13 Chinese Dumpling Recipes Worth Mastering

From steamed xiao long bao and perfectly pleated har gow to crispy, golden-fried potstickers — these savory bites are sure to satisfy any craving.

January 05, 2023

By: Food Network Kitchen

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Photo By: Matt Armendariz

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Photo By: Matt Armendariz

Our Favorite Chinese Dumpling Recipes

A staple of Chinese cuisine, dumplings are the ultimate comfort food. There are many varieties — and the recipes in this roundup range from traditional takes to inspired-versions. They all pay tribute, however, to the beloved flavors and time-honored techniques that make Chinese dumplings one of our all-time-favorite eats. Whether you make them for a celebration like Lunar New Year or for a weekend dinner, dumplings are a great cooking project for the whole family. The best part about having the extra hands to help is you can make a big batch and freeze half for the future, whenever you're longing for some serious belly comfort. This particular recipe is one of our favorites; it hits all the right flavor notes. If you don't have fatty ground pork, add 2 slices of minced bacon to the mixture. The fat from the bacon will give the dumplings the necessary richness.

Get the Recipe: Pan-Fried Pork and Chive Dumplings with Chile Crisp

Siu Mai

No dim sum table is complete without siu mai (open-faced dumplings with a thin wonton wrapper and savory "bouncy" filling) and every restaurant's recipe is slightly different. We’ve created a pork and shrimp version for a delicious "surf and turf" combo. The baking soda marinade for the pork and shrimp helps develop the optimal texture of the filling, as does the process of tossing the filling against the bottom of the bowl. Hand-chopping the pork belly also adds to the unique texture, but ground pork could be substituted in a pinch.

Get the Recipe: Siu Mai

Dumplings with a Crispy Skirt

Dumplings with a crispy skirt are essentially pan-fried dumplings with a thin and crisp outer layer (the "skirt") for an added texture. They're popular at izakayas throughout Japan, where they're called hanetsuki gyoza ("gyoza with wings") and at Chinese dumpling shops, where they're sometimes called binghua jianjiao ("ice-flower fried dumplings").

Get the Recipe: Dumplings with a Crispy Skirt

Pork Soup Dumplings

Molly says, "Xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, are Chinese steamed dumplings that have soup inside of them. They are like magic! I grew up eating these with my family at our favorite dim sum restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown and later learned how to make them by combining my family's go-to pot sticker recipe with the secret ingredient: soup gelatin, which melts down into soup once the dumplings are cooked."

Get the Recipe: Pork Soup Dumplings

Soy-Butter Scallop Wontons

You won’t have a problem eating all of these scallop wontons tossed in a rich soy-butter sauce. The filling is a simple yet flavorful blend of scallops (which on their own symbolize wealth due their round shape and golden color when seared) and minced jalapenos for a gentle heat and aromatics. The sauce is not traditional, but the rich butter bloomed with chile flakes and salty soy sauce complements the natural sweetness and oceanic flavors of the scallop wontons. Remember, the more dumplings you eat, the richer you will be!

Get the Recipe: Soy-Butter Scallop Wontons

Chicken Pot Stickers with Dipping Sauce

Molly’s chicken dumplings are a Yeh family favorite. She flavors the filling with fresh ginger and scallion, then serves the pot stickers with a simple, classic dipping sauce.

Get the Recipe: Chicken Pot Stickers with Dipping Sauce

Steamed Pork-and-Mushroom Shumai

Elegant, beautiful and packed with flavor, these five-star dumplings cannot be beat.

Get the Recipe: Steamed Pork-and-Mushroom Shumai

Har Gow

Har gow (or crystal shrimp dumplings) are a staple on any dim sum restaurant table. Known for their slightly chewy translucent skins, bright orange shrimp filling and many small pleats, they are the hallmark of a great dim sum chef: the more pleats and the more translucent the skins, the more skilled the chef. Using a baking soda soak helps improve the texture of the shrimp, making it more "snappy," while slowly adding boiling water to the wheat starch helps create the signature translucent skins.

Get the Recipe: Har Gow

Pork-and-Shrimp Chive Dumplings

Long before she became the executive dim sum chef at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel, Sandy Shi learned techniques from her mother. These chive dumplings, which Sandy makes using homemade wrappers, are one of her go-to recipes. "I cut the shrimp in half to give them a bit more texture," she says.

Get the Recipe: Pork-and-Shrimp Chive Dumplings

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

You’ll want the dough to be very cold before filling the dumplings, so plan to let it rest in the fridge for an hour before cooking.

Get the Recipe: Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

Kabocha Squash and Shiitake Wontons with Pomegranate-Vinegar Syrup

Ming fills wonton wrappers with kabocha squash and shiitake mushrooms for his take on an East meets West dumpling. To eat, drizzle his fall-flavored wontons with a pomegranate-rice vinegar syrup.

Get the Recipe: Kabocha Squash and Shiitake Wontons with Pomegranate-Vinegar Syrup

Fried Pork Dumplings

Skip store-bought dumplings and make these bites from scratch with ground pork and dumpling wrappers. An easy ponzu dipping sauce makes a perfect pairing.

Get the Recipe: Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings

Sew Mai Dumplings

Jet says, "Dim sum literally translates to 'fill the heart.' I love filling my belly with this Cantonese breakfast! It originated in little tea houses in southern China that served steamed and fried bites with your choice of tea and is the modern version of a culinary swap meet. Masses of people all competing for fresh cooked bites of food auctioned off carts. These are my favorite type of dumpling. Shaped like drums, stuffed with shrimp and pork, they are the best."

Get the Recipe: Sew Mai Dumplings