HOW TO MAKE DUMPLING SKIN

1) How to Make Dumpling Skins from Scratch

Filed under Chinese, Japanese, Pasta

Homemade dumpling skins are better than store bought, and easier to make than you think!

Homemade Dumpling Skins

Way back in 1995, I took a tour around China. Of the many memories I cherish, I remember standing in the doorway of a large kitchen, marveling at a group of ladies sitting around the table, rolling out dumpling skins for a jiaozi lunch later. The process (for them) was quick and effortless. How in the world could they turn out such perfect looking skins?!

If at First You Don’t Succeed

When I returned home to Hawaii, I was invited to a party where some Chinese university students were making dumplings. Again, their skill at dumpling skin rolling was impressive. I tried my hand at making one but it came out woefully lopsided.

Since we were living within heavily Asian communities in Honolulu and San Jose, we had ample access to factory-made, store-bought dumpling skins like the ones we used for our Won Ton Soup recipe. Fresh, store-bought skins are good enough for our use. But I secretly harbored the desire to make my own skins at home.

Get Some Tips First

Last October for our Anniversary, I got Annie the Asian Dumplings cookbook by our friend and fellow food blogger Andrea Nguyen. We were both excited to get the book, and pored over all the recipes trying to figure out which ones we wanted to make. The very first recipe is her Basic Dumpling Dough. That’s a very good place to start!

So when we decided to throw a homestyle Japanese dinner party for our friend Paul and his family, we knew gyozas were going to be on the menu. Earlier in the day of the party, I prepared the dough:

Basic Dumpling Dough

taken from “Asian Dumplings” by Andrea Nguyen

Ingredients:

10 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
about 3/4 cup just-boiled water

Method:

1. Put flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Stir the flour while you add the water in a steady stream. Keep mixing until you have a shaggy dough.

Mixing Water into Dumpling Dough

2. Knead the dough to bring it together into one large ball.

3. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface (I used a Silpat silicone baking mat) and knead it for a couple of minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Seal the dough in a zip-top plastic bag and let it rest for up to 2 hours.

Kneaded Dumpling Dough

4. After the rest, pull out the dough and cut it into 4 roughly equal sections. Roll each section into a 1-inch thick log, then cut each log into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a thick coin or disc. Lightly flour the top and bottom of each disc.

5. Andrea recommends using a tortilla press to flatten out each dough disc. We don’t have a tortilla press, so we used two small plates and a cut-up sandwich bag to press them flat.

6. Now here comes the fun part. Holding the flattened disc gently, use a dowel rolling pin to press on just the outer edges of the disc. Roll back and forth once, then rotate the disc. Roll, rotate. Roll, rotate. Add a little flour if necessary to keep it from sticking and tearing.

Rolling out Dumpling Skin

7. You don’t want to make it too thin. It has to be thick enough to hold whatever filling you’re going to put in it. The final dumpling skin should be just over 3 inches in diameter.

Finished Homemade Dumpling Skin

(If you need to see the rolling process in action, Andrea just uploaded a new YouTube video on “How to roll out Asian dumpling wrappers”.)

2) Chinese Dumplings - Homemade Wrappers

Related post: Chinese Dumplings - Filling & Dipping Sauce

I have a confession to make. I have been subsisting on boiled Chinese Dumplings (饺子) for the past 2 months. I have them as a main dish, as a side dish, as a snack, as a reward, as a pick-me-up ... oh, you get the idea ;)

This happened after I learnt to make my own dumpling wrappers. The texture of homemade wrappers is light years away from store-bought, frozen ones. I kid you not. It's silky, smooth and delightfully chewy. I love the taste and texture so much that I have been eating them boiled instead of panfried, like I used to (as Potstickers/Guo Tie/Gyoza). Boiling is the best way to truly savour their texture.


Homemade dumpling wrappers - in perfect circles because I used a cutter :)

Now, making your own wrappers is so easy, I just wonder why I have never attempted to make my own. How difficult is it to mix flour, water, salt and oil together? If you can bake cakes or breads, this one's a no-brainer. I learnt this from Nice Mrs Tan who also taught me Teochew-Style Ngoh Hiang and Hay Bee Hiam.

Note that all these photos were taken on different days, so excuse the terrible "mix-and-match" quality!

Recipe (for wrappers)
- 500g plain flour
- 1 cup slightly warm water (1/3 cup boiling water + 2/3 cup room temperature water)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Yields about 800g of dough

1. Add salt and oil to the warm water. Stir till the salt has dissolved completely.

2. In a big pot or deep bowl, pour in plain flour. Add the warm water mixture slowly and stir (using chopsticks). Add a little water each time so that you can judge how wet or dry the dough is. Stop when it looks slightly sticky. Just continue stirring (or using your hands when it gets too sticky) till the dough comes together in a large, clumpy ball. As long as most of the dough clumps together, it's time to stop. Don't worry that it looks lumpy and dry.

3. Seal the bowl with clingwrap and allow to relax for about 10 - 15mins.

4. Now, start kneading. You will notice that the dough no longer looks as lumpy and dry. As you knead, it will become elastic and shiny. If you find that it's too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add a little more flour - as simple as that! Throw the dough onto your work surface in between kneads to improve the structure. Those of you who have made breads by hand will be familiar with this routine.

5. The dough is ready to be rolled into wrappers as soon as it is smooth and pliable.

6. Nice Mrs Tan pinched off little balls of dough, one at a time, and rolled them into circular wrappers. Or, you can opt to roll the dough into a thin, flat sheet and use a cutter to cut out circular wrappers.
* Note that there is a reason why Nice Mrs Tan did it her way: wrappers should ideally be thicker in the centre and thinner at the edges (so that the pleats will not be too thick). I saw that as she rolled each ball into flat circles, she smoothed out the edges more, while avoiding the middle. Having said that, if you are a novice making dumplings for the first time, don't fret the small details.

7. Ensure that the rolled wrappers are not too thin, otherwise they will break where the fillings "sit". Sprinkle flour into each wrapper as you "pile" them up in a stack.


Top left: Sticky mixture when warm water mixture is added.
Top right: The clumpy dough after some stirring and moulding.
Bottom left: After letting it rest, knead the dough, slam it against your worktop, and it should look like this.
Bottom right: Pinch into little balls of dough to be rolled out into round wrappers. Or roll out the dough into a flat sheet, then use a round cutter to cut out all the wrappers.

Now you can start wrapping the dumplings. One way is to pleat the edges (to get that gorgeous crescent effect), another is to press the edges firmly with your fingers (and get a simple semi-circle). The wonderful thing about wrapping with homemade, fresh dough is that there is no need to wet the edges with water. The wrappers are naturally adhesive.

These dumplings freeze beautifully. Simply place them neatly on a tray (sprinkled with flour) in the freezer for 10mins. When they have hardened into individual hard blocks, seal them in bags or containers, in quantities of your choice. I usually pack 10 in a bag, enough for 1 serving. When cooking these frozen dumplings, DO NOT thaw. Go straight from freezer to pan/pot.


Pleating is easy - 3 pleats on the left, 3 pleats on the right. Gather the pleats inwards, towards the centre. You will get the "crescent" effect. Team work is highly recommended when making dumplings. When Nice Mrs Tan and I made them, we had an unspoken division of labour - she rolled the dough, I did the wrapping. Emile Durkheim would be proud!

Cooking the Dumplings 
Panfried (aka Potstickers/Guo Tie/Gyoza)
1. Add some oil in a huge skillet. When the oil is heated up, place the dumplings neatly to fill up the skillet. Ensure there is sufficient space in between.

2. Allow the skin to crisp and brown.

3. Pour a little hot water into the skillet and cover for 5 mins, so that the steaming effect can cook the dumplings through. Once there is no more water left, dish up the dumplings and serve immediately.

Boiled
1. Heat 1 pot of water (salted).

2. Prepare another pot of cool water (at room temperature).

3. When the first pot of water starts to boil, drop in the dumplings and allow them to cook, about 4 mins.

4. Dish them up with a slotted spoon and plunge them into the pot of cool water for a few seconds.

5. Put them back into the boiling water again for another few seconds and serve.
Trivia: Do not discard the water used for boiling the dumplings. If you have eaten too much and feel like you're suffering from indigestion, drink some of that water. It will take away that full, bloated feeling. Apparently, all old folks who know will tell you that ;)


I highly recommend eating plain, boiled dumplings to appreciate the texture of your homemade wrappers :) Boiled Chinese Dumplings are now my everyday food. What's yours? 

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Recipe

Mandu Pi

Nothing beats the flavor and texture of homemade dumpling skins. Although it is more labor intensive, dumpling skins aren’t difficult to make. If you must buy them, look for them in the refrigerated sections of most supermarkets. Round skins are preferred for Korean dumplings, but square ones will do if you have no other options.

Yield : Makes 50 skins

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Water

Directions

1. Sift together the flour and salt. Pour 2/3 cup water in a bowl and add the flour a little bit at a time, mixing with each addition. Continue mixing until the dough is completely mixed and stiff. Wrap in a damp cloth and let sit for about 30 minutes.

2. To roll out the dough, prepare a lightly floured surface. Pinch off small pieces and make them into round balls to roll out flat with a rolling pin. Alternately, roll the dough into small, sausage-shaped rolls and slice them before rolling them into flat circles. Each circle should be about 2½ to 3 inches in diameter.

3. Use to making dumplings. If you are preparing the skins in advance, store by stacking each circle with a little bit of flour between each skin, wrapping the whole stack tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for no more than a week. You may also freeze the skins, but be sure to defrost in the fridge overnight before using.

3) How to Make and Wrap Dumplings: Three Methods and Recipes (Video)

Last weekend, as a belated nod to Chinese New Year, I decided to stock up on dumplings. Once in a while, I make a big batch of these bite-size wonders and freeze them for future use. It’s a time-consuming task, but I find it relaxing and I’m rewarded with many great meals to come. Whenever I want a quick & easy lunch, I take out exactly the number of bites I need, cook them from frozen and voilà, I enjoy their crispy and moist deliciousness. Industrially-made dumplings sold in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets are fairly popular and some brands are not too bad, but making them yourself is lots better, believe me. First, you control the thickness of the wrappers you’re using – nothing worse than biting a dumpling and discovering that it’s mostly made of dough, not filling. Second, you know exactly what you put in your dumplings: no fillers, no mystery ingredients, just goodness. And you can play around with the ingredients and invent a new recipe every time!

Another thing that I love about dumplings is that you can wrap them in many ways so they always feel different and new. The crescent shape is a classic so I always make some this way, but I also like to try new methods. This time, I tried a technique I first saw demonstrated by Chef Susur Lee which wraps shrimp filling in a such a way that it makes the dumplings look like little gifts. I also used a dumpling press that I paid less than $3 at the Asian market. The gadget was quick to work with but I found the dumplings it produced the least attractive of the bunch.

If you’ve never made your own dumplings before, now is the time to try. I will guide you through making three different kinds of dumplings:

• Bow dumplings filled with shrimp mousse
• Traditional pleated crescent beef dumplings
• Flat half-moon vegetable dumplings (made using a dumpling press)

Dumplings can be cooked in different ways:

• You can fry and steam them, which turns them into potstickers (my favorite cooking method).
• You can boil and fry them, which also makes them potstickers. This method works especially well with classic crescent dumplings wrapped in thicker wrappers.
• For a lighter alternative, you can steam them using a traditional bamboo steamer or more modern accessories like a double-boiler or an electric steamer.
• I sometimes just throw them in a soup. Wontons are the meat-filled bites that are traditionally added to soups as they’re usually smaller and more delicate, but sometimes I just feel for a comforting soup so a handful of frozen dumplings added to hot broth make a hearty meal in a snap.

Dumplings are best served with a classic dipping sauce. Recipe below!

Dumpling Wrappers

You can make your own wrappers, but I say that making the fillings and wrapping the dumplings is already a big endeavor so save yourself the trouble and buy a stack of pre-made round dumpling wrappers at the store (they are often kept frozen). These wrappers can be used as is, but I flatten them out because I like my dumpling skins to become glistening and translucent after cooking. Thin dumpling skins also fry crunchier (yum!). This technique is also recommended by chef Susur Lee.

To flatten dumpling wrappers:

• Sprinkle cornstarch on both sides of two (or up to four) wrappers and stack them precisely one on top of the other.
• Use a rolling pin to flatten the wrappers until they’ve become about 140% bigger.
• With a 3.5-inch round cookie cutter, cut out new wrappers. Discard the excess dough.
• Stack the new, thinner wrappers on a plate and cover loosely with plastic wrap while you work on the rest of the wrappers to prevent them from drying and cracking.

Wrapping Methods

There are several different ways to wrap dumplings, the most traditional of which is certainly the classic crescent shape. You can have fun and wrap them in many different ways; I like to use a different wrapping method per filling so that the different varieties are easy to recognize.

Because videos are tremendously helpful to learn new techniques in the kitchen (and because it was easier than try to explain it in words!), I’ve put together a short video in which I show how to flatten dumpling skins, as well as three different wrapping methods: Susur Lee’s “bow” technique, the classic crescent shape and the flat half-moon shape.

Watch below or click here to view the video in HD quality on YouTube (instructions will be easier to read!).

Filling Recipes

The following three recipes were inspired by Susur Lee but I heavily adapted them to use ingredients that are easy to find. Feel free to use these recipes as a guide and come up with your own variations. You can use a wide variety of proteins as a base, such as duck, chicken, pork, beef, fish, crab or shrimp, or you can go vegetarian by using tofu or only vegetables. Other classic ingredients in fillings include cabbage, green onions, leek and chives. Seasonings can include sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, chopped hot peppers (or hot sauce), ginger, lemongrass, and lemon or orange zest.

// Shrimp Filling

Makes about 30 dumplings

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and finely chopped
2 ounces bamboo shoots, finely chopped
3 tablespoons ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 ounces cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a food processor equipped with paddle or dough attachment, combine all ingredients and beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it becomes pasty, about 2 to 3 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the dumplings.

Raw shrimp filling looks a bit goopy but it cooks to a nice pink color.

Beef Filling

Makes about 30 dumplings

1 pound ground beef
½ teaspoon ginger, finely grated
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 ounces egg white
2 ounces Chinese cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon salt

In a food processor equipped with paddle or dough attachment, combine all ingredients and beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it becomes pasty, about 2 to 3 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the dumplings.

Texture of raw beef dumpling filling mixed in the food processor with the dough blade.

// Vegetable Filling

You’ll have quite a lot of chopping to do to make this filling. Try and chop everything about the same size to produce a uniform and enjoyable texture. It’s recommended to degorge cabbage before adding it to the dumplings to avoid soggy wrappers. How-to: cut cabbage into small dice, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and let sit for 15 minutes then squeeze all the water out.

Makes about 50 dumplings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ginger, finely grated
1 Spanish onion, cut into small dice
2 ounces bamboo shoots, cut into small dice
1/4 pound green cabbage, cut into small dice
1/4 pound carrots, cut into small dice
2 stalks celery, cut into small dice
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup yellow corn nibs (fresh or frozen)
1 ounce shiitake mushrooms (about 6), cut into small dice
1/4 pound baby bok choy (about 2), cut into small dice
2 ounces Chinese cooking wine
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons corn starch, mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water
1 bunch cilantro, picked and finely chopped (about ½ cup)
2 additional green onions, finely chopped
Kosher salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Preheat a large sauté pan. Add vegetable oil, and cook ginger and onions until translucent. Next, add remainder of the vegetables except the chopped cilantro and two additional green onions, and sweat until the vegetables become soft but retain their shape (about 10 minutes). Deglaze with Chinese wine and reduce by half. Add oyster sauce and sesame oil. Thicken vegetables with cornstarch-water mixture and stir thoroughly to ensure cornstarch won’t clump up. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Cool mixture completely before filling in dumpling dough.

Colorful vegetable dumpling filling.

–

Cooking Dumplings

// Fry & Steam (Potstickers)This method works with any kind of dumpling. I like to fry flat half-moon vegetable dumplings on both sides: turn them before adding water to the skillet.
Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry dumplings until their bottom is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup water for every 10 to 12 dumplings, cover immediately and steam for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover and let any remaining water cook off. Serve very hot.

Dumplings cooked with the Fry & Steam (Potsticker) method.

// Boil & Fry (Potstickers)
This method works best with thicker wrappers and crescent-shape dumplings. I wouldn’t boil delicate bow-wrapped or flat half-moon dumplings. 
Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Add dumplings (don’t overcrowd your pot) and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. Heat up some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry boiled dumplings until their bottom is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Serve very hot.

// SteamThis method works best with thin wrappers.Heat one to two inches of water in the bottom of a wok until it simmers. Place a bamboo steamer over the water (the bottom of the steamer must not touch water). Place dumplings in the steamer and cover. Vegetable dumplings will be the quickest to cook (about 3 minutes), shrimp dumplings are ready after 4-5 minutes and beef take about 8 minutes.
Follow the same instructions for a double-boiler. If using an electric steamer, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

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Classic Dipping Sauce

¼ cup soy sauce (I prefer Japanese less-sodium soy sauce)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon rice vinegar
1 small clove garlic, very finely sliced
1 small red hot chili, finely sliced (optional)

Mix everything together and serve in a small dipping bowl with the dumplings.

–

Freezing dumplings

If you intend on freezing dumplings, do so as soon as possible. With time, the filling’s moisture will get through the wrappers and make them all sticky and soggy. If you freeze them as soon as they’re made, they will keep their cornstarch coating and remain easy to manipulate.

As you make the dumplings, line them up on a baking sheet and as soon as one sheet is full, put it in the freezer. Once the dumplings are frozen hard (3 hours later minimum), transfer the dumplings to freezer bags and store until you have a craving for hot and crispy dumplings!