Dumplings Recipe: Check Out The 6 Best And Easy Recipes

Dumplings recipe booklet: This post includes an easy kitchen guide to some delicious dumplings recipes. Check it out.

Dumplings are a type of “easy-to-make” dish that is usually wrapped around a filling. It is made of pieces of dough that can be based on various items such as bread, flour, potato, and the filling could be anything of your choice, including meat, vegetables, or fruits.

This dish can be prepared using different methods such as steaming, baking, frying, simmering, or boiling. And you can find this dish with different names all around the world.

This guide will take you across different dumplings recipes that you can easily try at your homes. But before that, you need to know a few things about dumplings.

Dumplings
By: Robyn Lee/Flickr @All Rights Reserved

History

You know about dumplings, but did you know how they came into existence? Who made the first dumpling?

It is believed that Zhang Zhongjing made the first dumplings. He was a Chinese medicine practitioner of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that Zhongjing took some herbs, mutton, chilis, and wrapped them in a dough, and steamed them to bind them all together to feed people who were experiencing ill effects from the winter of that time.

Zhongjing made something like a small pillow that helped the people overcome the cold weather as the herbs in the filling helped prevent frostbite.

So, the history of dumplings is accepted as having started with Zhang Zhongjing. But you can find dumpling variations in nearly every culture ranging from Brazilian empanadas to Italian ravioli.

However, the first use of the term “dumplings” dates back to the 1600s.

What items do you need to make dumplings?

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You must have seen someone make dumplings sometime, right? And if you have seen some famous chef’s video of making dumplings, you must be intrigued by the whole process. But do not worry, total amateurs can also make dumplings at their homes.

You need the right guide and the right materials, and you are all good to go. Let’s have a look at the list of things that one needs to make the perfect dumplings.

1. A Dough Scraper

If you decide to make dumplings from scratch, you will need a dough scraper to make your dumplings perfect. This tool comes in handy when you will work with flour and water.

A dough scraper is used to manipulate the dough as you like and to keep the surfaces clean where the dough has been worked on.

Note:

A dough scraper is not a mandatory tool. You can still make dumplings even if you don’t have a dough scraper.

2. A Rolling Pin

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Once the dough is done, many chefs or home cooks prefer using a wooden rolling pin to flatten the dough into single wrappers.

3. A Food Scale

The correct dough-to-filling ratio is only achieved by experienced chefs, so that it can be a little troublesome for a newbie. A digital food scale can help measure the portion of filling so that you do not put too much filling and rupture the skin of the dumpling during cooking.

Note:

Again, a food scale is not necessary. This is for those who want everything to be precise.

4. A Bamboo Steamer

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As the time comes to cook the dumplings, you will have different options on how you would like to cook them. If you would like to go steaming, you will need a bamboo steamer. They come in different sizes, and for home cooks, an 8-10 inches steamer will do the work.

5. A Frying Pan

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Another popular choice of cooking is pan-frying the dumplings. For that, you will need a frying pan. So, you can do that too.

Now that you know a little bit of the history of dumplings and what you need to make dumplings, let’s jump into different kinds of dumplings now.

Over the years, the variety of dumplings have evolved so much that you will now get 100s of types of dumplings. But mainly, there are three different kinds of dumplings that have been identified, and they are:

I. Rolled Dumplings

These are the dumplings that you can call flat dumplings. These are the simplest type of dumplings that are rolled out, cut into shapes, and cooked in chicken broth or any broth, for that matter.

II. Biscuit Dumplings

Biscuit dumplings are not what you will find everywhere. These dumplings are delicious and made with canned biscuits, cut into quarter pieces, and dropped into the soup.

Biscuit dough is a natural base for homemade dumplings these days, as people are trying out new ways.

III. Drop Dumplings

Drop dumplings are mainly a southern specialty made in a bowl that you will scoop out and just drop into the soup to be cooked.

Common Dumpling Fillings

Dumplings can be filled with a lot of things. People these days are experimenting a lot with this dish. But the most common dumpling fillings are as follows:

Soup dumplings: this includes broth which is solid at room temperature.

Sweet fillings: this filling includes sweetened cheese, nuts, or fruits.

Minced meat or vegetables: this filling includes any minced meat, ranging from chicken to beef. And in vegetables, there is a large range.

Note:

There are dumplings with no fillings too. For example, the Knodel or Gnocchi.

5 Best Dumplings Recipe of All Times

1. Fluffy Homemade dumplings recipe by Pierce Abarthany (Tasty Team)

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This homemade dumpling recipe has been featured in 5 Delicious Savory Dumplings Recipe You Need To Try.

This dumplings recipe by Pierce Abarthany is to bring a warm and fuzzy feeling straight into your little kitchen. So try on.

Ingredients

  • 500 g of all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 200g red cabbage
  • 300g sliced green onions
  • 4 tbs minced ginger
  • 225g pork
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • 55g diced mushroom
  • 90g diced carrot
  • 225 g shrimp
  • 6 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tbs sesame oil
  • For the dipping sauce
  • 60 ml soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 60 ml rice wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
Note:

This dumplings recipe is for 24 dumplings. So if you are making fewer dumplings, you can reduce the quantities of the ingredients accordingly.

Preparation

  1. Firstly, in a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and warm water for the dumpling dough and mix all of them until well combined.
  2. Next, roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until soft.
  3. Take out one piece of dough and roll it out into a thin log and divide it into 4-6 pieces (roll-out depending on the size of the dumplings you want to make). Continue this for the rest of the remaining dough portions.
  4. Next, lightly sprinkle flour over the dough pieces, and roll out each portion into flat circles (roughly 4 inches). Keep the wrappers separated once done with a piece of parchment paper.
  5. After the dumpling wrappers are done, combine the cabbage, onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Mix them well.
  6. Next, combine pork, salt, and 1 cup of the cabbage mixture for the pork filling.
  7. For the vegetable filling, mix the carrot and the mushrooms and microwave them until soft. Then, add to it 1 cup of the cabbage mixture.
  8. For the shrimp filling, mix 1 cup of cabbage mixture with the shrimp and stir well.
  9. Next, place about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of each dumpling wrapper. Using your fingers, gently coat the outside of the wrapper with water to moisten it. Fold the dampened portion of the wrapper over the filling and seal the edges.
  10. Finally, heat a pan in medium flame with oil. Add a few dumplings and cook them in batches. Repeat the same with the remaining dumplings.
  11. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and pepper flakes for the sauce. Mix them well.

Your dumplings are ready to be served with a tasty dipping sauce. Serve it hot and fresh. This dumplings recipe by Pierce is easy and amazing for anyone to try their hands on.

Note:

Remember that the filling cooks as the dumplings cook, so cook the dumplings well.

2. Mouth-watering dumplings recipe: Easy chicken and dumplings recipe by Jessica

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This is a delicious recipe, a creamy chicken and dumplings recipe with good chicken soup made from scratch by home cook Jessica. And has got five stars from various reviewers over the years.

Ingredients for the dumplings

  • All-purpose flour- 2 cups
  • 1 tbs + 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Crushed black pepper- 1 teaspoon
  • Salt- 1 teaspoon
  • Fresh thyme- 1 tbs
  • Whole milk- 3/4 cup
  • Melted butter- 4 tbs

Ingredients for the soup

  • Carrots, celery, onions, and garlic- 1 cup each
  • All-purpose flour- 3 tbs
  • Evaporated milk- 1 can
  • Shredded chicken- 4 cups
  • Chicken stock- 1 quart
  • Thyme, salt, and pepper- 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

  1. First, in a dutch oven or a large pot, melt the butter over medium flame.
  2. Add the onions, celery, carrot and cook them for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Then add the garlic, and cook for another 1 minute.
  3. Next, add the flour and stir well. Cook for 50-60 seconds.
  4. Now add chicken stock and evaporated milk and quickly stir.
  5. Bring everything to a boil, add some chicken, black pepper, thyme, and salt. Let the soup simmer down as you begin prepping for the dumplings.
  6. Take a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and thyme. Make a hole or well-like structure in the flour mixture to add the milk and butter.
  7. Next, use a wooden spoon to mix it all until a soft dough forms.
  8. Now, with the help of a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and drop it straight into the simmering soup. Repeat the same step.
  9. Once all the scoops have been added, let the soup run over the dumplings by gently pressing them down.
  10. Cover your pot, and lower the flame.
  11. Cook for about 15 minutes. Slowly stir the dumplings and the soup. To make sure your dumplings are well cooked, cut one in half.

3. Delicious dumplings recipe: Traditional Chinese dumplings recipe

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The next dumplings recipe is traditional Chinese dumplings from Mama loves to cook by Marianne.

Note:

Making homemade Chinese dumplings can be a little time-consuming, so try out this dumplings recipe only when you have enough time on your hands.

Ingredients for the dumpling wrappers

  • All-purpose flour- 3 cups
  • Room temperature water- 1 cup

For the filling:

  • Ground pork- 1 lb
  • Finely chopped green onions- 1/2 cup
  • Chopped ginger- 1 tsp
  • Sesame oil- 1 tsp
  • Soy sauce- 1/4 cup
  • Salt- 1 tsp
  • Egg- 1
  • Vegetable oil- 2 tsp
  • Chinese cabbage (napa cabbage)- 1 lb

Preparation:

Filling-
  1. Firstly, mix the pork, green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, vegetable oil, salt, and egg for the filling. Mix well, and set aside this marination for 1-2 hours.
  2. Chop the cabbage into small pieces. Place the cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle salt all over it. Place it aside for some time.
  3. Squeeze out extra water from the cabbage and add the pork mixture to it. Stir the mix well.
Dough-
  1. Mix the flour and water and knead until soft dough forms.
  2. Next, divide the dough into two halves and roll out each half into 12-inches long rolls. Cut the rolls into pieces of the size you want.
  3. Take each piece of dough one by one, roll it into a ball and then press the ball flat.
  4. Using a rolling pin, roll the flat dough ball.
  5. Repeat with all the remaining pieces.
Dumplings-
  1. Take the dumpling wrappers one at a time on the palm of your hand.
  2. Add a tbs of filling into the centers of the wrapper.
  3. Fold the wrapper over the filling and seal the edges together.
  4. With the sealed edges facing up, place the dumplings on a table and flatten the bottom. Now to create a pouch-like structure, pinch a few pleats.
To fry the dumplings-
  1. Now, to pan-fry the dumplings, first heat about 1/2 tbs of vegetable oil in a frying pan.
  2. Place a few dumplings in a single layer in the pan.
  3. Put a lid over the pan, and cook dumplings for about 3 minutes on medium heat.
  4. Finally, add about 1/3 cup water into the pan while replacing the lid. Cook the dumplings until you see the water evaporating, and the bottoms of the dumplings are slightly golden brown.
For boiled dumplings-
  1. To boil the dumplings, fill a large saucepan with half water and bring it to a boil.
  2. Add as many dumplings that will fit in the saucepan, and stir them well.
  3. Next, add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to prevent the dumplings from sticking.
  4. When the dumplings start to float, add another 1 cup of water to the saucepan. Repeat this step one more time.
  5. Once the dumplings are thoroughly cooked, remove them one by one from the pan and place them in a serving dish.

You can serve these dumplings with a simple dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce

For the dipping sauce, simply mix the ingredients below:

  • Soy sauce- 2 tbs
  • Chinese black vinegar- 2 tbs
  • Sesame oil- 1 tbs
  • Chili oil or chili sauce- 1 tbs

You can also sprinkle a bit of garlic and onion powder if you would like.

Follow the recipe instructions well, and you are all set with amazing Chinese food for the evening. When you make your dumplings, you can add additional spices, too, if you would like.

4. Tasty dumplings recipe: old-fashioned chicken and dumplings recipe

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The next dumplings recipe is from The Country Cook by home cook Brandie.

This excellent recipe is the comfort food for people who love eating chicken and dumplings on a cold winter day. This homemade chicken dumplings recipe will surely warm you up. Let’s check out this great recipe then, shall we?

Ingredients

  • 2-3 chicken breasts (or ground chicken)
  • Chicken broth- 2 quarts
  • All-purpose flour- 2 cups
  • Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
  • Cold butter (salted)- 2 tbs
  • Milk- 1 cup
  • Olive oil- 2 tbs
  • Salt & pepper

Preparation

  1. First of all, preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Next, with a non-stick cooking spray, spray a baking sheet.
  2. Now, place a chicken breast over the baking sheet, brush a little olive oil over it, and season it with some salt and pepper.
  3. Let the chicken be finely baked for about 45 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked and tender, shred it using forks.
  4. Add the 2 quarts of chicken broth into a pot, and heat it. Meanwhile, start prepping for the dumplings.
  5. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients, that is, the flour and the baking powder. Then add in the butter. Mix them well.
  6. Next, add the milk and stir it all together.
  7. Now, flour your counter and place the dumpling dough on it.
  8. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough (1/4 inches thick). Make sure to keep dusting it with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter.
  9. Using any cutter, cut your dumplings into small pieces.
  10. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add in the shredded chicken. Stir well.
  11. Start adding dumplings one by one into the boiling broth. Keep stirring so the dumplings do not stick together.
  12. Cook the dumplings for about 20 minutes. When you notice your broth starting to thicken, know that your dumplings are almost done.

This dumpling-making process is quite simple, so anyone can try, even if it is for the first time.

Note:

This version of the chicken and dumplings recipe does not include any vegetables. However, if you wish, you can add some vegetables to it.

And if this is your first time cooking chicken dumplings, make sure your broth is thick enough. You can add more chicken broth if you feel like it.

5. Unique dumplings recipe: sweet & spicy sesame dumplings

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This is a unique dumplings recipe by Panfusine. Let’s jump right into the full recipe.

Ingredients

  • White sesame seeds- 5 tbs
  • Salt- 1/8 tsp
  • Dried red chile- 1/2
  • Crumbled jaggery- 2-3 tbs
  • Oil
  • Dumpling wrappers- 10-15

Preparation

  1. First, crush the toasted red chile into powder using mortar and pastel.
  2. Next, toast the sesame seeds until lightly brown and emits out an aroma. After that, while the sesame seeds are still warm, pulse the seeds until they look like bread crumbs.
  3. Now, add the crushed red chile and salt to the powdered sesame. Mix them thoroughly.
  4. Add the jaggery. Using your fingers, smoothly blend it into the sesame mixture. Do it until you see the jaggery has dispersed finely. This mixture should have a grainy texture at the end.
  5. Once the mixture is done, add two tablespoons of it to the center of a wrapper. Using your fingertips, moisten the edges of the dumpling wrapper with water. Seal the edges.
  6. Heat oil in a large pan at medium flame, and deep fry the dumplings until golden brown.

Note:

This recipe has been made with commercially available dumpling wrappers. You can make your wrappers or use the ready-made ones. Do not worry; your dumplings will still taste amazing.

6. Easy Chinese dumplings recipe

This simple dumplings recipe by Sarah is a family recipe that tastes amazing. Let’s check the awesome recipe then.

Ingredients

  • Green leafy vegetables- 3 lbs
  • Ground pork- 1 1/2 pounds
  • Shaoxing wine- 2/3 cup
  • Oil- 1/2 cup
  • Salt
  • Soy sauce- 3 tbs
  • Sesame oil- 3 tbs
  • White pepper- 1/4 tsp
  • Dumpling wrappers- 3 packs

Preparation

  1. First, wash the vegetables properly. Boil them in a pot filled with water. Once done, place them in an ice bath and let them cool. Rinse all the leftover water, and chop them finely.
  2. Add the vegetables, oil, wine, meat, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and some water in a bowl. Mix all of these ingredients until well combined.
  3. Now, to wrap the dumplings, first moisten the edges with a little bit of water. Place about a spoonful of the filling into the centers of each wrapper. Fold the flat wrappers in half and then seal the edges together at the top.
  4. Next, make two folds on each side of the wrapper (it should look like a fan). Repeat the process with the leftover filling.
  5. To cook the dumplings, you can either pan-fry them or boil them as per your choice of taste. To boil the dumplings, boil water in a large pot, drop the dumplings into the water, and cook until they begin floating at the top.
  6. Heat 2-3 tbs of oil in a medium-sized non-stick pan over medium flame to fry the dumplings. Place a few dumplings in the pan, and let it fry for about 2 minutes. Pour a little bit of water into the pan, and put the lid on.
  7. Let the dumplings steam properly until all of the water has evaporated. Remove the lid, and fry the dumplings for a few more minutes until you see them turning crisp and brown.
  8. Serve you any dipping sauce of your choice.

Final Words

Well, dumplings can be served any time of the day and in any way cooked. Be it boiled dumplings, fried dumplings, or instant pot-made dumplings. People always love it. Moreover, dumplings are mostly healthy too.

If you are making the filling with a lot of veggies, it is very healthy. So, who would miss a dish that is both healthy and delicious?

The six dumplings recipe mentioned above is very easy to try, and you can make them with ready-made dumpling wrappers. That will save you so much time. However, homemade wrappers always taste better.

Anyway, if you are interested in checking out more dumplings recipes, you can click here. You can also let us know your views on our article “best dumplings recipe of all times.” Drop your comments over the comment section.

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