heat, then arrange the peat pies with about 1" space in between. Once they start to sizzle, add 3 tablespoons of water and put the lid on immediately (the pies are thick so they need steam to help cooked through). Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 6 minutes until the steam has fully evaporated, and the bottom of the pies are a crispy, golden brown. Flip the pies and cover with lid only halfway. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the second side is golden brown as well. Transfer to a serving plate, and rub the tops with the scallion butter and dust with chili flakes. Serve immediately with rice wine vinegar (optional).
Nutrition
Not your usual meat pie – but all the better for it:-)
No definitely not, these are just killer pies, or over sized dumplings, whatever you want to call them… just give them a try! 🙂
These look amazingly delicious but I don’t eat pork. What do you think is the best substitution?
I could easily see substituting it with ground beef or chicken. In fact, I may do that myself next time! 🙂
These sound fantastic, Kevin! It’s been ages since I ate any sort of meat pie – but – I don’t think Ive ever fested on what that has this much flavor going on! And your photos are fantastic!
Thanks Sashi. If it’s been awhile, I think it high time you treat yourself to these beauties, the butter makes it. Although I am sure if I try, I could make a vegetarian version. Have a great weekend. 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of the Asian cuisine, but these delicious, juicy, and handsome bad guys…I couldn’t resist! Perhaps, this amazing butter makes the difference. Good job, Kevin!
You need to try these out Ben, honestly worth the effort!
Hi Kevin. Really nice job on the pot stickers and great photos. Asian cuisine is huge where we live. Potstickers, dumplings all good. We are off to Hong Kong next week so you have inspired me to make sure that we don’t forget to try these. Cheers….Mark
Thanks Mark, they are so goood! Have a great time in HK, it’s been a few years since I was there and miss the sensory overload experience!
Whoa! These look incredible Kevin. I don’t think I’ve eaten a meat pie before (I think I’d remember if they were this good looking!) but now is about time. That butter!!
Thank you so much Alyssa, there are quite delicious and the butter was definitely used on toast and chicken the next day!
These are real stunners, Kevin. I love all of the flavors and textures – you seriously have me drooling here. Now if I could just disassociate the term ‘meat pies’ with Sweeney Todd. 😉
Thanks Marissa. Yes, meat pies do conjure memories of Sweeney, but these are much better! 😉
As soon as I saw the picture, I thought it looked so much like Mandy’s! 🙂 I LOVED those little pies! and yours look SO amazing too! I loved that butter but I am yet to attempt the actual pie! Definitely need to bring it to the top of my list!
Dini, isn’t she great? I love her blogging style and her recipes are off the hook! Give them a try, it’s fun to make… then devour! Have a great weekend.
Hey Kevin! I first had pot stickers when we were on our honeymoon in Toronto – talk about a place with international flavors! A Chinese street festival was going on and since I don’t speak Chinese and most of the vendors didn’t speak English, the system was to point at what you wanted and hold up however many fingers for how many – in return the vendor would hold up the number of fingers for how many dollars it cost. I ate things that I had no idea what they were, but they sure were delicious! You have demystified making… Read more »
Hi Dorothy, my first experience was in Hong Kong many years ago and the tastes and flavors were intoxicating! I have been hooked ever since and the dim sum house we go to monthly is Jasmine here in San Diego. By far the most authentic we’ve found. Have a great weekend!
Holy bologna, Kevin! These meat pies absolutely look crazy, delicious and All sorts of spectacular! I am drooling over these potstickers on crack! Like WHOA! As if the pictures weren’t enough to make me crave these, the flavors sound stellar! Gimme allllll these meat pies- totally NOT going to be forbidden to my belleh! <3 Pinned! Cheers, buddy and happy Friiii-day!
Thanks so much Cheyanne! These were definitely off the hook. Hopefully you can give them a try when your kitchen is all set up in the new digs. Check out Mandy’s blog too, she is a riot and fantastic recipes.
Did I read that correctly? Scallion Ginger Cilantro Butter? Ummm, I’m going to need some of that butter ASAP. That sounds incredibly awesome, Kevin. Heck, I think I would be happy with that butter on plain toast…but on these meat pies? Yes, please. Well done, my friend! #WolfpackButterCreations
Thanks David, they need to be experienced, again and again in my book. Crazy delicious and please check out Mandy’s site, she is so funny and her recipes are adventurous and just spectacular. Have a great weekend! Chiles are on the way…