Recipe | Pan-fried Dumplings

Since moving into my new home I've tried to make Sunday evenings a night for friends (who I consider my family) and good food. A few weeks ago Tara, Ruby and myself made these scrumptious little dumplings and my freezer is still aplenty with them for late night noshes. I'm no master at making these and so I won't go into great detail with ingredients as I usually do (also it was pretty experimental so I can't remember exact measurements either). It will also depend on how many you want to make; I made about 120 in the end (in three different flavours) and still had a tiny bit of left over mixture. 

Ingredients

dumpling/wonton wrappers

vegetable oil for pan-frying 

a selection of ingredients for fillings

        e.g. pork/chicken mince, tofu, chopped leek/shallots/carrot etc

crushed or grated ginger and garlic

a variety of sauces commonly used in Asian cooking

        e.g. oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, chinese cooking wine etc

So this is going to sound super vague but if you hadn't realised I am no expert. Separate your wonton/dumpling wrappers out and put about a teaspoon of your dumpling mixture in the centre of each one. Now the next part is entirely up to you depending on how you want them to look but I found the easiest way is to fold the wrapper in half and, starting at one end, gather the dough in pleats (see picture). 

Once you've made your dumplings you need to pop them in some boiling water for about three to four minutes to ensure your filling is properly cooked. Then, with a small long-handled strainer (see picture) or slotted spoon, transfer your boiled dumplings into a hot fry-pan with the vegetable oil. Cook your dumplings, turning occasionally, until they are a crispy golden brown and you can't resist picking one up and burning your mouth on their incredibly hot inside (I speak from experience). 

These are served best fresh hot with some asian greens cooked in oyster sauce, soy sauce and chinese cooking wine (portions vary on your preferred serving size). If you made these in bulk, like myself, you can put them in the freezer before cooking them.

Once again, if you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out. I know this wasn't very precise but that is simply a reflection upon the nature of the dish. 

Enjoy!

Erin xx