To make dumplings at home, buy a pack of round dumpling wrappers, mix a juicy filling (minced pork, chopped garlic chives, ginger, soy and a splash of stock), put a heaped teaspoon in the centre of each wrapper, wet the edge and seal it, then boil, steam or pan-fry until the filling is cooked through. A batch of 35 or so takes about an hour, and most of that is folding.
Dumplings are one of the cheapest, most sociable things to cook for a crowd: put the filling and wrappers on the table and everyone folds. Below: wrappers, fillings, three folds, boiling, steaming and pan-frying (potstickers), dipping sauces and freezing.
What you need: wrappers and shopping list
Shop-bought wrappers are what most home cooks use, and they are perfectly good. You'll usually find them in the freezer section of a Chinese or pan-Asian supermarket, sometimes in the chiller next to the fresh noodles and tofu. There are three main kinds:
- Round dumpling wrappers (jiaozi pi, 饺子皮). Plain wheat dough, about 9–10 cm across and thick enough to boil. The best all-rounder.
- Gyoza wrappers. The Japanese version: thinner and a little smaller. Ideal for pan-frying, but they can split if boiled hard.
- Wonton wrappers (馄饨皮 / 云吞皮). Square, very thin and usually yellow with egg. Best for wontons in soup; too thin for pleated jiaozi.
Defrost frozen wrappers in the fridge overnight, or on the worktop for an hour or two, still sealed. Keep the stack under a damp tea towel while you fold, as exposed wrappers dry out and crack.
The rest of the shopping list
- Minced pork with some fat (around 20%); lean mince makes dry dumplings.
- Garlic chives (韭菜, jiu cai): flat, dark green leaves with a strong garlicky smell, sold in bunches in the fresh vegetable section. Spring onions will do if you can't find them.
- Chinese leaf (napa cabbage), fresh ginger and spring onions.
- Raw prawns (frozen are fine) and tinned water chestnuts, for prawn dumplings.
- Firm tofu and dried shiitake mushrooms, for vegetarian dumplings.
- Seasonings: light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, toasted sesame oil, ground white pepper and Chinese black vinegar for dipping.
Short on time? Most Chinese supermarkets have a freezer of ready-made dumplings; Wing Fat Supermarket in Manchester and the Tian Tian Market stores in London are among those whose listings mention frozen dumplings. The cooking methods and timings below work for those too.
Dumpling filling ideas: pork, prawn and vegetable
A good filling is juicy, well seasoned and springy. Two techniques matter. First, add liquid: beat a few spoonfuls of cold stock or water into the meat a little at a time, stirring hard in one direction until the mixture turns sticky and pale. The meat absorbs the liquid and releases it as juice when the dumpling cooks. Second, get rid of excess water from vegetables: salt chopped cabbage for 15 minutes and squeeze it hard in a clean tea towel, or it will make the filling soggy and the wrappers tear.
- Pork and chive (the classic). About 400 g fatty pork mince to 100 g garlic chives, seasoned with ginger, soy, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil and white pepper, loosened with 4–5 tbsp stock. Full recipe below.
- Prawn. 300 g raw peeled prawns: chop half into pea-sized pieces and mash the rest to a paste with the side of a knife for bounce. Add 4 chopped water chestnuts for crunch, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp cornflour, ½ tsp salt, a pinch of sugar and 1 tsp sesame oil. Mixing in 100 g pork mince makes it juicier.
- Vegetable and tofu. 200 g firm tofu, pressed and crumbled; 4 dried shiitake, soaked and finely chopped; 150 g Chinese leaf, salted and squeezed; 1 grated carrot and a handful of chives. Season with soy, sesame oil and white pepper, and bind with 1 beaten egg or 1 tbsp cornflour.
How to fold dumplings: three simple folds
Use a heaped teaspoon of filling per wrapper; overfilling is the usual reason dumplings burst. Set finished dumplings on a floured tray, not touching.
1. The half-moon (easiest)
- Put the filling in the centre of the wrapper and run a wet fingertip around half the edge.
- Fold the wrapper over to make a semicircle and pinch the middle of the edge together.
- Press the edges together from the centre outwards, pushing out any air, which would make the dumpling burst.
2. The pleated crescent (classic jiaozi and gyoza)
- Wet the edge, fold the wrapper in half over the filling and pinch it shut at the top centre only.
- Working from the centre towards the right corner, make 2–3 small folds in the front layer of the wrapper only, pressing each pleat firmly against the flat back layer.
- Repeat on the left side, pleating towards the centre. The dumpling curves into a crescent and sits flat on its base, which makes it ideal for pan-frying.
3. The ingot (yuanbao)
- Make a sealed half-moon as above.
- Hold it with the curved edge facing up, then bring the two corners together underneath the filling.
- Dab one corner with water, overlap the other on top and press firmly. The shape resembles an old Chinese gold ingot, hence its popularity at Lunar New Year.
Recipe: pork and chive dumplings (jiaozi)
Pork and chive (韭菜猪肉饺子) is the classic northern Chinese home-made dumpling, and the one to learn first.
Recipe
Pork and chive dumplings (jiaozi)
Juicy homemade pork and garlic chive dumplings made with shop-bought wrappers. Boil, steam or pan-fry them, and freeze any you don't eat.
- Serves
- About 36 dumplings (3–4 people as a main)
- Prep
- 60 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 70 min
Ingredients
- 400 g minced pork, not lean (around 20% fat)
- 100 g garlic chives (or 6 spring onions), finely chopped
- 15 g fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 75 ml cold chicken stock or water
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, plus extra for pan-frying
- 36–40 round dumpling wrappers, defrosted
- Plain flour, for dusting the tray
Method
- 1Put the pork, ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, sugar and white pepper in a large bowl. Stir with chopsticks or a wooden spoon in one direction for 1–2 minutes until the mince looks sticky.
- 2Add the stock a tablespoon at a time, stirring hard in the same direction after each addition, until it has all been absorbed and the mixture is soft, pale and springy.
- 3Toss the chopped chives with the neutral oil (this stops them weeping water into the filling), then fold them into the pork. Cover and chill for 20–30 minutes; cold filling is easier to wrap.
- 4Fry a teaspoon of filling in a little oil until cooked through, taste it and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- 5Dust a large tray with flour. Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre of a wrapper, wet half the edge with water, fold and seal with the pleated crescent or half-moon fold, pressing out the air. Keep the wrappers and finished dumplings covered with a damp tea towel as you go.
- 6To boil: bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil, add 12–15 dumplings and stir gently so none stick to the bottom. When the water returns to the boil, add 250 ml cold water. Repeat twice more; by the third boil the dumplings should be floating and puffed, about 6 minutes in total.
- 7Check one before serving: cut it open and make sure the filling is piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat. Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon and serve straight away with black vinegar and ginger, or chilli oil and soy.
Boil, steam or pan-fry? How to cook dumplings
It comes down to the texture you want. Whichever you choose, pork and prawn fillings must be cooked until piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat in the centre. If in doubt, cut one open.
| Method | Time from fresh | Time from frozen | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boil (cold-water method) | 5–6 min | 8–10 min | Soft, silky, slippery skins and a very juicy filling |
| Steam | 6–8 min | 8–10 min | Tender, slightly chewy skins; dumplings keep their shape |
| Pan-fry (potstickers) | 8–10 min | 10–12 min | Crisp golden base, soft steamed top |
| Simmer in soup (wontons) | 3–4 min | 5–6 min | Soft, delicate wrappers in a seasoned broth |
Boiling: the cold-water trick
Boiled dumplings (shui jiao, 水饺) are the everyday northern Chinese way. Adding cold water each time the pan returns to the boil, three times in all, stops it bubbling too fiercely, so the filling cooks through before the wrapper softens and splits. Use plenty of water and cook in batches.
Steaming
Line the basket with perforated baking paper or Chinese leaf, leave 2 cm between dumplings and steam over rapidly boiling water. Our guide to how to use a bamboo steamer covers setup and lining in detail.
Pan-frying: how to make potstickers
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan with a tight-fitting lid over a medium-high heat.
- Arrange the dumplings flat side down in a single layer, close together but not quite touching. Fry for about 2 minutes until the bases are golden.
- Pour in about 100 ml water, standing back as it spits, and cover straight away.
- Turn the heat to medium and steam for 6–8 minutes (8–10 from frozen) until the water has almost all evaporated and the tops look translucent.
- Uncover and fry for 1–2 minutes more until the bases re-crisp, then turn out, crisp side up.
Dumpling dipping sauces
Mix the sauces while the dumplings cook. Use light soy sauce rather than dark: dark soy is thicker, sweeter and mainly for colour (see light vs dark soy sauce). For more on black vinegar, chilli oil and other bottles worth having, read our guide to Chinese sauces and condiments.
- Black vinegar and ginger (the classic). 3 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang, 镇江香醋), 1 tbsp light soy sauce and a thumb of ginger cut into fine matchsticks. Sharp, malty and perfect with rich pork dumplings.
- Soy and chilli oil. 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp chilli oil (with plenty of the sediment), 1 tsp black vinegar, ½ tsp sugar, 1 finely grated garlic clove and a few drops of sesame oil.
- Filipino-style. Calamansi or lime juice, a splash of fish sauce and a spoonful of chilli crisp. Calamansi is sold frozen or as bottled juice in many Filipino grocers.
Can you freeze dumplings?
Yes, and homemade dumplings freeze very well, which is why it's worth making a big batch. Freeze them uncooked, as soon as they're folded:
- Lay the dumplings on a tray lined with baking paper or dusted with flour, spaced so they don't touch.
- Freeze uncovered for 1–2 hours until rock hard.
- Tip them into a freezer bag or box, label it and keep for up to 3 months.
- Cook straight from frozen; don't defrost them first. Thawed wrappers turn soggy and tear. Allow the extra time in the table above and check the filling is piping hot in the centre.
Skip the tray and they freeze into one solid lump. Leftover cooked dumplings keep in the fridge, covered, for a day or two; reheat them by pan-frying until piping hot right through.
What you'll need
Home-made dumplings need very little kit.
- Small dumpling rolling pinA thin pin lets you roll the edges thinner than the centre.See options on Amazon (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Two-tier bamboo steamer (25 cm)Fits most woks and large pans; two tiers cook a full batch at once.See options on Amazon (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Non-stick frying pan with lidFor potstickers: fry, add water, cover and steam in one pan.See options on Amazon (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
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Where to buy dumpling wrappers in the UK
A Chinese or pan-Asian supermarket will have round dumpling, gyoza and wonton wrappers side by side in the freezer, plus garlic chives and black vinegar. Our directory lists 259 stores stocking Chinese groceries. Of those, 45 listings specifically mention dumplings, gyoza or dim sum. The cities with the most Chinese grocers are London, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Ranges vary, so call ahead if you need something specific.