Dumplings: The 'Pizza' of China

I equate dumplings in China to pizzas in the west. In the northeast of China, where the dumpling was created, dumplings are eaten for breakast/lunch/dinner and dumpling restaurants are everywhere. They're very cheap, convenience food (if you're not making them yourself that is), healthy and come with many kinds of fillings 馅. They're served as a traditional dish during spring festival, but in reality they are eaten throughout the year.

Prior to coming to China, dumplings in my hometown of Toronto were expensive and there weren't many varieties. Pork and Chinese cabbage (napa)猪肉白菜 and pork and chives　猪肉韭菜 were the only varieties one could really get at restaurants or in the frozen food section in Chinese supermarkets.

Come to northern China and the dumpling lover will be amazed at the varieties of dumplings: steamed, pan fried and boiled dumplings. Dumpling fillings made of beef , lamb, fish, shrimp, pork, sea cucumber, carrot, onions, eggs, all kinds of squash/melons, tomato, the list goes on and on. To me, an avid dumpling fan, Dalian and the northeast of China is dumpling paradise. I remember when I first arrived in China, there was a stretch when I ate dumplings at least one meal a day for about 2 weeks and never had the same dumplings twice. Call me crazy, I don't care! I love em!

Being a foreigner in China, having Chinese homecooked meals are always a treat, especially when homemade dumplings are the main course. But I had never attempted to make them on my own. I was either too lazy (a lot of labour is involved)or never bothered to really inquire about how to make them. So this past weekend, some friends and I attempted to make our own dumplings. The result was a success!


We decided to make pork/leek/shrimp dumplings as our filling. This is the standard 三鲜饺子 aka 3 filling dumplings. The spices we added were soy sauce, a couple of eggs, cooking oil, a bit of water, white pepper and sesame seed oil. Mix ingredients very well.


The dough is what I consider to be the tough part. Use top quality flour, in China flour is used dumplings, steamed buns and bread. There are different kinds of flour for different uses in China. We chose dumpling flour, of course. Mix the dough well and let sit for at least 1 hour before making dumplings. Then roll the dough into long thick sausage like links and cut across. Pound them down and roll them flat so you get a nice circular piece of dough. Fill the dough with filling and fold into a crescent shape.


Peter and yours truly, doing the hard work...


Ladies doing their part!


Melissa showing her work of dumpling art.


Finished dumplings.


To fry dumplings, on low heat, oil the pan, and then place dumplings on the flat side and cook uncovered for about 5-10 minutes until the bottom is brown. Then add a bit of water to the pan and cover. When the water evaporates, the dumplings will be golden brown on the bottom and cooked on the inside.


Boiled dumplings are easy, just throw dumplings into boiling water and cook until the dumplings float, which should take about 5 minutes. Eat dumplings with Chinese dark vinegar 老陈醋　from Shanxi province and fresh crushed garlic or hot chili sauce.

So I encourage anyone who likes dumplings to organise a dumpling wrapping party. Invite some friends, listen to some tunes and wrap some dumplings!