Chinese Dumplings with Dipping Sauce

5

PREP TIME

35 min

TOTAL TIME

50 min

Serves

4 to 6

Chinese Dumplings with Dipping Sauce

Produced by Stephanie Han Kim, Food Photography by Christie Vuong, Food Styling by Eshun Mott, Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari

Dumplings are a perfect dish to make when you have extra hands around to fill and pinch. Ground pork is a common protein for jiaozi, but you could use ground turkey, shrimp or tofu, too.


Dumplings

  • 454 g ground pork, turkey or plant-based meat alternative
  • 3 to 4 green onions , finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce , optional
  • 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • Round or square dumpling or wonton wrappers , thawed if frozen

Dipping Sauce

  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil , optional
  • 1 tbsp chili-garlic sauce , optional
  • 1 tsp brown sugar or honey
  • 1 tsp finely grated ginger
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 green onion or a few fresh chives , finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Dumplings: Combine pork, green onions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Stir until very well mixed.
  2. Assembly: Fill a small bowl with warm water. Working with no more than a few wrappers at a time so that they don’t dry out, dip your finger in the water and run it around the edge of each wrapper. Scoop a heaping tsp of pork mixture into the centre of a wrapper. Fold wrapper over filling to seal, crimping edges in any style you like and pressing out any air pockets. Place dumplings on a baking sheet, sitting them upright if you plan to cook them as potstickers.
  3. Cook dumplings following your preferred method. (See below for options.)
  4. Dipping Sauce: Meanwhile, stir soy sauce with vinegar, sesame oil, chili-garlic sauce, sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes and green onion in a small bowl (or shake ingredients together in a jar). Serve dumplings with dipping sauce.

Make-ahead tip

Make dumpling filling in advance and allow the meat to marinate in the fridge overnight. Or make dumplings in advance and freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a container.

Dumpling cooking methods

Posticker method: Jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) being cooked in a single layer on a frying pan

Produced by Stephanie Han Kim, Food Photography by Christie Vuong, Food Styling by Eshun Mott, Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari

Potstickers
Heat a pan over medium-high and coat with canola oil. Add dumplings in one layer. Cook until bottoms are golden. Pour 1⁄2 cup water into pan. Cook, covered, about 5 min. Remove lid and sim- mer until water has evaporated.

Steamed dumplings: A person adding jiaozi to a bamboo steamer by hand

Produced by Stephanie Han Kim, Food Photography by Christie Vuong, Food Styling by Eshun Mott, Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari

Steamed dumplings
Set dumplings in a bamboo (or other) steamer lined with parchment. Cook over a pot or pan of simmering water until dough is tender and looks transparent and filling is firm and cooked through.

Boiled dumplings: Jiaozi being lowered into a pot of boiling water with a slotted metal spoon

Produced by Stephanie Han Kim, Food Photography by Christie Vuong, Food Styling by Eshun Mott, Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari

Boiled dumplings
Lower dumplings into a pot of gently boiling water. Boil until they float to the surface, then continue to cook until filling feels firm, about 1 more min.

This recipe was created for Chatelaine by Julie Van Rosendaal as part of an easy dumpling feast that your guests can help make.