Few foods say celebration like dumplings: little pleated parcels of dough and filling, steamed or pan-fried or boiled, made by hand and best eaten with people you like. September 26 is National Dumpling Day, and dumplings are a project worth the effort.
A food the whole world shares
Almost every cuisine has a dumpling. Chinese jiaozi, Japanese gyoza, Korean mandu, Nepali momos, Polish pierogi, Italian ravioli; the idea of wrapping filling in dough is close to universal. In much of Asia, dumplings carry real meaning, especially around the Lunar New Year, when families gather to fold them together and their shape is said to resemble old gold ingots, a wish for prosperity.
That communal element is the heart of the day. Dumplings are almost always better made with a group, assembly-line style, than alone.
The three ways to cook them
The same dumpling can become three different foods depending on how you cook it. Boiled dumplings, shui jiao, are tender and slippery. Steamed dumplings are soft and delicate. Pot-stickers, guo tie, are pan-fried on one side until crisp, then steamed in the pan with a splash of water, giving a crunchy bottom and tender top.
Learning the pot-sticker move is worth it: fry, add water, cover, and let the steam finish the job. That contrast of textures is why they disappear so fast.
Fold a batch with friends
You can make wrappers from scratch, but store-bought dumpling wrappers are a completely respectable shortcut and turn this into a weeknight-possible project. Mix a filling, since ground pork with cabbage, ginger, and scallion is classic, though mushrooms, shrimp, or tofu all work, and set up a folding station.
Put a small spoon of filling in the center, wet the edge, fold, and pleat or just press firmly closed. Do not overfill, or they burst. Your early ones will be ugly; nobody cares once they are cooked.
Dip, eat, repeat
Make a dipping sauce while the first batch cooks: black vinegar and soy is traditional, with chili crisp, sesame oil, or fresh ginger to taste. Serve dumplings hot off the heat, straight from the steamer or pan, and keep them coming in rounds.
If cooking is not happening today, order a plate of soup dumplings or pot-stickers from a good spot and eat them properly; for soup dumplings, nibble a small hole, sip the broth, then eat the rest. However you get there, dumplings are meant to be shared, so gather a few people and make a night of it.
How to celebrate
- 1Fold with a group
Dumplings are traditionally made together, assembly-line style, and it is genuinely more fun that way. Set up a station with wrappers, filling, and a bowl of water, and let everyone pleat their own. Ugly first attempts are part of the tradition.
- 2Use store-bought wrappers
Making wrappers from scratch is rewarding but slow. Store-bought dumpling wrappers are a completely respectable shortcut that turns this into a weeknight-possible project. Look for them in the refrigerated section of an Asian grocery.
- 3Learn the pot-sticker move
For crisp-bottomed pot-stickers, fry the dumplings on one side until golden, then add a splash of water and cover so the steam finishes cooking them. That crunchy-bottom, tender-top contrast is why they vanish so quickly.
- 4Do not overfill
A heaping spoon of filling feels generous but makes dumplings that burst while cooking. Use a modest amount, wet the edge, and press firmly to seal. Well-sealed, modestly filled dumplings hold together and cook evenly.
- 5Mix a good dipping sauce
A simple sauce of Chinese black vinegar and soy sauce is traditional, brightened with chili crisp, sesame oil, or slivers of fresh ginger. Make it while the first batch cooks so it is ready the moment the dumplings come off the heat.