Weekend project: organise a dumpling party

Is dim sum your favorite thing to do? Move the party to your own home and organise a juicy dumpling party. Here’s how to do it best.

I’m still always hoping for a Chinese friend so I can be adopted into a Chinese family. If I’m to believe the stories of my Chinese friends, they used to make dumplings with the whole family on Sundays, and somehow I think that sounds like the coziest thing ever. Filling and folding a whole lot of dumplings with people you love—can you imagine anything nicer? I’ll keep looking for my Chinese other half, but until then I host dumpling parties, and you should too.

I’m not going to lie to you: making dumplings is an incredible amount of work, but it’s anything but difficult. You make the dough with flour (and yes: you really do have to make your own wrappers) and water, and for the filling all you have to do is mix the ingredients in a bowl. You can do this. Filling and folding dumplings is fun for the first five dumplings, after which you wonder why you ever started. Luckily, many hands make light work, and there’s absolutely no shame in putting your guests to work.

The wrappers

Yes, you can easily buy ready-made dumpling wrappers at the Asian supermarket, but that’s about all they’re good for. If this is your first time making dumplings, I’ll let it slide. At the very least, always check the packaging carefully to see whether the wrappers are for boiling or steaming, or for frying. If you really want to do it properly, make your own dumpling wrappers.

For 60 wrappers, mix 420 g flour with 210 ml water and knead for 6–8 minutes (by hand or with a food processor) until you have a firm, smooth dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then knead the dough for another 2–3 minutes until it feels a little firmer. Let it rest for 1 hour. Roll the dough out into a long strip and cut it in half. Place the two rolls next to each other and cut both into thirds. Cut 10 dumplings from each piece, dust with a little flour and place under a tea towel.

Roll each round out into a thin wrapper, dust them lightly with flour and stack them on top of one another. If you’re not using them right away, place them in the refrigerator or freezer for a little while so they don’t stick together.

The filling

The best filling is made with juicy, fatty ground pork. Not every butcher has it ready-made in the shop, but most will be more than happy to grind it for you. If you call ahead, it’s usually no problem at all. If the butcher is grinding it anyway, ask them to mix some extra fat into the meat. That makes the filling extra juicy. My favorite filling is pork and Chinese chives.

Prefer shrimp or vegetarian? It won’t be as juicy as a fatty pork dumpling, but fine. In any case, it’s fun to make different kinds, so you don’t have to stuff twenty identical dumplings into your mouth later. Although I’d be very happy to do that too. These shrimp dumplings from Bon Appetit are incredibly delicious, and if you want to go vegetarian, make these with shiitake, cabbage and carrot.

The preparation

Think carefully in advance about what you’ll prepare and what you’ll have your guests do. To avoid making an enormous mess and to reduce stress, it’s worth making the dough and filling yourself and having your guests only fill and fold. You can also easily make the sauces ahead of time. If you have enough space in the kitchen or at the table, you can really make everything together. It just depends on what you prefer.

The stations

The easiest option: give everyone their own dumpling station. Are you making the dough and filling yourself? Then give everyone their own portion and place a few flour-dusted plates or cutting boards in the middle for everyone to put their folded dumplings on.

Starting from scratch together? Then give everyone their ingredients, a cutting board, a knife and a (dumpling) rolling pin. If you don’t have enough of these, you can also use wine bottles, but that’s a bit more of a hassle. Making different kinds of dumplings? Divide the recipes among your guests.

The dipping sauce

The dumpling recipe often includes a dipping sauce, but it’s also fun to make different kinds and simply put them on the table. That way, you can dip everything into a little bit of everything. When I’m in a hurry, my favorite is a mixture of black vinegar and crispy chili oil (both available at the Asian supermarket).

You can also make a sauce based on soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Add finely chopped garlic, toasted sesame seeds or thinly sliced spring onions, and optionally a splash of chili oil. Feel free to experiment to find your favorite combination.

Drinks

And what do you drink with those dumplings? Tea and dumplings are a classic combination, but if you don’t find tea festive enough (fair enough), beer is also perfect for washing everything down. Prefer wine? Go for a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling.

Dessert

Still have room for dessert? The Chinese aren’t known for it, but if you still have the energy, you can always make custard buns or mooncakes. Or, of course, simply buy them ready-made at the Asian supermarket. After all the work you’ve put into the dumplings, you deserve some rest.

Read also:

• These wines go with Asian food
• Everything you need to cook truly Chinese food
• Worth the trip: Din Tai Fung