It’s Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) today so I thought why not make some Chinese dumplings to go with it? After all there’s nothing more delicious than a dumpling is there? A hot, steamy little parcel filled with delicious and fragrant goodness. I could eat them all day long.

Whether fried, steamed or boiled, dumplings are so satisfying. There are some fabulous restaurants that sell dim sum by the bucket load and I am desperate to revisit one. Hopefully soon but until then, I attempted to make my own.

I made chicken and mushroom dumplings and served them in a mushroom Chinese soup. It was delicious! I’ll admit, this is not a quick midweek meal. This is a lazy weekend meal when you have a little time on your hands to create something special. Or in my case, when my daughter is at nursery! But having said that, it really isn’t as time consuming as you may think.

I used ready made won ton wrappers which you can buy online or in most Chinese supermarkets. Then I made a quick filling using chicken mince, chopped mushrooms, spring onions and a few other ingredients (recipe below). After this it’s simply an assembly job. Once assembled, the dumplings can be steamed in 10 minutes are will be ready to enjoy.

You can eat them as they are, dipping them in either soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, or chilli oil. I decided to make a quick Chinese soup to make a more substantial meal and placed the dumplings inside. Topped with some chilli oil, it was tasty, comforting and something I would love to share with friends. Why not give it a try? Let me know if you do!

The recipe

Makes approximately 20 dumplings

Ingredients:

• 1 packet ready made dumpling wrappers
• 225g chicken mince
• 1 large mushroom, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl and leave to marinade for a couple of hours if possible.

2. To assemble, prepare a small bowl of water next to your stack of dumpling wrappers. This is to create a ‘glue’ that will seal the dumplings. Lay the wrapper in a diamond shape and place a small teaspoon of filling in the middle. Be careful not to overfill. Run a little bit of water with your finger on the edges of the wrapper.

3. Fold the wrapper in a triangle shape and seal carefully. Next, meet the two bottom ends and seal again. Continue the process until you have used all the filling.

4. Place the dumplings in a steamer and steam for approximately 10-12 minutes. Be careful when removing them as they will be very hot.

5. Serve with any dipping sauce of your choice and enjoy!

Thanks very much for reading. Leave me a comment below to let me know what you think 🙂 Have a great evening!

My name is Bhavisha Surti and I am a food photographer and stylist based in Milton Keynes. Please subscribe to my blog below and check out my website to see more of my work at www.jbimagery.co.uk. Thank you!