The Perfect Dumpling Sauce Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to perfect dumplings? ›

Don't Overwork the Dumpling Dough

First, mix the dumpling ingredients just until the dough comes together. You'll whisk together the dry ingredients, then add melted butter and heavy cream. Stir everything together until the wet and dry ingredients are combined and you don't see any more dry flour.

Start by dissolving a teaspoon of sugar into a tablespoon of water. Then add 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon chili oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. And serve this sauce with your dumplings!

The dumplings' filling is itself flavorful and savory. You can enjoy them without any dipping sauce, like my kids do. My husband likes to eat them with Thai Sweet Chili sauce and I like light soy sauce. Some Chinese love to eat them with Chinese vinegar (black, not white like Western vinegar).

To make the Japanese dumpling sauce, whisk the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil in a small bowl. Serve them with your favorite dumplings, pot stickers, spring rolls, or egg rolls, and enjoy!

Hand-mincing meat and adding more pork belly results in the juiciest dumplings. Traditionally, some Chinese cuisine uses hand minced meat for their dishes. For example, lots of dim sum items like siu mai, pork buns, beef meatball, and more use hand minced meat to control the texture and fat content of the dish!

Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.

To make Dumplings: Dry carrots, tofu, mushrooms, spinach, cabbage, garlic and cilantro thoroughly, and put into food processor, and chop very finely. Put vegetable mixture into a large bowl. Mix together egg, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, hoisin sauce, sesame oil and salt.

Another popular kind is Shanxi aged vinegar, which is made from sorghum and has a stronger, sour taste to it. Chris Kimura, a professional chef specializing in Asian cuisine, tells Reader's Digest that using lots of Shanxi vinegar is his preferred way to eat dumplings for its "robust, earthy, and smoky" flavors.

My go-to soy sauce brand is Kikkoman. You can use your favorite variety like the original or low-sodium soy sauce. If you are gluten-free, substitute soy sauce for tamari or liquid aminos.

In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce with the rice vinegar, chile-garlic sauce, and sesame oil, then serve.

What vinegar does din tai fung use? ›

Gao Ji Wu Yin vinegars are in use by some of the oldest and most well known eateries in Taiwan. The beloved noodle shop Du Xiao Yue 台南度小月擔仔麵 in Tainan uses Wu Yin Vinegar in their Dan Zai Mian 擔仔麵, one of Taiwan's most iconic street foods. Din Tai Fung used it back in their mom-and-pop days on Yongkang street, too.

Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as dipping sauce. It is dark-coloured, sweet and salty. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes soybeans, fennel, red chili peppers, and garlic.

The consensus is that dumplings carry a whole lot of micronutrients and are typically healthy options.

It's best to have your lid ready: Immediately add about 3 tablespoons of water to the pan, just enough to cover the base of the dumplings, then cover and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until the water has evaporated. Lift the lid and allow the dumpling to cook for another 30 seconds, to allow the bottoms to get extra crispy.

And for a pork-veggie filling that's compact, cohesive, and moist—but not dense or wet—mix the meat vigorously to release myosin, a sticky meat protein that helps the filling hold together. Using just the right amount of filling helps ensure that your dumplings can form a proper seal and won't burst open while cooking.

Cover up. As you fold your dumplings, keep them covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel. This prevents the dumplings from drying out (dry skins can split when cooked).