Dumpling Epiphany

You know those frozen dumplings you buy at Chinatown or Argyle markets that you take home and boil the crap out of, and maybe pan-fry for a little bite, but never taste like they do in restaurants--all soft and steamy and chewy? I'm sure steaming might work, but mine always stick, and my boiling method always ends up breaking the dumplings up and the 'skin' is never the right texture.

This may not be groundbreaking material, but I figured out (with the help of directions on the package, so I can't exactly take credit for the info) how to get an almost soup-dumpling-like quality (the real kind...not like Ed's) out of those suckers. It's called the 3-cup Water Boil method, according to the package.

Bring your water (I salt mine a little) to a boil. Throw in frozen dumplings. Cover and bring to a boil. When water is boiling again, throw in a cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil again. At boil, throw in another cup of water. Cover and boil again. Add another cup of water. Cover and boil again. Drain and eat. (I mix soy sauce and a little sesame oil to dip in.)

I tried it last night, and the cheap, ancient dumplings I found in the back of my freezer last week turned out pretty damn good. A few of 'em even gushed a teaspoon or so of jus from the beef-green onion mixture when I bit into the dumpling. Tasty.

Sorry if this is amateur info to the diehards in this lot, but it was a defining moment in dumpling-eating history for me.

I generally prefer to make and freeze my own, but when I've used store-bought frozen dumplings a gentle steam has always been my preferred method for cooking.

To avoid sticking, I don't let them touch each other and I either steam them atop a green leafy thing or right on a lightly oiled metal steamer insert.

Best,
Michael

I prefer the crispy texture differential that a pan fry offers the typical gyoza. The method I was taught goes like this:

Place frozen dumplings in cold lightly oiled skillet
Heat on high until lightly brown on the bottoms
add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water and cover for 5 minutes on medium
remove cover and continue to heat until desired crispyness

Flip

crrush wrote:Bring your water (I salt mine a little) to a boil. Throw in frozen dumplings. Cover and bring to a boil. When water is boiling again, throw in a cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil again. At boil, throw in another cup of water. Cover and boil again. Add another cup of water. Cover and boil again. Drain and eat. (I mix soy sauce and a little sesame oil to dip in.)

Interesting technique. The continuous addition of the unheated water must bring down the temperature just a little and inhibit boiling so that dumplings continue to heat without being beaten to death by the boil. I should try reading directions more often -- might be some good information there.

Hammond

I get pretty good results by arranging on a plate, sprinkling with water, covering with plastic wrap and steaming them in the microwave. It doesn't turn them into soup dumplings, but then, I wasn't looking for soup dumplings.

crrush wrote:You know those frozen dumplings you buy at Chinatown or Argyle markets that you take home and boil the crap out of, and maybe pan-fry for a little bite, but never taste like they do in restaurants--all soft and steamy and chewy?

First, please note that I have read the thread about making dumplings by hand. I even participated in a dumpling-making party a few years back, and I would do it again. This was a good way to hang out with friends and produce delicious little dumplings, all at once. At the party, we had an enabler, someone who had learned homemade dumplings in China.

These days, for a number of reasons, I am unwilling to make dumplings from scratch. I'm curious to know about the board's favorite frozen dumplings (they don't even have to be Chinese dumplings -- surely, somebody attended Pierogi Fest). Where do you buy yours? How do you heat them up? And what is your sauce of choice (besides Gary's chili oil recipe)?

The 3-Cup Boil method seems to work well on all of the Chinese dumplings I've tested. Can't recommend any brands, per se, but you can't go wrong with pork or beef and green onion. When in doubt, buy the most expensive? Dumplings are cheap, so 'expensive' is relative.

For Pierogis - we love the ones from Andy's Deli on Milwaukee north of Foster. The cheese (sweet) and the potato are best. Skip the mushroom, they tasted nothing like mushroom and were gross.

They come frozen in a hard plastic box.

I drop in boiling water, cook until they float, skim off and drop into a skillet with melted butter to crisp the edges.

Serve with a little sour cream.

peterc wrote: I'm curious to know about the board's favorite frozen dumplings (they don't even have to be Chinese dumplings -- surely, somebody attended Pierogi Fest).

You can find a report on Pierogifest over here.

For frozen pierogi it’s tough to beat Alexandra Foods. They might not be the best of the best but they’re a steal at $2 a dozen (if you buy 10 dozen). This old post lists other sources for pierogi.

For frozen Asian dumplings, two good sources are Hong Kong Market and Chicago Food. Hong Kong Market is a fairly new large store in Chinatown. One of their strengths is the frozen food section, with a large dumpling selection. I’m afraid I can’t recommend specific brands because I always forget what I bought previously. Chicago Food also has a very good frozen dumpling selection. My favorites are the very plump homemade Korean vegetarian dumplings sold in Ziplock bags. They’re far more expensive than most others.

Alexandra Foods
3308 N Central Av
Chicago
773-282-3820

Hong Kong Market
2425 S Wallace St (just southwest of Connie’s Pizza)
Chicago
312-791-9111

Chicago Food Corp
3333 N Kimball Av
Chicago
773-478-5566

Flip wrote:I prefer the crispy texture differential that a pan fry offers the typical gyoza. The method I was taught goes like this:

Place frozen dumplings in cold lightly oiled skillet
Heat on high until lightly brown on the bottoms
add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water and cover for 5 minutes on medium
remove cover and continue to heat until desired crispyness

Flip

I offer two slight alternatives in technique. One is to keep the cover on even after the liquid has cooked off, to stop the tops from drying up too much. The other is to sprinkle a little flour before adding the water, which creates a bit of crackly crust in the gaps between the potstickers.

The technique of adding water three times is I believe the standard way of making water/boiled dumplings, although I have seen a couple of Chinese families that (horror) cook them on a hard boil all the way through.

orig. post is the traditional method of boiling Chinese dumplings and it works well. i've found tho, w/ many frozen dumplings, boiling it "3 cups" style makes is a bit more overdone than i like, so you may go for the 1-2 cup boil, or, until the skin shows transparency.

as far as brands of frozen dumplings... wei chuan now makes a "potsticker" style dumpling. essentially it's pre-cooked frozen dumplings w/ thicker skin that yield potsticker qualities after only 10 minutes of pan frying. the technology amazes me.

my asian colleague and his family swear by the ones available frozen in ginormous bags at costco

peterc wrote: Where do you buy yours? How do you heat them up? And what is your sauce of choice (besides Gary's chili oil recipe)?

I'm thrilled to learn that frozen dumplings can be bought. My husband and I tried our hand at making shu mai a couple of times, but it is rather labor-intensive. Not sure where the nearest Costco is, but am looking forward to trying stores in Chinatown soon.

(Hello! This is my first post. We just moved to Chicago last week. We're located near Lincoln & Foster and have already sampled at least four different pizza joints...hehe.)

Like peterc, I'd like to know what sauces you make for it. It's difficult to come up with the exact combination. Also, I tried one Chinese place and one Thai place here, and neither made a sauce of the sort that I'm used to. Makes me wonder if what I'm used to is "wrong" or what.

Saint Pizza wrote:Like peterc, I'd like to know what sauces you make for it.

Welcome to LTHForum!

For those interested there's a great old thread about dumpling sauce recipes here. Check it out.

Best,
Michael

crrush wrote:Bring your water (I salt mine a little) to a boil. Throw in frozen dumplings. Cover and bring to a boil. When water is boiling again, throw in a cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil again. At boil, throw in another cup of water. Cover and boil again. Add another cup of water. Cover and boil again. Drain and eat. (I mix soy sauce and a little sesame oil to dip in.)

This technique is also the traditional way of cooking dried or fresh Japanese noodles. The end result guarantees your noodles to be al dente.

There was a TV show in Japan which introduced a different way of frying gyozas that cooked it all the way through, while having a crispy bottom, and seperates easily.

The video is on youtube here.

Their trick is to cook the gyozas in water first, and then frying it up. So, put the gyozas in the pan with water and cover. After the water boils for 3 minutes or so, pour the water off, and add some oil. Heat for another minute or two until bottoms are dry and browned.

I tried it a few days ago, and it worked really well.

speaking of cooking dumplings, how does one tell if they're cooked all the way through? I just had some potstickers and the filling was pink, which made me wonder if they were cooked all the way through. I'm used to Korean mandu, where there's no pink in the filling.

Thanks!

(Hello! This is my first post. We just moved to Chicago last week. We're located near Lincoln & Foster and have already sampled at least four different pizza joints...hehe.)

Heya Saint - You are much closer to (4800 N off of Broadway) Argyle - the "Little Chinatown/Little Saigon/Little Vietnam" area - than you are to Chinatown proper. Many of the stores there carry frozen dumplings.

I saw frozen shu mai last week at Golden Pacific Market and almost bought some. Golden Pacific is a little farther north than the Argyle strip with a teeny little parking area. The owners are usually more than happy to help you figure out most anything.

I also don't do brands on dumplings - but the ones I bought last week from GPM for 3.99 are my new favorite. Chicken, spinach, and mushrooms half moons!

Golden Pacific Market
5353 N Broadway St (about 3 blocks north of Foster, near the lake)
Chicago, IL 60640

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