Basic Dumpling Dough
This dough is the foundation of many excellent dumplings, including Chinese jiâozi, Korean mandu, and Nepali momo. The process of making the dough is easy to master, especially with a little help from modern tools such as a food processor (though you can mix the dough by hand). Asian wheat flour wrappers may be made with cold or hot water—the temperature is traditionally dictated by the cooking method. Boiled dumplings are said to require thicker skins made from cold-water dough in order to withstand the pressures of boiling, whereas pan fried and steamed dumplings require thinner skins made from hot-water dough for their gentler cooking processes. Over the years, I’ve found that homemade wrappers of medium thickness, a scant 1/8 inch thick in the center and about 1/16 inch thick at the rim, work well for all cooking methods. If dumplings are gently boiled as described for shuijiao on page 31, there is no need for thicker rappers. Producing medium-thick wrappers is easier with hot-water dough as it is more yielding than its cold-water counterpart. The resulting wrappers taste superior to store-bought ones, and they need no water to seal. Grocery store all-purpose flour with a moderate amount of gluten, such as Gold Medal brand, works exceptionally well.
Recipes for hot-water dough often call for boiling water to hydrate the dry ingredients, but I find that practice too dangerous and prefer to let the water rest first. For the just-boiled water, half-fill a kettle or saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and after the bubbling action subsides, 0 to 90 seconds (depending on the heating vessel), pour the amount needed into a glass measuring cup and use for making the dough. I typically wait no more than 2 minutes after boiling to use the water.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 1 pound, enough for 32 medium or 24 large dumplings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the dough in a food processor, put the flour in the work bowl. With the machine running, add 3/4 cup of water in a steady stream through the feed tube. As soon as all the water has been added, stop the machine and check the dough. It should look rough and feel soft but firm enough to hold its shape when pinched. If necessary, add water by the teaspoon or flour by the tablespoon. When satisfied, run the machine for another 5 to 10 seconds to further knead and form a ball around the blade. Avoid overworking the dough.
Step 2
Alternatively, make the dough by hand. Put a bowl atop a kitchen towel to prevent it from slipping while you work. Put the flour in the bowl and make a well in the center. Use a wooden spoon or bamboo rice paddle to stir the flour while you add 3/4 cup water in a steady stream. Aim to evenly moisten the flour. It is okay to pause to stir or add water—it is hard to simultaneously do both actions. When all the water has been added, you will have lots of lumpy bits. Knead the dough in the bowl (it is not terribly hot) to bring all the lumps into one mass; if the dough does not come together easily, add water by the teaspoon.
Step 3
Regardless of the mixing method, transfer the dough and any bits to a work surface; flour your work surface only if necessary, and then sparingly. Knead the dough (it is not hot) with the heel of your hand for about 30 seconds for machine-made dough, or about 2 minutes for handmade dough. The result should be nearly smooth and somewhat elastic; press on the dough; it should slowly bounce back, with a light impression of your finger remaining. Place the dough in a zip-top plastic bag and seal tightly closed, expelling excess air. Set aside to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the plastic bag and become earlobe soft , which makes wrappers easy to work with.
Step 4
After resting, the dough can be used right away to form the wrappers. Or, refrigerate it overnight and returned it to room temperature before using.
lazy day tip
Step 5
You can substitute purchased wrappers for homemade ones. Medium-thick pot sticker wrappers are good for boiled, panfried, and steamed dumplings; however, they do not deep-fry well. Sui gow wrappers are typically made relatively thick for boiled dumplings. If your wrappers are soft and fresh but on the thick side, try rolling them to create thinner ones. A commercially made wrapper holds less filling than a homemade one, so your yield will be higher for the filling recipes here. When using store-bought wrappers, moisten the edge with water to seal them. Purchased wheat flour wrappers are best used for shaping half-moons, pea pods, pleated crescents, and big hugs but not closed satchels.
play with the dough
Step 6
Once you’ve got the hang of making and using the basic dumpling dough, try coloring it with vegetable juice or ground spices or altering its texture with glutinous rice flour.
Step 7
Jade Dough Liquefy 2 lightly packed cups of coarsely chopped spinach leaves (about 3 ounces) with a generous 1/2 cup of water in a blender for about 90 seconds, or until there is an intensely green, smooth mixture. If needed, pause the blender to scrape down the sides. Transfer to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. When the spinach comes to a near boil (look for foam all around the rim), turn off the heat. Stir to blend in the foam, measure out 3/4 cup, then use it for the dough. You may have to add an extra teaspoon of spinach water to arrive at a nice softness. The extra bulk from the spinach produces more dough than usual, so the wrappers will be larger.
Step 8
Orange Dough Use 100 percent carrot juice, available at many specialty grocers. Bring 1 cup to a boil in a small saucepan, turn off the heat, and then measure out the 3/4 cup needed. Use as you would water to mix into the flour.
Step 9
Golden Dough Mix 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric into the flour before adding the water. The dough will develop its color as it sits.
Step 10
Extra-Chewy Dough For extra elasticity and natural sweetness, a quality favored by Korean and Japanese cooks, combine 7 1/2 ounces (1 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour with 2 7/8 ounces (ample 1/2 cup) Mochiko Blue Star brand glutinous (sweet) rice flour. Use 3/4 cup just-boiled water and proceed as usual. This dough is firmer than the basic dumpling dough, so you may find that the rice flour also makes the dough a bit easier to manipulate.
