Steamed Pork Dumplings

4.38 from 8 votes
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Steamed Pork Dumplings – Asian dumplings filled with ground pork, ginger, garlic and scallions with a delicious dipping sauce.

Dumplings just might be one of my favorite things. When we went to China a few years ago, if there was a place that sold dumplings, I want to try them all! And Japanese Gyoza are another must make and must order whenever it is on a menu.

The best thing about these steamed pork dumplings is you can make a bunch of them and then freezer for later! Yes, dumplings can be a little tedious to fill and fold, so being able to spend a little extra time to have a freezer full is a bonus.

steamed dumplings in a steamer basket

 

Pork dumplings have a very easy filling to make, with ingredients that you can find at pretty much every grocery store. I love trying and making food from different countries, but I really want to be able to find the ingredients without having to run all over town to different stores.

The “hardest” to find ingredients is wonton wrappers. And almost every store has them these days near the produce section. You can use square or round ones, either will work great and taste amazing!

pork dumplings ingredients

What Are Steamed Pork Dumplings Made From

  • Ground Pork
  • Fresh Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Green Onions
  • Soy Sauce
  • Sesame Oil
  • Black Pepper
  • Wonton Wrappers

The other thing you need is a delicious dipping sauce! There are all sorts of shortcut/store bought ones out there that you can use. There is a quickly homemade version in the recipe card below that is great and super easy!

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

  • Soy Sauce
  • Water
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Green Onion
  • Sesame Oil

Just mix everything together and you have a great and easy sauce you can make in 2 minutes. We like to serve with a little bit of hot chili oil as well for a little heat!

pork dumpling filling being mixed together in a bowl

How Do You Make Steamed Dumplings

  1. Start by putting a small amount of filling into the center of your wrapper. About 2 teaspoons is the amount that works for me.
  2. Next dip your finger in water and wet the outside 1/4 inch of the wrapper all the way around.
  3. While holding the wrapper, fold it in half over the filling. Then, starting at one edge, use your thumb and forefinger to make pleats about 1/4 inch apart.
  4. Once you make one pleat, press down gently to seal the dough together, and move onto the next one. In the end you will have about 6 pleats from one end to the other.
  5. Place the dumpling on a lined baking sheet, gently pressing down to flatten the bottom.
  6. Once all of your dumplings are ready, if you have a bamboo steamer line it parchment paper (this one with holes works really well, or cut small squares for each dumpling). Fill a large skillet with water, place the basket over the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the steamer basket and cook for 12 minutes.
a plate of steamed dumplings

How To Store Pork Dumplings

The really nice thing about making these dumplings, is that you can make a big batch and freeze them for later. Filling dumplings can be a little tedious and time consuming, so you can make a double batch and have them in the freezer for another time!

Once you fill and fold all of your dumplings, place them on a lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for a couple hours until they are frozen solid. Then you can transfer them to a freezer safe storage bag and have in the freezer for few months.

To cook the frozen dumplings, you follow the same instructions but your cooking time just increases by a few minutes. Super easy!

a tray of drumplings

Gyoza Wrappers Vs Wonton Wrappers

Both work great, but gyoza wrappers can be a little harder to find. They are usually round, so they will look a little more like these Japanese Dumplings. Gyoza wrappers are usually in the frozen section of an Asian market. They tend to hold up a little better to steaming, so if you can find them they are my first choice. But wonton wrappers are at almost every grocery store, so they are just much easier to get your hands on.

pork dumplings in a bamboo steamer basket

What Kind Of Steamer To Use

If you have a Bamboo Steamer that is the best to use. They are very inexpensive, and I use it far more than I ever thought I would. You can even use it to heat frozen store bought dumplings! You want a basket that fits over the top of a large skillet, that you can fill with water. You need to be able to add enough water to steam for 12-15 minutes, depending on what you are making. So just check the size of the pans you have and make sure they are large enough and can fill with about 2 inches of water.

Don’t worry, if you don’t have a bamboo steamer, you can still make these! For years, I used my Vegetable Steamer Basket to steam dumplings. You just need something to suspend the food over the water, that allows the steam to fully circulate and cook the food.

Can I Use Other Meat

Absolutely! Our favorite is ground pork, so that is what I used. But ground turkey and ground chicken are also great options. You can even use a combination of meats, or add chopped shrimp.

dipping a dumpling in dipping sauce

Recipe Tips

  • Thoroughly mix your filling. Sometimes with burgers you don’t want to really work the meat too much and change the texture. But with dumplings you really want to mix the filling together. Get in there and mix with your hands to really combine everything. Your dumplings will be less likely to fall apart as they cook and you eat them.
  • Don’t use too much water. Yes, the instructions say to run your finger along the edge with water to help seal the wrappers. Just make sure you barely moisten the edges, and don’t get any extra water in the filling. This will steam and just make your dumplings mushy.
  • Line your basket with parchment paper. When you steam dumplings in any steamer, they tend to stick. So using parchment paper is a must. If you have the kind with wholes you can use a whole sheet. But if you don’t, you want to cut them in squares, one for each dumplings. This makes it a lot easier to work with, and leaves enough room for the steam to circulate and really cook the dumplings.
  • Press the air out. When you fold your wrapper over, you want to make sure you are folding around the meat, and get rid of any extra air. Extra air will try to escape when they steam, and can make things a little harder to deal with and they can fall apart.
  • Make sure you have enough water in the pan when you are steaming. You don’t need to cook at a high heat, once the water starts boiling, you can reduce the heat to medium, and steam for 12-15 minutes. I use a 10 inch skillet, with a 9 inch basket and usually fill the pan with about 2 inches of water.
close up pork dumplings already cooked

More Asian Recipes To Try

square image of steamed pork dumplings
4.38 from 8 votes

Asian Dumplings With Dipping Sauce

By Erin
Steamed Pork Dumplings – Asian dumplings filled with ground pork, ginger, garlic and scallions with a delicious dipping sauce.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 15

Ingredients 

Dumplings

Dipping Sauce

Instructions 

  • Combine ground pork, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper until well combined.
  • Place about 2 teaspoons of filling into the center of a wonton wrapper/
  • Next dip your finger in water and wet the outside 1/4 inch of the wrapper all the way around.
  • While holding the wrapper, fold it in half over the filling. Then, starting at one edge, use your thumb and forefinger to make pleats about 1/4 inch apart.
  • Once you make one pleat, press down gently to seal the dough together, and move onto the next one. In the end you will have about 3 pleats from one end to the other.
  • Place the dumpling on a lined baking sheet, gently pressing down to flatten the bottom.
  • Once all of your dumplings are ready, if you have a bamboo steamer line it parchment paper (this one with holes works really well, or cut small squares for each dumpling).
  • Fill a large skillet with water, place the basket over the pan and bring to a boil.
  • Cover the steamer basket and cook for 12 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 561mg | Fiber: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Erin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Course: Appetizer Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 15
Calories: 185
Keyword: Asian Dumplings
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About Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and Iโ€™m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, youโ€™ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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40 Comments

  1. These dumplings look so good, and they’re so much easier to make than I would have thought. I’ll have to give this a try.

  2. A little time consuming as they always are. Switching things up so I tried this recipe. I made as per instructions. The flavor just wasn’t there for me. I feel I should have used regular soy sauce, as the savory flavor was missing. Maybe even a little salt and white pepper? I also believe I like the 80/20 ground pork more due to the really lean texture of 90/10. I would add more of all ingredients except for the pork.