Chinese Chicken Dumplings with Easy Sauce Recipe

Juicy, flavorful and tender one-biter Chinese chicken dumplings. They're perfect appetizers, snacks and even a full whole complete dish.

This recipe will make use of ready-made dumpling wrappers that you can usually buy from most grocery stores. For the chicken filling and the sauce, they are best tasting when homemade with fresh ingredients.

Let’s say it out loud, store-bought frozen dumplings just don’t taste like freshly made. Not even takeout is as fresh anymore.

The best tasting dumpling I've ever tasted was from a food hawker during a trip in Singapore. And from then on, my life is not complete without them. I can eat them anytime of the day.

I've tried every recipe there is for dumplings but there's no recipe that can suffice. So I made my own recipe. I can't compare it to the dumplings from that hawker, but it's nearly similar.

How to make Chinese chicken dumplings? Making homemade Chinese chicken dumplings is actually easy and fun and not as hard as it sounds. Here’s all you need to know, including an easy recipe.

What are Chinese Dumplings?

Let’s start from the beginning. Chinese people love their dumplings, and it’s easy to see why. There are no specific rule in making the dumpling fillings.

You can actually make them with any seasonal vegetables and proteins, may it be chicken, pork, beef or turkey. You may go with all vegetarian ingredients as you see fit.

And there's more than one technique that you can cook them. If there’s something true, it is that no two dumplings are alike — there’s an entire universe of them!

Most dumplings are filled with aromatics like garlic and ginger, veggies, including crunchy cabbage, and a protein, whether that’s seafood, beef, pork or chicken. Chicken dumplings are amongst the most prominent. Who doesn’t love chicken’s familiar flavor?

The thing with dumplings is that there are many types of them, and each is special in a way.

We’ll cover the most common types of dumplings and how to cook them in a second, but for now, know there’s no one Chinese dumpling but many. It comes without saying dumplings go back for at least 2,000 years, which is the cause of so many variations.

Types and Shapes of Chinese Dumplings

Dumplings can be classified by the type of wrapper, most likely made with either wheat or rice flour. We can also classify dumplings for their filling.

Finally, you can divide dumplings by their cooking method, as they can be steamed, boiled or pan-fried.

Jiaozi is a catch-all term for Chinese dumplings. The term can roughly be translated to “tender ears” — these delicious dumplings sometimes resemble tiny ears, after all. Talking about the dumplings’ shape, we can also divide Chinese dumplings into two categories:

• Gao - Crescent-shaped dumplings.
• Bao - Round-shaped dumplings.

Regional variations also exist, and these are the ones most commonly found on menus:

• Siu Mai. These are basket-shaped dumplings with a slight opening on the top. These are often steamed to prevent the filling from falling off.
• Har Gao. These popular crescent-shaped dumplings are made with a thin and delicate wrapper — the secret is in the combination of wheat and tapioca starches.
• Xiao Long Bao. These famous ball-shaped dumplings are sometimes called soup dumplings for their runny filling, mostly melted pork fat and collagen.
• Sheng Jian Bao. These bao dumplings are like xiao long bao, but they’re pan-fried before steaming. Traditionally, these are filled with shrimp or pork.
• Bao zi. These round dumplings are easy to distinguish for their thick wrapper made of wheat. Such a resistant wrapper often comes with an equally hearty filling, often barbecued pork. These are also filled with a runny broth.

Dumpling Filling Variations

There are endless dumpling filling variations. Still, some are everyone’s favorites. These are the most famous dumpling fillings.

• Pork and bok choy filling. This is a popular filling, particularly for the Japanese gyoza. The filling is now also prominent in Chinese dumplings, although combining pork with shrimp is more prevalent.

• Vegetable filling. Cabbage, carrots, dehydrated mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce and sesame oil, is all you need for a vegetarian dumpling filling you’ll absolutely love.

• Shrimp filling. Perhaps the most decadent dumpling filling. This is a combination of shrimp with pork back fat, often with chopped spring onions and other veggies.

• Spicy ground beef filling. Ground beef, herbs and spring onions make these meaty dumplings immensely popular. These can contain corn, carrots and peas as well.

• Sichuan filling. Minced pork, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, garlic and chives make this seasoned filling genuinely unique. A spicy sauce with chili oil is typical for these beauties.

• Chicken filling. Everyone’s favorite dumpling filling. Chicken thighs are better than breasts for their fatty richness, and cabbage gives the filling a crunchier bite.

• Peanut filling. Traditionally known as tang yuan, this sweet filling combines ground peanuts, peanut butter and regular butter. These are not traditional dumplings, though; you must use glutinous rice instead of a typical wrapper.

Tips for Making the Perfect Dumplings

Here are some tips to make the perfect Chinese dumplings, whether you follow the easy recipe for Chinese chicken dumplings below or any other.

• The heartier the filling, the thicker the wrapper. Follow this general rule, and you’ll make lovely dumplings every time. Delicate fillings, like shrimp, are best with nearly translucent wrappers. Barbecued pork calls for thicker, wheat-based wrappers.

• The sauce matters as much as the dumplings themselves, so make yours from scratch. Try to balance sweetness, savoriness, saltiness and umami flavors. Chili is always optional but encouraged.

• The collagen in pork melts at high heat, and the same goes with pork fat. This makes some dumpling fillings taste like soup. Add some pork fat to your filling to make it runnier.

Chinese Dumplings FAQs

How do Chinese dumplings taste like?

Dumpling wrappers have a mild, starchy taste not dissimilar to pasta. It’s the texture that makes dumplings so irresistible. The flavor, though, comes from the dumplings’ filling, and that’s magic right there.

What’s the difference between potstickers vs. Dumplings?

Potsticker is a foreign term often used for moon-shaped, pan-fried dumplings, and the wrapper is often paper-thin. On the other hand, Dumplings come in dozens of different shapes and sizes. All potstickers are dumplings but not all dumplings are potstickers.

What’s the difference between gyoza vs. dumplings?

Gyoza is a Japanese dumpling, usually filled with pork, cabbage, spring onion and garlic. Wheat wrappers are common in gyozas, and people regularly steam and pan-fry them.

What Sauce to Serve with Chinese dumplings?

Just like there are many types of dumplings, you’ll find diverse sauces for Chinese dumplings as well. Chinese hot chili oil is typical, and so is a mix of soy sauce and ginger. Sesame seeds and oil are common ingredients in most traditional dumpling sauces, and the sticky hoisin sauce can add sweetness and richness to and dumpling sauce. Experiment with your own sauce!

Chinese Chicken Dumplings Recipe

Here’s an easy recipe for Chinese chicken dumplings. Making these from scratch makes all the difference! You’ll love these homemade Chinese chicken dumplings; make a large batch and call some friends over for a memorable dinner!

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 60 minutes

Makes between 30-35 dumplings

Ingredients:

For the chicken dumpling recipe:

• boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• chopped cabbage
• salt
• minced ginger
• crushed garlic
• chopped green onion
• white pepper
• sesame oil
• chicken powder (or dashi powder)
• soy sauce
• store-bought dumpling wrappers

For the dumpling sauce recipe:

• soy sauce
• rice vinegar
• sugar
• hot water
• chili oil
• minced garlic
• toasted sesame seeds
• sesame oil

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken thighs into thin strips or cubes and mince, either with a food processor or a knife. If mincing by hand, cut thinly, press the meat with the side of the blade and repeat until completely ground.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the cabbage and the salt. Toss and allow the cabbage to macerate for 10 minutes; the salt will drain the extra moisture in the cabbage. Drain and set aside.
3. In a second mixing bowl, combine the cabbage with the minced ginger, garlic, green onion, white pepper, sesame oil, chicken powder and soy sauce. Mix until thoroughly combined by stirring in one direction only to achieve the right texture.
4. To taste the filling, microwave a spoonful for 15-30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
5. Fill the dumplings by placing one tablespoon of filling in the middle of each wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, put it on your palm and gently press it forming a round-shaped dumpling. Make sure the edges are tightly sealed. You can use any technique to seal the dumplings. Set aside.

You can learn ways to fold dumpling here.

For Boiled Dumplings:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Add the dumplings.
3. Once the dumplings float, count down two minutes and scoop them out.

For Fried Dumplings:

1. Drizzle cooking oil into a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the dumplings and pan-fry for two minutes.
3. Add water until one-quarter of the dumplings are submerged and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 8-9 minutes.

For the Chinese dumpling sauce:

1. Dissolve the sugar in hot water. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili oil, garlic, sesame seeds and sesame oil.
2. Stir to combine and serve with your homemade Chinese chicken dumplings.

Notes:

• Eat the chicken dumplings right away with a side of sauce.
• Leave the chili oil out of the sauce recipe if you’re not into spicy food, or add a bit more for a spicier take on the traditional sauce.
• For pork dumplings, substitute the chicken for ground pork, although seasonings may vary from recipe to recipe.

Recipes in the blog you can eat with Chinese dumplings:

• Kimchi
• Fried Rice
• Kimchi Stew