Homemade Pork Dumplings are fun to make and even more fun to eat! The perfect appetizer for pairing with your fave Chinese recipes, you’ll love the golden brown exterior and savory cabbage and pork filling.
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Pork dumplings from scratch pay off in deliciousness and personal satisfaction.
Making pork dumplings is EASY, but it does take time. But once you get going, the process is almost meditative. It’s your moment of zen, dolloping filling onto each wrapper and methodically pleating the edges. Listen to your favorite podcast or ponder the mysteries of the universe. (Who discovered thousands of years ago that wheat could be ground up and made into dumpling wrappers? Blows your mind, right?)
The filling for these pork dumplings is a classic: ground pork and Napa cabbage, perked up with white wine vinegar and made extra tasty with minced ginger, garlic, green onion, and soy sauce. (For the filling experience without the wrapper, try my Egg Roll in a Bowl.)
In one skillet, pan fry your dumplings until they’re golden brown on the outside, cover them to steam the filling, then enjoy them with dipping sauce. I’d say these are great for sharing, but I honestly think I could eat a whole batch myself—they’re just so good!
Uncooked dumplings freeze like a dream and can be cooked from frozen. Pop some to enjoy at a future time into the freezer, and you have fresh dumplings on demand.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Dumpling Wrappers. I like to use the round ones, but you can also use square. For some reason, they sometimes sell these (and the wrappers you need for Air Fryer Egg Rolls) with the vegan foods at the grocery store like tofu and tempeh.
- Napa Cabbage. You can use green cabbage if you can’t find Napa cabbage.
- Ground Pork. A classic dumpling filling!
- White Wine Vinegar and Soy Sauce. For a pop of acidity and savory umami.
- Ginger, Garlic, and Green Onions. Three ingredients that are heavy-hitters in Asian cooking, adding lots of flavor.
How to Make Pork Dumplings
Prep the Cabbage. Cut it into thin strips, then cut the strips into short pieces. Toss it with the salt and let it sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Make the Filling. Mix the pork, vinegar, ginger, green onions, garlic, and soy sauce into the cabbage. Use your hands! Just go for it!
Set Up Your Dumpling Making Station. You’ll need your package of dumplings, a bowl of water, the filling, a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and a clean work surface.
Fill Your Dumplings. Working three at a time, place a tablespoon of filling onto the center of each wrapper. Dip a finger in the water—you don’t want it dripping with water, just damp—and run it along the edges of the wrappers.
Seal. Fold the wrapper in half and press the edges to seal, then pleat the edges. It will get easier as you go and start getting used to the movement—I promise! Place the finished dumplings on the baking sheet.
Sear. Add the oil to a hot skillet set over high heat. Cook the dumplings until they’re lightly browned.
Steam. Pour water into the skillet, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Steam until the filling is cooked through.
Serve. Transfer the pork dumplings to a serving plate and serve with soy sauce or another dipping sauce you like. ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Make Them With Chicken. Although I haven’t tested it myself, I think ground chicken would work well in these dumplings!
- Veganize Your Dumplings. Use pressed and crumbled tofu instead of ground pork.
How to Serve Pork Dumplings
Here are some ideas on how to work these pork dumplings into your meal!
- As an Appetizer. Serve your pork dumplings as an appetizer for a takeout-at-home dinner with Kung Pao Shrimp and Chicken Fried Rice.
- Salad. Add protein to Asian Cabbage Salad.
- Soup. Float the dumplings in a bowl of good broth with some sliced green onions, minced garlic, and fresh ginger.
- Main Event. Ben and I devoured these for dinner, and it was one fantastic evening.
Pork Dumplings
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Ingredients
- 48 dumpling wrappers round is easier to fold but square works too
- ½ head Napa cabbage see notes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 ½ tablespoons minced ginger
- 4 small green onions very finely chopped, about ¼ cup
- 4 garlic cloves minced, about 4 teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce plus additional for dipping
- Canola oil or a similar high-temperature cooking oil
Instructions
- Cut the halved cabbage crosswise into very thin strips, then chop the strips a few times so they are in shorter pieces. You should have about 4 cups. Place the sliced cabbage in a medium bowl and toss with the kosher salt. Let stand for 10 minutes (the cabbage will release some liquid).
- Grab the cabbage by handfuls and give them a good squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible (it won’t be a massive amount, but this is an important step). Transfer the squeezed cabbage to a large, dry mixing bowl.
- Add the pork, vinegar, ginger, green onions, garlic, and soy sauce. With your hands, mix gently until the ingredients are evenly combined.
- Set up your dumpling making station: Line up your dumpling package, a small bowl of water, the pork filling, a parchment-lined baking sheet, and whatever work surface you’d like to use for shaping the dumplings. Set 3 wrappers in front of you.
- For each dumpling, place a loose 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it all around the edges of the wrapper to create a seal.
- Lift one edge of the dumpling wrapper to fold it in half (if your wrappers are a square, fold two opposite sides together to close it like a book). Gently press the edges to seal it. With your fingers, make small pleats along the edges of the dumplings, wetting your fingers as needed so the pleats stay. This will take some practice — have fun with it! I end up with 5 – 6 pleats per dumpling.
- Transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling (you’ll get the hang of it more and more as you go). At this point, you can cook the dumplings immediately or freeze them for later.
- When ready to cook: fill a measuring cup with a spout with water, then set it and a tablespoon measure near your stove. Grab a large skillet with a lid that fits over it. Heat the skillet over over high heat. Drizzle in a few teaspoons of oil and swirl so that the pan has a thin but complete coating.
- Once the oil is hot, quickly place dumplings in the skillet in a single layer so that the dumplings are close together but their sides do not touch.
- Cook on the first side until the bottoms are golden brown and seared, about 3 minutes. Quickly add 3 tablespoons of water to the pan (be careful, it will spatter!). Immediately cover the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Let cook until the wrappers look semi-translucent and the filling is cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes for fresh or 6 to 8 minutes if the dumplings were frozen (cut one open to check).
- Transfer the dumplings to a serving plate. Enjoy immediately dipped with additional soy sauce if desired. Repeat with remaining dumplings, or freeze them for later.
Notes
- When halving the cabbage, cut it lengthwise through the steam and leafy end.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate leftover dumplings in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Warm up the pork dumplings in a nonstick skillet set over medium heat, in the microwave, or in a steamer.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze the dumplings on a parchment-lined baking sheet; once they’re frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. They can be cooked directly from frozen.
Nutrition
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I’ve always loved dumplings, but I never realized how much better homemade ones could be! The pork filling was juicy and flavorful and the sear-and-steam method made them perfectly crispy on the bottom and tender on top. Already thinking about making another batch! Thank you!
Dumplings are my weakness, I love them and have never attempted to make them because I feel intimidated. Your recipe gives me hope! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you Karen!
I had so much fun making these dumplings, and they turned out amazing! The filling was packed with flavor and the ginger, garlic, and soy sauce all blended beautifully with the pork, and the cabbage added just the right texture. Dipping them in soy sauce with a little chili oil took them over the top. Definitely making these again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Haidee!
We LOVED these! Homemade was fun to make and tasted so much better than store bought! Made it with Erin’s crispy rice salad!
Love to hear that! Thanks Nancy!