Chinese Chicken Dumplings (2024)

Succulent and juicy Chinese Chicken Dumplings which are boiled for a light and nutritious meal. An easy recipe which is perfect as a starter or part of a Chinese banquet dinner.

Chinese Chicken Dumplings

For a light and simple mid-week dinner, I love to make Chinese dumplings from scratch. Dumplings might not sound like something one should attempt during the busy week, but if you opt for an easy dumpling shape, as well as store-bought dumpling wrappers, you could have dinner on the table quicker than you think.

What is special about this particular recipe for Chinese Chicken Dumplings is that these dumplings are boiled, which is a common cooking way to cook dumplings in Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine. Boiled dumplings make for a delicious and healthy meal, perfect for when you want to eat something light but still nutritious.

Chicken Dumpling Recipe

My recipe for Chinese Chicken Dumplings follows the same blueprint which I use for my , except I use minced chicken (ground chicken) and Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), both of which are readily available at my local supermarket, which means I use this combination more often than others.

But you can easily substitute the Chinese cabbage for bok choy, pak choy, spinach, or other leafy greens. I like to use a lot of vegetables in my dumpling mixture so that the dumplings become a main dish, and I don’t have to worry about making a separate vegetable side dish (although we tend to always have a salad of some sort at dinner).

Make Dumplings with Homemade Dumpling Wrappers

Nothing beats homemade dumplings made with Homemade Dumpling Wrappers. I think homemade wrappers are far superior to the store-bought kind – the texture is more pleasant and they taste better (fresher?) too.

These days, I make dumpling wrappers with my pasta machine, which speeds up the process immensely. That said, it’s not something I would ordinarily attempt on a weeknight, unless I am extra motivated (and my kids are on hand to help).

Make Dumplings with Store-Bought Dumpling Wrappers

Although I love making dumpling wrappers from scratch, I am also happy to use frozen store-bought wrappers when I am short on time. I don’t think you need to be a hero every night and make absolutely everything from scratch; if there’s a shortcut that agrees with me, I’m happy to use it.

For this reason, I keep several packets of gyoza wrappers in my freezer at all times (together with frozen spring roll wrappers). You might need to try a few different brands to find one that you like, and you might discover that what works for one type of dumpling may not work for another.

How to Make Chinese Chicken Dumplings

Step 1 – Make the Filling

To make the filling, place all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Use a pair of chopsticks and mix everything together in a clockwise motion until the mixture becomes paste-like in texture. Alternatively, dig in with clean hands and mix until everything is well combined.

Step 2 – Shape the Dumplings

If you are using store-bought dumpling wrappers, make sure they are fully defrosted before you start shaping your dumplings.

Fill a small bowl with cold water, which you will use to seal the dumpling wrappers together.

• Take a dumpling wrapper in one hand.
• Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of the dumpling wrapper.
• Use your other hand to lightly wet your fingertips in the bowl of water.
• Lightly wet one half of the dumpling wrapper.
• Fold the dumpling wrapper in half.
• Press to seal the edges, removing any air pockets as you do so.
• At this stage, if you have used round dumpling wrappers, you should dumplings shaped as half moons. You can leave them as they are, or proceed to make tortellini shape dumplings in the next step.
• Wet one corner of the dumpling and gently bend the dumpling to join both corners together.
• Place the shaped dumplings on a large tray lined with baking paper.
• Continue as above.

Step 3 – Boil the Dumplings

To boil the dumplings:

1. Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water.
2. Bring the water to the boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-high. The water should be gently simmering.
4. Add enough dumplings to form a single layer in the pot.
5. Once the water returns to the boil, add 250 ml/1 cup of cold water to the pot.
6. Once the water returns to the boil a second time, add another 250 ml/1 cup of cold water to the pot.
7. The total cooking time should be about 8 to 10 minutes so that the filling is fully cooked and the dumpling wrapper has softened nicely.

How to Cook Chinese Chicken Dumplings

There are several ways to cook dumplings.

1. Boil. This is the easiest, healthiest and quickest method of cooking dumplings. When you boil the dumplings, the dumpling wrapper softens in the water and becomes slippery and noodle-like in texture. This is my preferred method if I need to cook and serve a large batch of dumplings at one time.
2. Pan-fry. To make potsticker dumplings or gyozas, i.e. where the dumplings have a crispy bottom, you need to start cooking them in oil to brown the bottom of the dumplings, before adding water to the pan to finish cooking the dumplings with steam. This method gives you the best of both worlds – softly steamed dumplings with a fried, crispy bottom.
3. Deep-fry. If you’re after crispy, restaurant-style wontons, you will need to deep-fry the dumplings in hot oil to give them a crunchy exterior all over.

Which Dumpling Shape to Use

For boiled dumplings, I like to shape the dumplings like Italian tortellini so that the dipping sauce can sit in all the nooks and crannies of the dumpling (like in the accompanying photos to this recipe). If I am short on time, simply shaping them as half moons work perfectly too. Alternatively, if I am using Homemade Dumpling Wrappers, I will simply cut the wrappers into squares, place some filling in the centre, and simply shape the dumpling like a large triangle. Once cooked, the dumplings will taste like thick sheets of slippery noodles.

Similarly, for deep-fried dumplings, the tortellini or triangle shapes also work well. In fact, if you like to have lots of crunchy dumpling wrapper, I recommend shaping the dumplings as large triangles.

Pan-fried dumplings require a bit more pleating technique, like shown in my recipe for . But a simple half moon shape would also work well, and which is what my kids make when they volunteer their services in the kitchen.

How to Freeze Dumplings

If you have some time up your sleeves, it’s worth setting aside a few hours to make a large batch of dumplings to store in the freezer.

1. Make and shape the dumplings as per the recipe below.
2. Place the dumplings on a large tray lined with baking paper. Make sure the tray will fit into your freezer.
3. After 1-2 hours, or when the dumplings are firm to the touch, transfer the dumplings to a large ziplock bag or silicone pouch.
4. The dumplings can be stored in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.

How to Cook Frozen Dumplings

If you plan to boil or pan-fry the dumplings, you can cook the dumplings straight from frozen (and add a few more minutes to the cooking time).

If you want to deep-fry the dumplings, I recommend that you do so only with freshly-made dumplings. Thawed dumplings tend to have too much moisture which won’t give very good results if you deep-fry them.

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