How to Make Asian Dumplings {Recipe}

I love eating dumplings, whether it is steamed, boiled, fried, or pan-fried. I've always wanted to learn how to make them from scratch at home. I had the chance to attend a workshop this past week that was funded by the Vancouver Foundation Neighbourhood Small Grants. We worked together as a community and it was all our teamwork that everything went smoothly.

There was no actual recipe, but most of the ingredients were just an estimate. For the dough (the wrap for the dumplings), all we need were just all-purpose flour and water (and little bit of salt if desired). Mix the flour and water, knead it into a dough and let sit and covered for about an hour or so. It's almost like making a pizza dough.



For the filling, you can use pretty much anything. We used ground pork (and/or ground chicken), scrambled eggs with chopped up chives, shrimp, zucchini, ginger, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Any combination of the mixture can be created. What they didn't have that could be included are frozen peas & corn. I've seen those as part of the filling from store-bought dumplings.



After the dough was ready, we set the table with foil sheets and sprinkle the surface with flour. Knead the dough again with flour to make sure it's not too sticky.


- take a handful/ball and roll it into a long shape
- then cut it in small pucks (about an inch thick and and inch diameter)
- press it flat with the palm of your hand and roll it into a very thin circular wrap


Add a bit of filling, fold the wrap, and pinch the outside to seal it. I think the sealing part was difficult for me. I wasn't sure how to make it look fancy, but more practice the better you get.




While some of the participants make the wraps, put in fillings, the other team take the batch and boil it in a large pot. Then we all had a chance to eat it. The whole process took a while to prepare (took longer than we thought). It was a fun learning hands-on experience. Would I make it myself at home, I ask? I'm not sure, but may I would try one day with a small amount.