Chinese dumplings are an iconic dish, especially during Chinese New Year. It’s easy to make, and one of the reasons I love to make this dish is that I could pretty much use any ingredients that I have left in my fridge as the stuffing. Also, it is a good family activity during holidays as young kids can join the cooking process by making and eating their own creations.

Chinese New Year Dumpling Traditions

During Chinese New Year, we usually put a clean coin in one of the dumplings and boil the dumplings close to midnight on New Year’s eve. The receiver of the coin will have good luck and good fortune in the upcoming year. This is an oddly similar tradition to what the Greeks do with their new year vasilopita. Let us know if in your country you have similar customs during special holidays or events.

Types of Chinese Dumplings

There are many types of dumplings in China. The most common types are boiled dumplings (水饺 shuǐ jiǎo), pan-fried dumplings (煎饺 zhēng jiǎo) and steamed dumplings (蒸饺 jiān jiǎo). This recipe is great for boiled and pan-fried dumplings. I usually prepare the stuffing when the dough is resting, which will greatly reduce your overall cooking time.

What are Chinese Dumplings Wrapped In?

Authentic Chinese dumplings are covered in a wrapper, also known as a skin. It’s chiefly made with flour and water as well as a little bit of salt. The process of making dumpling wrappers is straightforward. Rolling them, though, takes a little bit of practice. The secret is to get them down to a thinness that’s enough to keep them intact during boiling without being so thick they’ll be hard to eat.

Chinese Dumpling Wrapper Ingredients

To make authentic Chinese dumpling wrappers, you only need a few ingredients:

• 500g of plain flour – This is the base of the wrappers and can potentially be subbed with gluten free flour or other alternatives.
• 2g of salt – Just barely enough to add some seasoning.
• 240-250g of 30℃ temperature water – Of course you’ll need to make the flour wet in order to mould it.
• About 1 cup of extra flour for the rolling and shaping process

How to Make Chinese Dumpling Wrappers

The whole process of making the wrappers is quite simple:

1. Mix your 500g of flour with the 2g of salt. Then add the water and mix well until fully combined. You might have to experiment with the amount of water you use as I’ve found that different brands require different amounts.
2. Wash and dry your hands to prepare for the kneading process. Then knead for 3-5 mins until you get a consistency similar to pressing on your ear lobe.
3. Place the dough in a container and cover with cling film. Let it rest of 20 minutes.
4. Bring out the dough and knead it for another 1-2 minutes. Then put it back in the container, cover it with cling film then let it rest for 1 hour.
5. Sprinkle your extra flour on your working surface and poke a hole in the middle of your well-rested dough.
6. Gently and evenly expand it into a circle, then cut it into four equal sections. Take only one of them to work and put the remaining 3 back into the container and cover again with the cling film (this is important to keep the rest of the dough moist).
7. Roll the only dough that’s left on your working surface, until thin and long, then cut it into 2cm cubes (approximately 9g each).
8. Sprinkle some more extra plain flour on top of the cubes. Take one cube and sort it into a ball with your palms. (Do the same to the rest of the cubes). Flatten the balls with your palms.
9. Take your rolling pin and roll the flattened mini doughs into a thinner sheet. Now, this is important. Use one of your hands (not your dominant hand usually) to hold the top edge of the sheet, use the other hand to roll the bottom edge of the sheet while gently turning the sheet. (the reason for this step is to make the edges thinner because we will make folds with the edges). The size of your dumpling skin should be around 8-9 in diameter.

Storing Your Chinese Dumplings

The amount of dough for this recipe should be enough to serve 4 people. When I make dumplings I tend to make more and freeze the extra dumplings (uncooked). It can store up to 3 months. When I feel too bored to cook, I usually just take the frozen dumplings out and pan-fry them.

Now that you know how easy it is to make handmade Chinese dumpling skins/wrappers, check out our dumpling recipes and get inspired!

Try It Yourself!

And there you have it! This is how you can make authentic handmade Chinese dumpling wrappers. You can use these to make any kind of dumpling with any stuffing you wish. Give the recipe a go and be sure to show us your creation by posting on Instagram and tagging us at @linschinesekitchen.