Easy Homemade Pork Dumplings
Pork Dumplings: Pork dumplings, also known as potstickers or gyoza, are a delightful little pocket of savory pork filling with the perfect balance of flavor and seasonings. With a few simple tricks, a great little kitchen gadget, and the right ingredients, these easy little dumplings come together in minutes, and are the perfect appetizer, snack, or main dish. Steam them, or pan fry them, and dip them in a simple sauce and enjoy!
Serve with Chicken Fried Rice or Pad See Ew for a complete meal!
Appetizers that can be full meals are such a good idea. Think Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings or Spring Rolls for example. Unlike Cheese Bites or a dip like Texas Trash Dip, appetizers like these dumplings can be full meals. And how nice is that?
When it comes to pork dumplings, these are amazing.
- Taste Great: Tender wrapper with a deliciously savory and flavorful ground pork filling.
- Easy: They are easy to make, fun to assemble, you can even get the kids involved. All the ingredients are easy to find as well.
- Make Ahead: You can make them ahead, batch prepping them, and freeze to pull out and cook whenever you want. It is so simple, and delicious.
Ingredients for Pork Dumplings
Filling:
- 1.5 pounds ground pork sausage (hot or mild or combo of both)
- 1.5 cups napa cabbage, finely chopped
- 4 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste or grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon mirin or rice wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
Wrapping:
- Premade dumpling wrappers (available in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores, near the produce and fresh herbs)
- An electric dumpling maker helps make wrapping them simple.
For Cooking:
- 2 tbs oil
- 1/4 cup water
How to Make Pork Dumplings
-
Prepare the Filling:
- In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped napa cabbage, green onions, minced garlic, ginger paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, sriracha, salt, and pepper.
- Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients until well combined.
- Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. (Optional, but best)
-
Assemble the Dumplings:
- While making dumpling wrappers from scratch can be delicious, the easy and efficient way to enjoy these delectable bites at home in no time is by using pre-made wrappers. You can find them in the refrigerator section or the produce section of most grocery stores. Usually by the fresh herbs.
- Lay out the premade dumpling wrappers on a clean surface.
- Brush the edges with a little water to make them easier to seal
- Place a spoonful of the pork filling in the center of each wrapper.
-
Wrap the Dumplings:
- You have 2 options, hand wrap the dumplings, or use an electric dumpling maker.
- By Hand: Fold the wrapper in half, creating a semicircle, and press the edges to seal. You can pleat the edges for a decorative touch if desired.
- With A Tool: Or use this super convenient and easy to use electric dumpling maker. The trick is to not put in too much filling, and if needed, help the tool turn the dumpling so it can seal.
At this point you can freeze the dumplings by placing them single layered on a baking sheet, and freezing overnight, then transferring them to a freezer bag to use when desired. Or you can cook the dumplings.
-
Pan Fry the Dumplings:
- Heat a non-stick pan with a bit of oil over medium-high heat.
- Place the dumplings in the pan, flat side down.
- Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes
-
Steam the Dumplings:
- Once you have pan fried one side of the dumplings, flip them over, and then add a small amount of water (1/4 cup) to the pan and cover immediately, cook 3-5 minutes, or until water is absorbed and wrappers are tender. This will steam the dumplings, and finish cooking the filling.
- Allow the dumplings to cook until the water evaporates. Then remove from pan.
-
Serve and Enjoy:
- Plate the dumplings and serve them with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, sriracha, and a splash of sesame oil.
Pork Dumpling Variations
While the classic pork dumplings are delicious, and classic for a reason, the fun thing is you can experiment with variations:
- Vegetarian Dumplings: My daughter is vegetarian, so I sometimes replace the pork with a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms and vegetables for a delightful vegetarian option.
- Spicy Kick: Use all hot sausage, or add crispy chili oil or more Sriracha to the filling for a spicy twist.
- Ground Chicken: You can mix up the meat and use a ground chicken. However, it is best to add a little fat to the mixture when switching meats, as ground chicken is not as fatty as the pork sausage, and can result in a dry filling.
You can also sub green cabbage or bok choy for the nappa cabbage, white onion for the green onion, etc. Have fun, mix it up and enjoy!
What to Serve with Pork Dumplings
These dumplings are so fun. My kids love them as after school snacks, appetizers, or even a complete meal. You can pair your pork dumplings with a side of steamed rice, stir-fried vegetables, or a light Asian-inspired salad.
I love having these dumplings as an appetizer with:
- Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry
- Instant Pot Pad Thai
- Baked Orange Chicken
- Easy Beef and Broccoli
- Cashew Chicken
Make Ahead and Storage
This is not a good recipe to fully cook ahead of time, as they do not taste as good. But, they can be prepped and frozen, then cooked from frozen for a delicious appetizer, snack, or meal. This recipe for the filling makes a lot, so you will likely prepare 60-80 dumplings from this recipe. You likely won’t want to eat all of them in one sitting.
Make as directed, but instead of cooking them, lay them flat on a baking tray, and pop them in the freezer. Once frozen, remove from tray to a freezer safe bag. You can prep in bulk by doing this, and prepare a large batch of pork dumplings.
When hunger strikes, cook them directly from the freezer by still pan frying them, and steaming, but add a couple of extra minutes to the steaming cooking time.
Dumpling Maker Tips and Tricks
Creating restaurant-quality pork dumplings at home has never been easier, thanks to the convenience of premade wrappers and this handy electric dumpling maker. It is fun and easy to use, and gets the kids excited about helping in the kitchen. But, it is also about $25, and it isn’t perfect. I have tested several, and this is my favorite, But you have to know the limitations and how to use it to get the best results. So here is what you need to know:
- Fully charge it. This little dumpling maker comes with a charging cord, and can charge up pretty quickly, so plug it in for about 10 minutes before using so you have a full charge to work with.
- Moisten edges of dumplings. It comes with a little brush tool to make this easy. By moistening the edges, you get a better seal.
- Center dumpling wrapper on the tool. This will mean the edges align and meet, and you can fit more filling in without it seeping out.
- Do NOT overfill your dumplings. A teaspoon of filling is really all you need, and you should use the tool provided to spread it across the wrapper so it wraps evenly and does not squeeze out the seams. I tried to get bigger dumplings and it doesn’t work with the tool. If you want really full dumplings or potstickers, you will need to stick to hand sealing and wrapping the dumplings.
Help the machine to turn. I found that even with minimal filling, sometimes this dumpling maker had difficulty turning and sealing the dumplings. But the good news is, it is super easy to help it do the job. Simply push a little to help it make the turn, and it will seal beautifully. Just a little squeeze of my fingers helped it make the full rotation and create perfect dumplings. And even with my help, it was still way easier than doing it by hand, more consistent results, and requires minimal effort on your part.
Pork Dumplings
Equipment
- 1 Electric Dumpling Maker optional
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1.5 pounds ground pork sausage hot or mild or combo of both
- 1.5 cups napa cabbage finely chopped
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste or grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon mirin or rice wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
For Wrapping:
- 2 packages Premade dumpling wrappers available in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores, near the produce and fresh herbs
For Cooking:
- 2 tbs oil
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
Prepare the Filling:
- In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped napa cabbage, green onions, minced garlic, ginger paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, sriracha, salt, and pepper.
- Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients until well combined.
- Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. (Optional, but best)
Assemble the Dumplings:
- While making dumpling wrappers from scratch can be delicious, the easy and efficient way to enjoy these delectable bites at home in no time is by using pre-made wrappers. You can find them in the refrigerator section or the produce section of most grocery stores. Usually by the fresh herbs.
- Lay out the premade dumpling wrappers on a clean surface.
- Brush the edges with a little water to make them easier to seal
- Place a spoonful of the pork filling in the center of each wrapper.
Wrap the Dumplings:
- You have 2 options, hand wrap the dumplings, or use an electric dumpling maker.
- By Hand: Fold the wrapper in half, creating a semicircle, and press the edges to seal. You can pleat the edges for a decorative touch if desired.
- With A Tool: Or use this super convenient and easy to use electric dumpling maker. The trick is to not put in too much filling, and if needed, help the tool turn the dumpling so it can seal.
- At this point you can freeze the dumplings by placing them single layered on a baking sheet, and freezing overnight, then transferring them to a freezer bag to use when desired. Or you can cook the dumplings.
Pan Fry the Dumplings:
- Heat a non-stick pan with a bit of oil over medium-high heat.
- Place the dumplings in the pan, flat side down.
- Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes
Steam the Dumplings:
- Once you have pan fried one side of the dumplings, flip them over, and then add a small amount of water (1/4 cup) to the pan and cover immediately, cook 3-5 minutes, or until water is absorbed and wrappers are tender. This will steam the dumplings, and finish cooking the filling.
- Allow the dumplings to cook until the water evaporates. Then remove from pan.
Serve and Enjoy:
- Plate the dumplings and serve them with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, sriracha, and a splash of sesame oil.
Notes
If cooking from frozen, steam for 2-3 minutes longer and use a 2 Tbs more water.
Depending on how full you fill your wrappers, this will make between 60-80 dumplings. It is best to freeze extras until ready to use. You can cut the recipe down, or hand fill your wrappers to get more filling in each.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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