Making Delicious Dumplings from Scratch: A Step-by-Step Guide

Making dumplings is a fun and rewarding process that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It's not only delicious, but it also provides an opportunity for quality time together as you contribute to the making of this traditional dish. In this article, we will walk through the steps to make delicious dumplings from scratch.

First, we need to start with a piece of dough. The easiest way to flatten it is to use your hands. Hold the dough vertically and flatten it with your hand, then pick it up. Use a rolling pin to roll the edge back and forth. The left hand rolls the dough. Repeat that and you will get a round wrapper with a thick middle and a thinner edge. This simple method is perfect for beginners.

If you're feeling ambitious, let's show you the classic folding method, which is prettier. Use your right hand to pinch the corner to create the first pleat. With the help of your left hand, repeat the following actions: stretch, fold, and pinch. Stretch, fold, and pinch. This method takes a lot of practice until it comes out pretty like this.

Making dumplings usually is a family event. Everybody can contribute a little, so it becomes a joy to get together. The taste is the best when love is involved in the process. Next, we're going to pan-fry them. Add a generous amount of oil to a frying pan and swirl it around to cover the bottom. Don't need to wait for the pan to get hot. Just directly add the dumplings and pan fry over medium-low heat without the lid for a few minutes. We just want the bottom to have some nice color.

You can take a peek. Like that, it's beautiful. At this point, the dumplings are not completely cooked through. Pour in 1/4 cup of water and put on the lid. Keep the heat at medium-low. Let the steam cook the dumplings for 6 to 8 more minutes. Don't worry that the dumplings will lose the crust due to the added water.

Once the water is fully evaporated, the button will be crispy again. This looks beautiful, but a dumpling can't be perfect without a dipping sauce. Let me show you how to make that. Press 2 cloves of garlic through a garlic presser. Add 1 tsp of grated ginger, 2 tbsp of diced scallions, and 1 tbsp of chili flake. Heat 3 tbsp of oil until smoking hot. Then pour it onto the aromatics to activate the aroma.

Add 3 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of Chinese black vinegar. Mix well and the sauce is done. That looks so good. I'm gonna eat one without the dipping sauce. This is delicious. It's very crispy on the outside. The inside is tender and flavorful. As soon as you take a bite, the juice just squirts out. It's very hot, so be careful.

Don't burn yourself. Let me eat another one with the dipping sauce. I can't wait because the smell is just incredible. It's very garlicky and this little spicy kick made it the perfect dumpling.

Making dumplings at home is so much fun. It is also cost-effective. We made 50 dumplings and the cost of the ingredients is under $10. This is enough to feed a four-member family. I got so much left. You can freeze them. They are freezer friendly. Whenever you want to eat them again, you just cook them the same way that we just did without defrosting them.

However, frozen dumplings do take a little longer to cook through. Alright, I hope you enjoyed this video. As always, the printable recipe link is in the description. You can check it out later. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye~

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHi everyone. Welcome to Souped Up Recipes.I'm Mandy. Today, we're making dumplings  from scratch. I'll talk about how to make the wrapper correctly. How to make the  filling juicy and flavorful, so you can get the best dumplings ever. Trust me.  Nothing beats homemade dumplings if you get it right. I'll also show you the easiest way to  wrap the dumpling so you don't slave yourself all day. Let's get started.First, you have to pick the right flower. I always recommend using bread flour for making  dumplings because it has a higher protein content compared to all-purpose flour in general. But that  does not mean you cannot use all-purpose flour at all. It really depends on the brand. For example,  this brand. Every serving contains 4g of protein. That is more than 13%  and this one has 3g of protein per serving. That is 9.6%.  They're both all-purpose flour, but the protein contents are so different.  This bread flour contains 10%. I think that is the bottom line for making dumpling wrappers.  The higher, the better. If all you have is low protein content flour, you can use a combination  of egg and water to form the dough. By doing so, you're adding extra protein to the flour.  That will improve the texture of the wrapper. Okay! Now, you have picked the right flour.Let's talk about the water ratio. I like to be precise, so I always  list the exact ingredient amount for better success, but when it comes to making dough,  I will get comments that tell me they follow the measurements exactly but the dough comes out too  dry or too sticky. That is because every brand of flour has a different water-absorbing rate. You  have to adjust it based on your situation. The general rule is to use less water as possible  to form a non-stick smooth dough. For dumpling wrappers, a 50% water ratio is a safe number which  means 400g of flour uses 200g of water. Don't forget to add some salt and stir to dissolve.I still recommend adding the water into the flour little by little, so you can adjust the texture.  However, don't stress about it too much because the dough is very forgiving. You can always add  more water or flour if needed. I am going to use a KitchenAid to knead the dough. Let it run on  medium speed for 10 to 12 minutes. If you're kneading it by hand, it will also take about  10 to 12 minutes. When it's done, it should look like this. Take it out and shape it into a log.The dough needs some time to rest,  about 30 minutes. Then it will be more pliable to work with.While waiting, we can make the filling.400g of ground chicken. Season it with 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp of oyster sauce,  and 1/4 tsp of salt. Always make sure to season the filling a little bit saltier than your normal  taste, so the flavor can balance out with the plain wrapper. That is the key to making  the dumpling flavorful on its own. 1 tbsp of sesame oil, 1 tsp of chicken bullion powder,  1 tsp of Five-Spice powder. This is optional. You don't have to use it if you don't like it. 1/4  cup of basil which I thinly julienne it. This is Thai Basil but it is also popular in the south of  China. It has a nickname called Jin Bu Huan which translates as I wouldn't even trade it for gold.  That's how much we love basil. If you don't like basil, you can switch it with a scallion. Stir the  filling until the seasonings are well combined. Then add 1/4 cup of chicken stock in batches and  stir it within one direction for about 5 minutes. The stirring would gelatinize the protein which  helps the filling to absorb the liquid. This is the key to making your dumpling juicy and tender.When you see the filling is jiggling like that, you are good to go. If you are a meat eater,  you can stop the filling right here. But I always like to add some vegetables to balance  the texture. Today, I am using spinach. Blanch it in boiling water for 15 seconds.  Cool it down on the running water. Then squeeze the water out. Dice the spinach finely. This  is mature spinach, so it is bigger. You can use baby spinach or any other leafy vegetables. Add  it to the filling and mix well. Set the filling aside and we're going to check back on the dough.  It has been resting for about 30 minutes now. It becomes soft. You can easily roll it into a long  even strip. If you didn't give it enough time, the gluten will bounce back when you roll the dough,  which is frustrating. Divide this strip into small pieces, about 12g each. This recipe is  enough to make about 50 dumplings. You don't need a scale. Just go by the feeling. I like to  flip the strip in between each cut. Sprinkle some flour to prevent them from sticking to each other.Cover them with plastic wrap, so they don't dry out.All right, let's wrap the dumplings. Take one piece of the dough. Put the cut surface facing  vertically. Flatten it with your hand, then pick it up. Use a rolling pin to roll the edge back  and forth. The left hand rolls the dough. Repeat that and you will get a round wrapper with a thick  middle and a thinner edge. Put some filling in the middle. Pack it tight. Fold the wrapper in half.  Pinch the middle. Push the end towards the center to create two corners. Pinch the first Corner.  Fold the other corner in a way that creates two pleats. Do the same thing to the other side.  There you go. This is a fast and easy folding method for beginners. If you are ambitious, let  me show you the classic folding method, which is prettier. Use your right hand to pinch the corner  to create the first pleat. With the help of your left hand. Repeat the following actions, stretch,  fold, and pinch. Stretch, fold, and pinch. This method takes a lot of practice until it comes out  pretty like this. Making dumplings usually is a family event. Everybody can contribute a little,  so it becomes a joy to get together. The taste is the best when love is involved in the process.Next, we're going to pan-fry them. Add a generous amount of oil to a frying pan and swirl it around  to cover the bottom. Don't need to wait for the pan to get hot. Just directly add the dumplings  and pan fry over medium-low heat without the lid for a few minutes. We just want  the bottom to have some nice color. You can take a peek. Like that it's beautiful. At this point,  the dumplings are not completely cooked through. Pour in 1/4 cup of water and put on the lid. Keep  the heat at medium-low. Let the steam cook the dumplings for 6 to 8 more minutes. Don't worry  that the dumplings will lose the crust due to the added water. Once the water is fully evaporated,  the button will be crispy again. This looks beautiful, but a dumpling can't be perfect without  a dipping sauce. Let me show you how to make that. Press 2 cloves of garlic through a garlic presser.  Add 1 tsp of grated ginger, 2 tbsp of diced scallions, and 1 tbsp of chili flake.  Heat 3 tbsp of oil until smoking hot. Then pour it onto the aromatics to activate the aroma.  Add 3 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of Chinese black vinegar. Mix well and the sauce is done.  That looks so good. I'm gonna eat one without the dipping sauce.This is delicious. It's very crispy on the outside. The inside is tender  and flavorful. As soon as you take a bite,  the juice just squirts out. It's very hot, so be careful. Don't burn yourself.Let me eat another one with the dipping sauce. I can't wait because the smell is just incredible.  It's very garlicky and this little spicy kick made it the perfect dumpling.I hope you give this a try soon because making dumplings at home is so much fun. It is also  cost-effective. We made 50 dumplings and the cost of the ingredients is under 10$. This is enough  to feed a four-member family. I got so much left. You can freeze them. They are freezer friendly.  Whenever you want to eat them again, you just cook them the same way that we just did without  defrosting them. However, frozen dumplings do take a little longer to cook through. Alright,  I hope you enjoyed this video. As always, the printable recipe link is in the description.  You can check it out later. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye~\n"