My Mom’s Dumpling Recipe (餃子)
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Intro
I have such fond and vivid memories of my mom making dumplings as a kid. She would spend HOURS — sometimes even all afternoon — mixing, kneading, and 包-ing (#Chinglish for “wrapping,” there’s not an English word that really conveys the same meaning) trays and trays of dumplings. I knew that, when I started this food site/project, this would be one of the highlight recipes I needed to document and have always wanted to share. I am starting a series of dumplings with this specific one because this filling is very “traditional” in the sense that this is the go-to combination of ingredients. Usually, if you don’t specify for Chinese dumplings, most people will assume you mean dumplings with a ground pork and some kind of veggie filling. I will be sharing more variations down the line.
Beyond Chinese cooking, I love how the basic concept of some sort of dough-wrapped meat and/or veggie filling is almost universal to all cultures. Whether it’s Chinese* soup dumplings, Georgian khinkali, empanadas, Jamaican beef patties, ravioli, etc., there’s a love and appreciation for this food format and I think it’s pretty f$cking awesome! I’m not going to go into a whole breakdown of the history of Chinese dumplings because this is not a history site (plus just Google it) but I will mention that making and eating dumplings is common during Chinese New Year. Dumplings resemble the silver & gold ingots — the main currency during the Ming dynasty — so eating them is believed to bring prosperity. The more filling you can get into your dumplings the better. Back in the day (and in more traditional families in current times), if you made a weak-ass dumpling with very little filling all the aunties, moms, and miscellaneous family members would judge the hell out of you.
While there are no “wrong” or “right” fillings, there are certain techniques I will share in this recipe’s process that are important to know when making a pork-and-veggie-filled dumpling. Through my research, I’ve come to realize that a lot of the same concepts that apply to sausage-making also apply to this dumpling’s fillings. For example, when you knead and mix the filling you’re trying to get all the flavors and meats to break down and gelatinize together, similar to trying to create what’s called a “primary bind” in sausage-making; I’ll make sure to explain in the recipe below. As fair warning, this IS a lot of work, but it’s easy to make it a fun activity to do with family and friends. The prep work of making the filling is basically the same no matter how many you make so I’d recommend making a big batch at a time especially since they freeze easily and well.
A couple more notes:
The number of dumplings this recipe can make will depend on the dumpling wrappers you buy/make and your skill level; “skill level” here doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a professional chef, it just takes practice!
While the more filling you can get into each dumpling the better, you don’t want to overstuff each to the point where the skins bust open when you cook them (this would have also incited some tsk-ing and lots of shade)
Each dumpling’s filling, once cooked, should be one whole piece (i.e. not crumble and fall apart once you bite into a dumpling); if your filling is falling apart everywhere, well...you guessed it: more judging from the Chinese grandmas and shame would befall your family
Final point on the shame train: once you’re done wrapping a dumpling and place it on a tray (or any flat surface), it should stand up on its own; if it falls over it’s called “睡餃子,” or “sleeping dumpling”
I’m not bringing up these “shame” points to judge you -- these are all goals for what well-made dumplings are supposed to taste, look, and eat like told in a narrative that’s very true for my culture. I, unlike more traditional Chinese people, will not actually shame you although these are all legit things that would have incited actual judgment from others. I still make these mistakes sometimes but am practicing to get better! HOWEVER, if you are paying for dumplings (from a restaurant, for example) and you witness any of these “shame” points...you should ask for a refund because that’s lame.
* I’m calling soup dumplings Chinese because while it technically has Shanghainese origins, soup dumplings are pretty common through all of China and Taiwan now; I’d even go as far as to say that the Taiwanese exponentially increased its popularity in the Western world through one of their famous chains called Din Tai Fung
What You'll Need
Depending on your skill level and your wrappers’ size, the # dumpz will vary; my mom and I made ~ 50 dumplings from this batch although we make pretty FAT ones~
You’ll want to bring all of these to room temperature before starting (or just not too cold)
1 lb ground pork (don’t use any “lean” varieties)
¾ lb Chinese chives, cut into ~¼” pieces $
1 lb shelled & deveined raw shrimp
2 TBSP toasted sesame oil
1 tsp mi jiu *
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp white pepper
¾ cup dashi (or just warm - room temperature water)
Dumpling wrappers ^
Sauce (enough for ~ 2 people): couple large cloves of garlic (minced), 2 TBSP shacha sauce, 2 TBSP soy sauce, 1 - 2 stalks of scallions (finely chopped), 3 TBSP black vinegar (or 2 TBSP white vinegar), Szechuan chili oil (optional)
$ You want to cut these so that there won’t be long strands of this fibrous vegetable but not so small that you lose good texture in the filling
* Or 1 tsp of any neutral-tasting liquor (like vodka) or 1 TBSP Shaoxing wine
^ Make sure they’re not wonton or gyoza wrappers - they’re all different!
Instructions
Prepare the filling (you will need time to rest this in the fridge ~30 min - 1 hr):
Use the flat edge of a large knife to smash the shrimp and give a few rough chops. The goal here is to get the shrimp to about the same consistency and texture of the ground pork; if there are too many large chunks in the shrimp, this won’t allow the flavors to fully integrate (and it’s just weird to have large chunks of shrimp when you bite) and if you chop it up too much you’ll lose the nice firm mouthfeel you want in a good dumpling#
Combine the lightly chopped shrimp and ground pork in one mixing bowl but keep the chopped Chinese chives in a separate bowl
To the meat mixture, add the salt, white pepper, alcohol of choice, sesame oil and combine well (really get in there)
SLOWLY start adding in the dashi/water and vigorously mix by hand. The best way I can describe this is to form your hand into a claw shape, palm facing down, and vigorously mix; pretend like you’re trying to simulate an electric mixer’s action. This is similar to what you do when making certain sausages — you’re creating what’s called the “primary bind,” which is when the fat and meat have started to gelatinize and meld together (which is why you want the ingredients to be room temp when you start). The vigorous mixing helps catalyze this and this is what gives a truly good sausage (and dumpling!) that texture
Once the meat mixture has created that primary bind/gelatinized, slowly add ~ ⅓ of the Chinese chives in at a time. You don’t have to mix so vigorously anymore, just fold gently to incorporate. Once you’re done folding the chives in, this filling should easily form into a cohesive ball (almost like a dough ball). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but not more than an hour%
# I know “mouthfeel” is an eyeroll-inducing word in American culture but in Chinese culture, this is called 口感 (kǒu gǎn). If your dumpz are crumbly and soft all the grandmas would be hella judgy and you would instantly lose all respect and bring shame upon your family (like...kind of kidding but not really). When you bite into a dumpling you should be able to pull out the filling in one solid piece; a lot of commercially and mass-produced dumplings use chemicals to get this to happen
% This is because you want the filling to set and firm up a bit (you also do this when making sausages) BUT you don’t want the Chinese chives to sit for so long with salt + acids that it starts to...leak water (that’s a weird translation for the Chinese phrase I’m thinking of: 出水). The water that would come out of the chives will be bitter AF so be careful!
Make the dumplings:
For this station you’ll need: your wrappers (duh), a bowl of water with a sprinkle of cornstarch or AP flour, and a large plate, tray, or other flat surface; I keep the wrappers from drying out and cracking by keeping a moist paper towel covering the wrappers. I also want to point out that making the pleats isn’t necessary; I like making them because I want to practice getting better and it looks ~kewl~ but my mom doesn’t do them. The pleats also help my dumplings form a slight “C” shape
For each wrapper, lightly stretch it out and lightly pinch the edges to flatten them out more (optional if this doesn’t make sense to you); dip your finger into the bowl of water and moisten the edge of the dumpling
Using a spoon or chopsticks, scoop a good amount of filling and place in the center of the wrapper — again, this amount will vary based on your skill level
Start by folding the wrapper in half and pinch it closed in the middle first, then pinch the rest of the sides closed or make pleats before pinching (I’m really not sure how to describe this but here’s a pic so you know what it’s supposed to look like!)
When done, your dumpling should be able to sit upright but this will take practice so it’s not the end of the world if this doesn’t work out for you; just try to have fun with it (:
Freezing (if you made A LOT):
Leaving the dumplings on the tray/plate and put them directly into the freezer, making sure they stay flat and don’t fall off
After about 15 minutes (or whenever fully frozen), you can take them out and store them in large Ziploc bags to eat at a later time
Cooking Options:
Frying
This is actually a very tried-and-true Chinese way of “frying” dumpz where you both fry and steam at the same time. Sorry I don’t have cooking times for this since I do by feel but it’s super easy to check the doneness of the filling anyways. The below instructions are for 24 FAT dumplings and is the same whether you use fresh or frozen dumplings:
Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a good glug (enough to generously coat the entire bottom of the skillet) of a high heat-friendly neutral-tasting oil (e.g. canola)
Once the oil starts to shimmer, add in your dumps
Let fry uncovered for ~ 2 min, then add 1 cup of water (anywhere from cold to room temp is fine), being careful of any splatter, and cover
Let cook until the water has fully steamed away and remove the cover; bring heat down to medium and let the bottoms fry/crisp up a bit more. You can check the bottoms of some dumplings to see how crispy they’re getting
Boiling
I’m not 100% why this method works and I’ve heard that this was only necessary when people used to cook over actual fire pits since you couldn’t adjust the flame intensity, which could easily lead to overcooking your dumplings. I still like to use this method because it’s easy for me to keep track of how much more you have to cook them. The number of dumplings you can cook at a time depends on the size of your pot, but just make sure to not overcrowd the pot:
Bring a large pot, filled to ~ halfway with water, up to a boil over high heat
Add in your dumplings, give it a quick stir so none of them sink and get stuck to the bottom or to each other; as you let this come back to a rolling boil, prepare 1 cup (or a standard-sized coffee mug) of cold water
Once the pot comes back up to a rolling boil, add the cup of water; repeat this two more times
Use a slotted spoon or strainer to remove your dumplings
How to Enjoy!
Mix the sauce ingredients together — this is obviously optional but this dumpling will most likely require a sauce since the filling is not heavily spiced. The basic pillars of this sauce is something salty and umami (e.g. soy sauce and the shacha sauce), something tangy (e.g. vinegar), fresh garlic and scallions, and something spicy. Feel free to play around with creating a sauce you like but this is my go-to suggestion!
Final note: I usually make half of the dumplings frozen and the other half boiled for variety
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