Nowadays, with so many local supermarkets that carry frozen Chinese dumplings (jiaozi or shuijiao), it’s definitely reduced the difficult and time consuming task of making individual dumplings for the family to enjoy. It’s just easier to buy the frozen packages of dumplings and then throw them in a pot of bowling water to cook.
But there’s an art to boiling frozen Chinese dumplings.
Often than not, they’re treated as ravioli, simply tossed into a pot of bowling water until they’re fully cooked – but the dumpling skin is much thinner than the pasta dough that encases the fillings, so it’s very susceptible to breaking and softening under boiling water and negligence. It’s definitely not good to ever leave dumplings unattended. The skin will get mushy and the end result will be a mess of dumpling skin and filling floating in the water.
What you want is perfectly intact filling inside the dumpling skin so that when you bite into it there’s a bit of bounce in the dough and (depending on which brand you buy) steaming hot juice from the filling spills out.
Basically, to enjoy a perfectly boiled dumpling there are at least two components that must be there: the intact dumpling skin and filling. The tang, which is the tiny bit of soup that’ll form from the filling inside the dumpling skin, is another component that should also be in the perfectly boiled dumpling, but depending on what filling you buy (I recommend the pork and leek filling) or what brand you’ve bought, the amount of tang that appears in your dumpling varies.
Thus, the secret then, to the perfect boiled dumpling, assuming you’ve bought frozen dumplings, is the boiling process. You will need to have boiled the dumplings at least two to three times. It should also be noted that boiled dumplings (shujiao) are not the same as wontons (húntun) and that the cooking processes between the two differ.
For a package of frozen dumplings:
First, you want to get a basic medium to large pot (sauce pots or soup pots) that you would normally use to boil pasta or noodles. Fill it up to about a bit more than half with cold water. Boil it on high heat.
Once the water is boiling put in your dumplings (a bag would be perfect) individually. It’s important to separate the dumplings instead of throwing them all in as one massive frozen chunk. You might get the occasional already broken dumpling as you’re separating them, but that’s alright. After you’ve placed the dumplings in the water, stir the dumplings to prevent them from sticking to the pot and then you can cover the pot with a lid or leave as is. If you choose to cover the pot with a lid to speed up the cooking process, make sure to keep an eye on the pot.
During this time it’s important that you fill a bowl completely with cold water. Depending on the size of your bowl, if you’re using a small rice bowl, you’ll need two bowls of water, but if you’re using a rather large soup bowl, you just need one.
Make sure to stir the dumplings once in a while to prevent sticking. As soon as the water starts boiling, pour in half of your bowl’s water (or one of the small rice bowl’s water). Stir the dumplings lightly. And wait for it to bring to a boil again. It should take relatively one to two minutes so there will be no need to cover the pot.
Depending on the relative thickness of your dumpling’s skin, most frozen dumplings you buy at the store will not need a third boiling. However, handmade frozen dumplings you can buy from independent bakeries, vendors or restaurants will have thicker dumpling skins and will require a third boiling, thus once the water’s boiled again, pour in your second half of water. And for the last time, you will have to wait for the water to boil. Again, it should take less than two minutes. As soon as it boils, close the heat or turn to low and quickly ladle the dumplings out of the pot and into your serving dish.
If you plan to let the dumplings cool, a good tip is to drizzle a bit of sesame oil onto the dumplings to prevent sticking while adding extra flavor. To serve, the traditional soy-vinegar dipping sauce (with or without chili sauce) is the best condiment for the dumplings. Mix soy sauce with a splash of rice vinegar and a drizzle of sesame oil for the dipping sauce.
Boiling frozen dumplings is a very simple process. It just requires a bit of patience and attention, but Chinese dumplings are definitely something that everyone can cook perfectly, just follow the tips and you can also enjoy the perfect dumplings at home.
