Besides, pan fried dumplings, fresh homemade from scratch Chinese boiled dumplings (水餃) taste amazing especially with dipping sauce like chili oil, XO sauce and garlic chili sauce. This boiled Chinese dumplings recipe has step by step photos and a video to show you how to cook and make boiled dumplings at home.
Love Asian foods? Check out these kimchi fried rice, black sesame soup, Chinese pickled cucumbers, papaya milk, and California rolls recipes.
What is boiled dumplings (水餃)?
Boiled dumpling is another way to cook Chinese dumplings or potstickers in boiling water. Dumpling is a dough wrapped around a filling. Normally, the dough is flour and the filling is meat and vegetables.
Potstickers/ dumplings are prepared in different methods such as boiling, pan frying or steaming. Also, boiled dumpling in Chinese called shui jiao (水餃) literally translated water dumplings. In different cultures, there is similar cuisine and they are all named differently.
What are the ingredients in boiled dumplings?
When talking about boiled dumplings, it brings back my childhood memory that my mom made dumplings all from scratch. In fact, there are so many different ways to make dumplings. Generally, people use meat and vegetables for the filling.
Often, people like to use pork to make potstickers because it has better texture, especially when you cook them. Besides, you can use any vegetables such as bok choi, spinach, cabbage or napa cabbage.
In this homemade boiled dumplings recipe, I used homemade dumpling wrappers, garlic chives, cabbage and ground pork which give more flavor to the dumplings. The seasonings are salt, sugar, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
Cooking tips for boiled dumplings:
- Don't put too much filling and make sure the dumplings are sealed well without leaking.
- Make sure the water is boiling, then add the dumplings.
- Stir it, cover the lid and let the dumplings boil and float on the top of the water. Then, add ½ cup of cold water, cover the lid and let it boil until it floats again. Repeat this for 2-3 times or until they are cooked. (I usually add water 3 times with homemade dumpling wrappers.)
- Don't worry if you don't master how to wrap it nicely. This took me years to master it as well. Therefore, you just keep practicing. Then, you will get it eventually.
- Usually, I make a big batch and freeze them.
FAQs:
It is around 5-6 minutes. When the water is boiling, add the dumplings and stir it a little bit. Cover the lid and let the potstickers boil and float on the top of the water. Then, add ½ cup of cold water, cover the lid and let it boil until it floats again. After that, repeat this for 2-3 times. When the dumplings are floating on the top of water, it is a good indicator that dumplings are cooked.
Normally, I will place the wrapped dumplings on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Then, put them in a freezer for a few hours. When they are hard, put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them until you want to cook them.
No, don't defrost them. When the water is boiling, take them out from the freezer and boil them directly.
Usually, I like to add soy sauce, black Chinese vinegar and chili oil as a dipping sauce or dip with garlic chili sauce or XO sauce.
Instructions for how to make boiled Chinese dumplings:
- Wash and cut 3 cups of garlic chives (9 oz) into pieces.
2. Cut ¼ head of small cabbage (6 oz) into pieces.
3. After that, put 1 pound of ground pork into the mixing bowl. ( I used 85% lean, 15% fat ground pork.)
4. Next, put 3 cups of garlic chives (9oz) from step 1 into the mixing bowl.
5. Put the chopped cabbage from step 2 into the mixing bowl.
6. Then, add ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ¼ cup of oyster sauce.
7. Mix the ingredients very well.
8. In this homemade from scratch boiled dumpling recipe, I like to use homemade dumpling wrappers. Therefore, I suggest rolling and flattening the wrappers before wrapping it. Then, take a wrapper, dip some water on the finger and round the wrapper. Put a teaspoon sized filling on the wrapper.
9. After, fold it half and close it like a dome shaped.
10. Dip some water at the corners and bring the corners together. Details see the video below the recipe card.
11. Repeat steps 8 to 10, until the filling is gone. (It can make around 60-80 dumplings. You can freeze them if you need.)
12. Pour 6 cups of water into the wok. When the water is boiling, put the dumplings in and stir it a little bit.
13. Cover the lid and wait until it boils. Open the lid, and add ½ cups of cold water. Close the lid. Repeat this step for 2-3 times until the dumplings are cooked. (I usually do it 3 times, especially when I use homemade dumpling wrappers.)
14. When the boiled dumplings are done, use a strainer to take it out.
15. Put the boiled dumplings into a bowl.
16. Meanwhile, in a glass container, put 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of black Chinese vinegar and ½ teaspoon of chili oil (depends on your spiciness). Mix the dipping sauce well.
17. Drizzle some dipping sauce from step 16 and topping with some green onion (this is optional).
Enjoy this simple and delicious homemade from scratch boiled Chinese dumplings recipes! Also, check out these classic beef chow fun and braised beef ho fun noodle soup, steamed pork patty, pad Thai noodle and hot & sour soup recipes.
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Boiled Dumplings
Video
Ingredients
- 2 packs Dumpling wrappers or Homemade dumpling wrappers (Around 38-40 a pack)
FILLINGS:
- 1 lb Ground pork (85 % lean, 15 % fat)
- 3 cups Garlic chives (9 oz)
- ¼ head Cabbage (Small head, 6 oz)
- ¼ cup Oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
DIPPING SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon Black Chinese vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Chili oil (Depends on your spiciness)
- 1 stick Green onion (Optional)
Instructions
- Wash and cut 3 cups of garlic chives (9 oz) into pieces.
- Cut ¼ head of small cabbage (6 oz) into pieces.
- After that, put 1 pound of ground pork into the mixing bowl. ( I used 85% lean, 15% fat ground pork.)
- Next, put 3 cups of garlic chives (9oz) from step 1 into the mixing bowl.
- Put the chopped cabbage from step 2 into the mixing bowl.
- Then, add ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ¼ cup of oyster sauce.
- Mix the ingredients very well.
- In this homemade boiled dumpling recipe, I like to use homemade dumpling wrappers. Therefore, I suggest rolling and flattening the wrappers before wrapping it. Then, take a wrapper, dip some water on the finger and round the wrapper. Put a teaspoon sized filling on the wrapper.
- After, fold it half and close it like a dome shaped.
- Dip some water at the corners and bring the corners together. Detail see the video below the recipe card.
- Repeat steps 8 to 10, until the filling is gone. (It can make around 60-70 dumplings. You can freeze them if you need.)
- Pour 6 cups of water into the wok. When the water is boiling, put the dumplings in and stir it a little bit.
- Cover the lid and wait until it boils. Open the lid, and add ½ cups of cold water. Close the lid. Repeat this step for 2-3 times until the dumplings are cooked. (I usually do it 3 times, especially when I use homemade dumpling wrappers.)
- When the boiled dumplings are done, use a strainer to take it out.
- Put the boiled dumplings into a bowl.
- Meanwhile, in a glass container, put 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of black Chinese vinegar and ½ teaspoon of chili oil (depends on your spiciness). Mix the dipping sauce well.
- Drizzle some dipping sauce from step 16 and topping with some green onion (this is optional).
Notes
Cooking tips for boiled dumplings:
- Don't put too much filling and make sure the dumplings are sealed well without leaking.
- Make sure the water is boiling, then add the dumplings.
- Stir it, cover the lid and let the dumplings boil and float on the top of the water. Then, add ½ cup of cold water, cover the lid and let it boil until it floats again. Repeat this for 2-3 times or until they are cooked. (I usually add water 3 times with homemade dumpling wrappers.)
- Don't worry if you don't master how to wrap it nicely. This took me years to master it as well. Therefore, you just keep practicing. Then, you will get it eventually.
- Usually, I make a big batch and freeze them.
Angela says
Perfect & simple dumplings. I love a traditional pork, garlic chive, cabbage dumpling. These were SO incredibly moist. I reduced the quantity because there’s just the two of us, now I’m kicking myself for not making a full batch to stash the leftover dumplings in my freezer! Oh well, guess I’ll just have to make them again (wink, wink). Thanks for another GREAT recipe.
Tracy O. says
Thank you for your comment! I am glad you like it.