Homemade Dumplings

Juicy, pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings (potstickers) with crispy bottoms and a savory dipping sauce.

By Cressio Rinaldi

Homemade dumplings are a project, and they are one of the most satisfying things you can make by hand. The dough is two ingredients, flour and boiling water. The filling is pork, cabbage, green onion, garlic and ginger, seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. Then you roll, fill and pleat 24 small dumplings, and cook them in a pan until the bottoms are golden and the tops are steamed tender. These are potstickers, and the sound they make as they sizzle is half of the pleasure.

The hot-water dough is the key to a good wrapper. Boiling water partly cooks the flour, which makes the dough soft, pliable and easy to roll thin, and it fries to a nicely chewy crust. It needs 30 minutes to rest, which is when you make the filling.

This recipe serves four, with six dumplings each. Give yourself an hour, and recruit a helper for the folding. It is more fun with company.

Read this first

1. Use boiling water for the dough. It makes the wrappers soft and easy to roll.
2. Salt the cabbage and squeeze it dry. Wet filling makes the wrappers soggy.
3. Keep the wrappers you aren’t using covered. They dry out fast.

Prep time: 45 mins · Cook time: 15 mins · Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups All-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Boiling water
• 1/2 lb Ground pork
• 1 cup Napa cabbage, finely chopped
• 3 Green onions, minced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• for dipping sauce Soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil

Instructions

1. Mix flour and boiling water until a shaggy dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Look for: A smooth, soft dough that springs back slowly when pressed, after resting.
2. Salt the chopped cabbage, let sit 10 minutes, then squeeze out excess moisture. Mix with pork, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Look for: A sticky, cohesive filling that holds together, with no puddle of liquid.
3. Roll dough into a log and cut into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin circle. Look for: Thin, round wrappers that are slightly thicker in the middle.
4. Place 1 tsp filling in the center of each wrapper. Fold and pleat the edge to seal tightly. Look for: Plump, sealed dumplings with neat pleats and no gaps.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add dumplings flat-side down and fry until golden on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Look for: Golden brown, crisp bottoms that release from the pan.
6. Add 1/3 cup water, cover immediately, and steam for 5-6 minutes until water evaporates. Uncover and crisp the bottoms for 1 more minute. Look for: Dumplings that are firm and translucent on top, a sizzling, dry pan and crisp bottoms.
7. Serve with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a dash of chili oil. Look for: Glossy dumplings with a crisp base, and a dark, tangy dip.

Nutrition

Amount per serving. Nutritional values are estimates calculated from the ingredients above and can vary.

• Calories: 420
• Fat: 14g
• Saturated Fat: 5g
• Carbohydrates: 55g
• Fiber: 5g
• Sugar: 3g
• Protein: 19g
• Sodium: 470mg
• Cholesterol: 45mg

Notes

• Storage: Refrigerate cooked dumplings for up to 3 days.
• Freezing: Freeze uncooked dumplings in a single layer on a tray, then transfer to a bag for up to 2 months — cook straight from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes to the steaming step.
• Squeeze Out the Cabbage: Salting and squeezing the cabbage before mixing it into the filling, as directed, keeps the dumplings from turning watery inside.

Cook It With Me

Make the dough

In a large bowl, mix the 2 cups of flour with the 3/4 cup of boiling water, stirring with chopsticks or a fork until a shaggy dough forms. When it is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Make the filling

Toss the 1 cup of finely chopped napa cabbage with a pinch of salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands or a clean towel. In a bowl, mix the cabbage with the 1/2 lb of ground pork, 3 minced green onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of grated ginger, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Stir in one direction until the filling looks sticky and cohesive.

Cut and roll

Roll the rested dough into a log and cut it into 24 equal pieces. Press each one flat, dust with a little flour and roll it into a thin circle, about 3 inches wide, a little thinner at the edges than in the center.

Fill and fold

Place about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each wrapper. Fold it in half and pinch the top shut. Then pleat along the edge to seal tightly. If the edges are dry, wet them with a fingertip of water. Set the dumplings on a floured tray, flat side down.

Fry

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the dumplings, flat side down, in a single layer. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottoms are golden.

Steam

Add 1/3 cup of water to the pan and cover immediately, since it will spit. Steam for 5 to 6 minutes, until the water has evaporated. Uncover and fry for 1 more minute to re-crisp the bottoms.

Serve

Serve hot with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar and a dash of chili oil.

The Ingredients, One by One

All-purpose flour

Two cups makes about 24 wrappers. The hot water dough needs no yeast and no rolling machine.

Boiling water

Water that is truly boiling. It denatures some of the flour’s proteins, so the dough is soft and easy to roll thin.

Ground pork

Pork with some fat (not extra-lean) makes juicy dumplings. Ground chicken or turkey also work, but are drier.

Napa cabbage

It is sweet and mild. Salting and squeezing removes the water that would otherwise soak the wrappers.

Green onions, garlic and ginger

The classic aromatics. Mince them very fine.

Soy sauce and sesame oil

They season the filling. The sesame oil adds a nutty aroma.

Dipping sauce

Soy sauce with rice vinegar and chili oil. Adjust the ratio to taste.

The Technique Behind It

Why hot-water dough

Boiling water gelatinizes some of the starch and limits gluten development. The dough is soft and doesn’t spring back, which makes thin wrappers easy to roll.

Why squeeze the cabbage

Cabbage is mostly water. Left in, it turns the filling soupy and makes the wrapper tear.

Why fry, then steam

Frying browns the base. Steaming cooks the filling and the top of the wrapper. Uncovering at the end evaporates the last water and re-crisps the bottoms.

How Do You Know the Dumplings Are Cooked?

Ground pork must be fully cooked. Test one if you aren’t sure.

Check	What you see	Notes
Temperature	160 F in the center of the filling	The USDA safe temperature for ground pork.
Wrapper	Translucent and firm, with no raw dough	If it looks doughy, steam 1 to 2 minutes more.
Bottom	Golden brown and crisp	If pale, fry a bit longer.

Mistakes That Cost You the Dish

• Wet filling The wrappers tear and go soggy.
• Thick wrappers The dumplings are doughy.
• Not sealing well They burst open.
• Crowding the pan They stick together.
• Not covering quickly The water spatters and steam escapes.

Fix It: If This Happens, Do This

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Dumplings burst	Overfilled or poorly sealed	Use less filling and pinch firmly.
Wrappers are tough	Too thick	Roll thinner.
Bottoms stuck	Not enough oil or a non-stick pan	Use a non-stick pan and a little more oil.
Filling is dry	Lean pork	Add a spoonful of broth or oil.
Wrappers are pale	Pan not hot enough	Fry longer before steaming.

What Each Ingredient Does (and What You Can Swap)

Ingredient	Its job	Swap, and what changes
Ground pork	Juicy filling	Chicken, shrimp or tofu work.
Napa cabbage	Sweet vegetable	Regular cabbage works.
Homemade dough	Wrappers	Store-bought wrappers work.
Soy sauce	Salt	Tamari works.
Chili oil	Heat	Chili crisp works.

Plan Ahead

• Make ahead: Make the filling a day ahead.
• Fridge: Cooked dumplings keep for 3 days.
• Freezer: Freeze uncooked on a tray, then bag. Cook from frozen with a few extra minutes of steam.
• Reheat: Pan-fry again to re-crisp.

What to Serve With It

Serve with the dipping sauce, a cucumber salad and rice or soup. They are also good in a bowl of broth.

Questions People Ask

About the Author

Cressio Rinaldi

Cressio Rinaldi is the recipe developer behind Cressio Recipes. He cooks, tests, and writes every recipe on the site himself — refining each one until it's simple enough for a weeknight and good enough to make again. He's not a trained chef, just someone who cooks constantly and pays close attention to what actually makes a recipe work.