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Everything you need to know about making fresh steamed dumpling dough from scratch, dumpling filling, the
working process, and how to cook and store, with step-by-step photos and video.
Prep Time:2 hrs
Cook Time:20 mins
Total Time:2 hrs 20 mins
Course: IngredientCuisine: Chinese Servings: 40 to 45 dumplings Author: Maggie Zhu
INGREDIENTS
Dumplings dough
● 3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
● 1 cup boiling water
● 1/4 cup room temperature water
● 1 teaspoon oil
Dumplings filling
● Pork and napa cabbage
● Lamb with carrot and zucchini
● Pork with shiitake mushrooms
● Beef filling
● Carrot and eggs (Vegetarian)
● Vegan
Dumpling sauce
● 4 dumpling dipping sauce
● Homemade chili oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Marinate dumpling filling
1. If you are using ground meat in dumpling filling add seasonings now to marinate the meat. Note, do
not add vegetables at this stage. Cover the ground meat and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour to a day.
Re-hydrate and prep dry ingredients if you’re making vegetarian dumplings.
Prepare steamer
1. Line a large steamer with napa cabbage leaves or a few layers wet cheese cloth.
2. If you’re going to serve the dumplings immediately, add water to a large skillet or a wok. Bring it to
the boil.
Fold dumplings
1. Starting here, you should work as quickly as you can because the wrappers will dry out quickly. Cover
the wrappers with a few layers of wet paper towel to l prevent them from drying out too fast. If they do,
you will find it difficult to seal the dumplings later. If the wrappers dry out when you start to fold the
dumplings, brush a bit of water over the edge so you can still seal the dough.
2. If you have a helper, they could start folding dumplings now, while you keep rolling the wrapper.
3. Scoop about 2 tablespoons (or less, so you can easily fold the dumpling) of dumpling filling and place
it in the center of the wrapper. Hold the dumpling with one hand and start sealing the edges with the
other hand (refer to the video to see how to fold a dumpling). After folding, press edge again to seal
well. You can use any way to fold the dumplings as long as you’re comfortable with it.
4. If you’re going to cook the dumplings immediately, place them into the steamer, about 1 finger apart.
5. If you’re going to cook the dumplings later, place them onto a baking tray and seal with plastic
wrapper. Store dumplings in the freezer for up to 1 month. Once the dumplings are completely frozen,
about a day, you can transport them to an air-tight container or a gallon bag to save freezer space.
Cook dumplings
1. To steam dumplings, prepare the steamer by adding 2" (5cm) water to the steamer. Place the dumplings
onto the steaming rack, at least one finger apart each other (the dumplings will expand a lot after
cooking). Place the steaming rack onto the steamer and cover. Heat over medium heat until the steam
comes out. Leave to cook, without peeking into the steamer, for 10 minutes or until the dumplings are
completely cooked through.
2. Serve immediately with dipping sauce. When the dumplings are just off the stove and still hot,
carefully try one without any dipping sauce. The dumpling should have a lot of juice inside and be
delicious and flavorful without any sauce.
Dipping sauce
1. I introduced 4 types of dumpling sauce recipes in this post.