Make your own dumplings for Chinese New Year!

It’s almost time for reunion dinner or gathering with your family members! As Chinese New Year approaches, it’s time to bring out the old recipe book and make some dumplings for the new year. If you want to try something new, we have a couple of homemade recipes that you can try so you can have a variety of dumplings for the Lunar New Year. The more, the merrier!

Chinese Beef Dumplings

These dumplings are great for an appetiser or as a snack. You can even make them beforehand and freeze them. Once you’re ready to eat them, you can defrost them and heat them up using a microwave, oven or steamer.

Ingredients (36 – 40 dumplings):

• 230 g of ground beef (at least 20% fat)
• 1/4 cup chicken stock (or beef stock, or water)
• 1 tbsp of light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 2 tsp of ginger, grated
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of ground toasted Sichuan peppercorn (or black pepper)
• 4 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup of frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup of frozen green peas, thawed
• 1 tbsp of sesame oil
• 20 homemade dumpling wrappers (or packaged dumpling wrappers)
• 1 -2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Add ground beef into a big bowl to make the dumpling filling. Add chicken stock, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, ginger, salt, and toasted Sichuan peppercorns to the bowl. Mix well using a pair of chopsticks until the liquid is fully absorbed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it marinate in the fridge while you prepare other ingredients.
2. (Optional step) You can start making the dumpling dough now if you’re planning to use homemade dumpling wrappers.
3. Add the chopped carrot into the food processor. Mix until you get a finely chopped carrot. Add green onions. Mix until the onions are finely cut and transfer to a bowl.
4. When you’re ready to make the dumplings, add minced green onion, carrot, corn, green peas and sesame oil into the ground beef mixture. Stir to mix well.
5. Scoop about 1 – 1.5 tablespoons of dumpling filling and place it in the centre of the wrapper. With one hand holding the dumpling, start sealing the edges with the other hand. After folding, ensure the edges are sealed well by pressing again. You can use any way to fold the dumplings as long as you’re comfortable with it.
6. If you don’t cook them immediately, then you can freeze the dumplings now. Place them onto a baking tray and seal with a plastic wrapper. You can store the dumplings in the freezer for up to 1 month. Once the dumplings are entirely frozen, after about a day, you can transfer them to a gallon bag to save freezer space.
7. Cook the dumplings in batches. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add dumplings. Cook until the bottom side turns golden. Add 2 tablespoons of water, and cover. Cook until the other side also turns golden and the dumplings are cooked through, for 2 to 3 minutes.
8. You can serve the dumplings immediately with dumpling dipping sauce (depending on your preference).

• Carrot Dumplings

1. The combination of carrots and eggs provides a sweet flavour and crunchy texture that makes the dumplings irresistible!

Ingredients (45 dumplings):

• • 45 dumpling wrappers
  • 2 tsp of potato starch (or corn starch)
• Filling
  • 450 g of carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup of dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 slices of ginger
  • 3 tbsp of sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup of bamboo shoots, minced
  • 1/4 tsp of white pepper powder
  • 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
• Sauce
  • 2 tbsp of Chinese black vinegar
  • 2 tsp of light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp of homemade chilli oil (or Sriracha sauce) (Optional)

Instructions:

• For fillings

1. Rinse the shiitake mushrooms and put them in a bowl. Add hot water until it covers the mushrooms. Rehydrate for 30 minutes, or until tender. Rinse with water again and gently rub by hand to remove dirt from the surface. Drain and set aside.
2. Add carrots, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, and ginger into a food processor. Pulse until all the ingredients are finely minced but not mushy.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until warm. Add the minced carrot and shiitake mushrooms. Cook while stirring until mixture is thoroughly cooked through. Set aside on a large plate to cool.
4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the same skillet. Add the beaten eggs. Stir and chop the eggs with a spatula, until the eggs are fully cooked and turned to small bits. Set aside on a large plate to cool.
5. When the eggs and carrot mixture have cooled, transfer them to a large bowl. Add bamboo shoot, white pepper powder, light soy sauce, and salt. Mix well with a spatula.

• Wrap dumplings

1. Combine potato starch with 2 tablespoons of water and mix well.
2. Prepare a large tray. Spray a thin layer of oil onto the tray to prevent the dumplings from sticking on it.
3. Wrap dumplings one at a time. Brush the potato starch slurry onto the edge of the wrapper. Place 1 -1.5 tablespoon of filling onto the centre of the wrapper. Pinch the edges together to seal the dumplings. Place dumplings on the tray.
4. While wrapping dumplings, wet a few pieces of paper towel and cover the dumpling wrappers with it. Soak another few pieces of paper towel and cover the finished dumplings. This is to prevent the dumplings from drying out.

• Storage

1. If the dumplings are not going to be cooked and consumed immediately, seal the tray of dumplings with plastic wrap. Then store in the freezer. When the dumplings are completely frozen, transfer them into a large zip lock bag to free up freezer space. The dumplings can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

• Cook dumplings

1. Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until warm. Align the dumplings in the pan. When the dumplings start to sizzle, pour in 1/4 cup of water. Cover immediately and turn to medium heat.
2. Cook until the liquid is fully evaporated and the dumpling doughs are cooked through. About 3 to 5 minutes for fresh dumplings and 5 to 8 minutes for frozen dumplings.
3. Cook for another minute or so until the bottom of the dumplings turn golden brown. Transfer to a plate.
4. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl.
5. Serve warm with the sauce. Enjoy your carrot dumplings!

Hope that the two recipes above will inspire you to create more dumplings and share them with your loved ones during this Lunar New Year! If you’re hungry and need more food to go around, order using foodpanda and discover a world of culinary delights. The best part? We deliver right to your doorstep.