Chinese Chicken Dumplings
Serves: 80 or more dumplings
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.
Ingredients
For the Chinese Chicken Dumplings
- 300 g (11 oz) minced chicken, (ground chicken)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
- 1 ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, coarsely grated
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons coriander, (cilantro) finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon spring onions, (scallions) finely chopped
- 200 g (7 oz) Chinese cabbage, (Napa cabbage) finely chopped
- 80-100 dumpling or gyoza wrappers, fresh or frozen
Instructions
To Make the Dumpling Filling
- Place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
- Use a pair of chopsticks to mix everything together by continuously stirring clockwise.
- Keep stirring until the texture of the filling changes to become almost paste-like and thick.
To Shape the Dumplings
- 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.
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining dumpling wrappers and filling
To Cook the Dumplings
- Fill are large pot 3/4 full with water.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high. The water should be gently simmering.
- Add enough dumplings to form a single layer in the pot.
- Once the water returns to the boil, add 250 ml/1 cup of cold water to the pot.
- Once the water returns to the boil a second time, add another 250 ml/1 cup of cold water to the pot.
- 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.
- Remove the dumplings with a large slotted spoon.
- Serve immediately.
To Make the Dumpling Dipping Sauce
- In a small sauce bowl for each person, pour 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and then add enough Chinese black vinegar and/or chilli oil to taste.
Kitchen Notes
- VARIATIONS
* Substitute the Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage) for bok choy or pak choy.
* Substitute the minced chicken (ground chicken) for minced pork (ground pork). - FREEZING DUMPLINGS
Uncooked dumplings can be frozen. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper, and place the tray into the freezer. Once the dumplings are frozen, place them into a zip-lock freezer bag in the freezer. You can cook the frozen dumplings as per the instructions above. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer's handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.