Juicy and super flavorfulChinese boiled dumplings filled with snow pea leaves and shrimp (豆苗蝦水餃). It's the perfect recipe if you’ve never made dumplings before but always wanted to try. With pre-made dumpling wrappers, this recipe is easy and quick to make.
½teaspoonminced fresh red chili pepperdivided (see notes)
instructions
make the dumpling filling
Prepare an ice bath by combining 1 quart of water and 2 cups of ice in a medium mixing bowl.
Fill a medium saucepan with water, bring to a boil, and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
Blanch the snow pea leaves by cooking them in boiling water just until they turn bright green (about 30 seconds) and strain. It helps to cook them in the strainer if you have one that fits. Immediately shock them in the ice bath until they’re thoroughly cooled. Then, remove from the ice bath and allow excess water to drain. Note: try not to leave the cooked greens in the ice bath for too long to preserve their flavor and nutrients.
On a non-porous cutting board, line up the shrimp from left to right and cut into bite-sized pieces. (See the post or video for visuals on this technique for quickly cutting shrimp).
Place the prepared shrimp into a large mixing bowl. Add the minced ginger, rice cooking wine, ground white pepper, salt, and sesame oil. Give it a stir with chopsticks and then add the minced green garlic. Add the snow pea leaves at the end before a final mix.
assemble and fold the dumplings
Place a small amount of filling (slightly less than 1 tablespoon) in the center of each wrapper, leaving about ½ inch of wrapper clear all around.
Wet the top half of the edge with water and fold it into a half-moon shape.
Press the edges firmly to seal the dumpling, making sure to press out air pockets from the center out.
Then, wet the top edge of your half-moon and pleat by folding and pinching, starting from the center. Make 2 more pleats on each side, making a total of five pleats. (I walk through this process step-by-step in the video and in the post above).
Place the completed dumplings on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to space them apart so they don’t stick together. Cover the dumplings with a clean kitchen towel while you’re folding the others so that the edges don’t dry up.
Repeat until all the filling is used.
boil dumplings
Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Gently drop the dumplings in and give them a stir to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the dumplings float to the top and the wrappers turn slightly translucent (about 2 to 3 minutes). You can also tell they’re done when you see the shrimp turn pink through the wrappers.
Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon and serve hot with or without a dipping sauce.
optional dipping sauce
In each sauce bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ⅛ teaspoon fresh red chili, and ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil.
notes
For detailed step-by-step photos on how to prepare the ingredients and fold dumplings, please refer to the post above or watch the instructional cooking video.Any extra prepared dumplings that you don't cook should be frozen according to the instructions above. Frozen dumplings shouldn't be defrosted before cooking, so cook them straight from the freezer.dumplings wrappers: Each pack contains about 36-50 wrappers, depending on the brand.Fong's Village brand premade wrappers are my favorite since they feel very close to homemade ones. They don’t get dried up as easily and have the perfect thickness, giving the dumplings a nice chewy bite. In Taiwan, we would call this texture “Q.” You should be able to find it at a 99 Ranch Market in CA, NV, OR, WA, TX, MA, NJ, MD, and VA.As an alternative, you can try another brand from a Chinese, Korean, or Japanese market. I sometimes like to use gyoza wrappers from any Japanese market when I want thinner wrappers.Keep the wrappers covered with a damp towel as you work to prevent them from drying out.dipping sauce: You can use red anaheim chili for a milder spice or thai chili for a spicy kick.make ahead: Assembled dumplings can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Wrap the baking sheet well with plastic wrap and freeze. Transfer the frozen dumplings to another airtight container once solid and keep in the freezer until you’re ready to cook them. When ready, cook them straight from the freezer (not defrosted).
for a Chinese New Year dumpling tradition: the lucky dumpling
Add a slice of red chili pepper to the filling of one of the dumplings. The person who ends up finding this dumpling will have good fortune for the year.
tried this recipe?Tag me @thesoundofcooking! I'd love to see what you made.