How To Make Chinese Steamed and Pan-Fried Dumplings
Oct 14th, 2007 by admin
Here’s my recipe for making vegetarian Chinese steamed dumplings and Chinese pan-fried dumplings (the latter are known as ‘potstickers’ in America). My husband and I prefer the latter, but the steamed version are of course healthier…
The general term for Chinese dumplings is jiaozi (Mandarin) or gau gee/gow gee (Cantonese). Before you start cooking, you might want to read my post on What are Chinese Dumplings or Jiaozi? as there are different types as well as different methods of preparing them. Apparently Chinese people rarely steam dumplings at home because they are more difficult to prepare. I was quite surprised to find out that my mother has never done this before! She follows the boiling technique (see her recipe).
It’s important to be organised when making dumplings. And it would really help to have two or more people doing this, as there is a lot going on at the same time. If everyone has his or her task, then it’s both easy and fun.
Steaming Equipment:
- wok or large saucepan, with lid
- metal rack, to be placed on base of wok or large saucepan
- bamboo steamer, to sit on top of metal rack – when buying this, bear in mind the size of your wok/saucepan. We have two of these so that we can alternate between them – as one is steaming, the other one can be filled with more dumplings
- greaseproof paper
Frying Equipment:
- large non-stick frying pan with tight-fitting lid
- metal spatula for frying
Ingredients:
- dumpling wrappers – you can buy these in a Chinese supermarket, but make sure they are ‘gau gee’/'gow gee’ or ‘jiaozi’ wrappers and not wonton wrappers. I prefer the ones in the refrigerated section to the frozen ones, which turn gooey when defrosted and don’t taste as nice. My mother makes the wrapper dough herself, which naturally tastes best (see her recipe). We bought 2 packs of 20 for two people
- vegetables – buna shimeji (brown beech) mushrooms, baby asparagus tips, courgette. You can use anything you like though (eg broccoli spears)
- garlic, finely chopped
- fresh ginger, grated
- Chinese chives
- coriander, chopped (optional)
- splash of Shaohsing cooking wine (optional)
- groundnut or vegetable oil
- salt, ground white pepper, ground black pepper
Preparing the Fillings:
The choice of filling is really up to you. As my husband doesn’t eat meat or seafood, we make only vegetarian ones, but the possibilities are endless. Chopped coriander can also be added to the dumpling fillings, but this is optional.
- buna shimeji mushroom – chop the base off the mushroom cluster and separate into individual mushrooms, leaving the stems on. Chop finely and cook in a little groundnut oil (or vegetable oil), with ground black pepper. Add a splash of Shaohsing cooking wine if you have some. Some chopped Chinese chives (or ‘nira’ in Japanese) added towards the end would also be lovely, if you can get them. Place in a small dish for later
- baby asparagus tips – finely chopped and fried with a bit of ground white pepper and a splash of Shaohsing cooking wine. Place in a small dish for later
- courgette – finely chopped, fried with one clove of garlic, a bit of grated fresh ginger and ground white pepper. Place in a small dish for later
More Preparation and Wrapping:
Dipping sauce – this is up to you. We usually combine soy sauce, Japanese rice vinegar, chopped red chillis and grated ginger. It’s delicious. But feel free to experiment!
Line the bamboo steamers with greaseproof paper. Cut into a circle to fit the base, then cut small holes into the paper to allow the steam to rise through the holes. Dab a little vegetable oil onto the paper to prevent the dumplings from sticking.
Pour a little water into a shallow dish, for dampening the edges of each wrapper before pleating. You’ll also need a small bowl of vegetable oil so that you can wipe a little onto the base of each dumpling before placing it into the bamboo steamer. Don’t open the packs of wrappers until you’re ready, because they will dry out, as I discovered.
Moisten the rim of a wrapper with a dab of water (you’ll know when you’ve used too much). Then place a large teaspoon of filling onto the centre, but not too much or the wrapper will tear when you pleat it. Fold the wrapper in half and press together to form a half moon shape. Pinch and pleat just one side of the wrapper, using your right thumb (if right-handed) to support the other side that will stay smooth. Seal tight so that there are no gaps. There are many different ways to seal up a dumpling and it will come with practice. Just don’t rush as the wrapper is delicate and will tear.
Steamed Dumplings:
Dab a little oil onto the base of each dumpling and place into the bamboo steamer. Fill up the steamer but don’t let the dumplings touch, otherwise they will stick together. Add a couple of inches of water to the saucepan or wok – the level has to be lower than the metal rack. This will have to be topped up later, so make sure there is always enough water for the steaming process.
When the water is boiling, place the steamer onto the rack and put the wok or saucepan lid on for at least 12-15 minutes, until the wrappers become transparent – they should still be a little al dente though. If your bamboo steamer lid fits under the wok or saucepan lid, you can use that as well. Remove the dumplings from the greaseproof paper as soon as possible and transfer onto a plate. Serve hot with plenty of dipping sauce.
Pan-fried Dumplings:
Heat one tablespoon of oil in the frying-pan on a medium heat (before it starts to smoke), add the dumplings flat side down and leave them for one minute or two until they are golden brown on the bottom. Pour in a quarter of a cup of boiling water. As this will give off a lot of steam, use the lid as a shield to protect yourself and cover the pan immediately to trap the steam. Keep the lid on firmly for three minutes, with the heat turned down, until the moisture has evaporated. The dumplings will be fried on the flat side and steamed on the pleated side. Serve hot with plenty of dipping sauce.
Let me know how your dumplings turn out. Any comments and suggestions welcome!
Click for all Chinese recipes on World Foodie Guide
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
I really enjoyed reading your post on dumplings. One of my favourite dishes is Pan Fried Dumplings from one of our local restaurants in China Town. (Don’t tell anyone, but i have been known to eat a plate of them by myself when I have been feeling a little down and in need of comfort.) I don’t think I would make them at home, but loved reading your comments.
Hi there! Just to say, pan fried dumplings are really easy to make at home, but with the help of a friend. Also, you can make as many as you like and pig out in the comfort of your own home! Will check out your blog properly soon, it looks very interesting from what I saw…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen, thanks for the encouragement – maybe I will try them one day. It might be a nice way to spend an afternoon with a friend, and ending with a wonderful feast of dumplings.
My favourite dumplings from China Town, are served “stuck” together in a glorious circle of dumplings. They are held together with a thin web of what looks like a thin layer of beaten egg that crisps nicely as the dumplings are cooked. Are you familiar with this?
Thank you very much for visiting my site – I am so pleased that liked it. Feel free to explore at your leisure.
BTW I also appreciated your post on Chinese Etiquette. Really good, and I appreciated understanding more. Luckily, I found that I was not too bad (phew!) but can modify a little. Thanks.
VegeYum
Hi VegeYum,
I’ve not had the dumplings before that you describe! Sounds absolutely amazing. Must do some research on that…
Glad to hear you like the tips and etiquette. They’re things that people aren’t going to tell you at the dinner table, because that would be even more rude!
Let me know if you ever try making the dumplings yourself…
Helen Yuet Ling
This looks like a great recipe, but I am making these for someone who can’t eat wheat products. Do you have a recipe for a rice flour wrapper? Will rice paper wrappers even work?
Hi Rebecca
Have a look at Lina’s suggestions to Sue in the comments under the About Me page. I haven’t made anything wheat-free yet, but as I get asked about it quite regularly, I’m going to investigate a bit more. My mum’s recipe for jiaozi is not wheat-free either, but have a look at it, then try Lina’s idea. It’s at http://worldfoodieguide.wordpress.com/2007/11/18/how-to-make-chinese-boiled-dumplings-shuijiao-by-pang-wu-yui-yi/
Thanks, Helen. I actually found that page after I posted my question. I’m going to try Lina’s suggestion and also check the stores for something pre-made. I like your mum’s recipe, too.
I am having a chinese new year party next weekend and also plan to try to make baked nian gao. Any other party foods you recommend?
Hi Rebecca
Good luck and let me know how it turns out, as I’d be really interested. If my husband discovers a good wheat-free substitute in his experiments, I’ll let you know. He’s making noodles with his pasta machine and will also be making dumpling wrappers!
Here’s an interesting article which refers to Chinese New Year food that my friend Susan wrote the other day. She also links back to another article of hers, about Chinese New Year food. It might be useful.
http://www.dimsum.co.uk/food/a-british-born-chinese-guide-to-the-essential-chinese-kitchen.html
As for me, I’m off to my aunt’s for Chinese New Year dinner, as preparing New Year food is beyond my capabilities! One of the dishes will be her traditional lucky dish made with delicious ingredients like whole dried scallops, fat choi (black moss seaweed) and dried oysters. I’ll write about the meal!
Happy Chinese New Year!
Hi Helen,
Well, I didn’t end up having to make the wheat-free dumpling wrappers. But I must say that the mushroom filling was a hit, although I used shitake instead of brown beech (which I couldn’t find).
I still have tons of fillings left over so I might still try the wheat-free wrappers. I’ll let you know what happens after I do.
Hi Rebecca
Did you have a good Chinese New Year party? We had nian gao too, plus lots of other goodies (I took some photos and wrote about it, naturally!). Glad to hear you liked the mushroom filling. Any mushroom would work, as long as it can be chopped up finely.
Enjoy!
Thank you for the great and detailed recipe and especially instructions.
I have just returned from China for the first time in my life, and remember excellent dunplings cooked on a hot palte by our chef in LiJiang.
I have tried to reproduce them since coming home; got the filling alsmost exactly right, but his wrappers were feather-light and soft, Even thoug hthey were as I said, cooked on hotplate in front of me.
I want to get the wrappers right. I will try your suggestions.
Regards,
Leo
Hi Leo
I hope you read this before you get started on the dumplings! To make that super soft wrapper, you’re going to have to go hand-made (in this recipe I used shop-bought wrappers). So check out my mum’s recipe (linked in the first paragraph) for some tips. I’ve yet to go down that route myself, although I have wrapped dumplings in China with friends who made the wrappers themselves.
Good luck and tell me all about it! I’m off to China and HK in October, so if I pick up any tips, I’ll let you know…
Helen Yuet Ling
my fried dumplings didnt turn out like yours ):
I found this site by accident while looking for a dumpling recipe. I followed the instructions here, added pork and a few other things, and mine turned out awesome. Thanks for the great advice!!
christina – sorry to hear that! It takes a bit of practice and I’m still rubbish at wrapping them. Don’t give up, they’ll be great the next time you try.
Nishka – thanks for trying them and letting me know! The other recipe that I’ve linked to (from my mother) uses pork and cabbage, but you seem to have added that already. Any filling you like can be used!
Helen Yuet Ling
I’ve made reasonably tasty steamed dumplings but now realize that I wasn’t using the correct wrappers – mine were purchased at a regular grocery store and were for wontons. Although they turned out fine, I’d like to try them again with the right wrappers! Ironically, I posted a recipe and instructions on making Filipino lumpia (vegetable eggrolls) and emphasized that the correct type of wrapper is incredibly important! I failed to follow my own instructions when it came to another cuisine.
Many thanks for this wonderfully comprehensive set of instructions.
Tangled Noodle – haha! I’m about to buy some spring roll wrappers and wonton wrappers, to make things of course, but also to study the differences between the three types of wrapper. I’ve made my own dumpling wrappers too, which was quite fun. But for a quicker meal, shop-bought is fine! I’ll be checking out your recipe, as the husband is vegetarian…
Helen Yuet Ling
Thank you, Helen! I sorry that you may be disappointed in the lumpia recipe at first – ‘vegetable lumpia’ is a bit of a misnomer as it does have shrimp in it (which, of course, may be left out). I suppose that in Filipino cuisine, if it doesn’t have pork in it, it’s ‘vegetable’! 8-D
Tangled Noodle – no worries. It’s the same with Chinese – seafood isn’t meat, therefore it’s vegetarian. According to my uncle, chicken is suitable for the vegetarian husband too!
Helen Yuet Ling
Same in France. I say “I don’t eat meat”. “Just a bit of chicken then?” they’ll offer.
Hi Helen, I finally made them today!!! Not as pretty as yours though. Boy, was it tiring! ;P
http://thelittleteochew.blogspot.com/2009/06/guo-tie-gyoza-pot-stickers.html
The Little Teochew – it takes forever doesn’t it?! But it’s worth the effort once in a while. Now I have dumpling wrappers in the freezer, so that I can make them whenever I like!
Helen Yuet Ling
I just made these with chopped broccoli greens, shiitake mushrooms, tofu and ginger, and wrapped them in rice paper. They came out delicious! Thank you for the excellent instructions!
Hadar – rice paper wrapping, very creative! Your vegetable combination is making me hungry. I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Helen Yuet Ling
Thanks for the helpful how-to on Jiaozi, I make some pretty wicked Gyoza myself, but I’ve always found that the wrappers used in Gyoza are significantly thinner/crispier than when I’ve had Jiaozi. I’ve made Jiaozi only once at home before, I’m glad to know that they do make Jiaozi wrappers, because making the dough from scratch is rather hard. I can’t wait to check out a Chinese grocery (never been to just a Chinese one, just Japanese groceries and mixed Asian markets) to see what I can find. First I need to google the Chinese characters for it, but I can’t help but figure they’re probably the same as the Kanji for Gyoza. Thanks again though, I can’t wait to try it out!
admin Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Kris – gyoza is the Japanese way of pronouncing jiaozi so the characters must be the same (I’m pretty sure!). However, Japanese gyoza are generally pan-fried, while the Chinese name jiaozi is a generic one to describe all dumplings. Have you read my post on What are Jiaozi? I think I explain it in more detail. So for pan-fried Chinese dumplings (wor tip in Cantonese), I would either make my own wrappers or use wor tip or gyoza wrappers (they are the same). If I’m making classic jiaozi (boiled Beijing dumplings), I would use the same wrappers or again make my own. Hope this hasn’t confused you!
Helen, this post is fantastic! I’m recently returned from Taiwan and I’ve been missing my jiaozi like crazy, so thank you for this!
Maya – Taiwan! I loved my mini trip to Taipei! I hope you enjoy making these…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi,
More on the gluten free recipes.
They are not Chinese but these vietnamese dumplings use tapioca starch to make the skins and work well:
http://missadventureathome.blogspot.com/2008/09/moms-recipes-bnh-bt-lc.html
I have also seen them steamed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21pwotelE8A
Also you will need Tamari soy source as others contain wheat. I find it much tastier than normal soy source and I believe it is how soy source was made traditionally.
admin Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Mez – thanks for the gluten-free links!
Helen~
I’ve been wanting to learn how to make steamed dumplings, and your recipe looks great. I do have a few questions if you don’t mind, and have a few extra minutes. My first question is do you have to steam them in a wok with the bamboo rack or can you just use a double boiler to steam them? Also do you know how to make the pork that some put in their dumplings?
Thanks,
Meghan
Meghan – thanks. I’ve never used a double boiler, but I think that should work. Just make sure the dumplings don’t stick to the base (whatever it’s made of). If you need the pork filling, look at the other recipe which is also linked in this post.