I recently came across a new blog that promotes the virtues of cooking with kids. I was even more thrilled to find out that the lovely ladies who write there are from the San Francisco Bay Area, like me! Luckily for me, they offered to share this fantastic post about their experience making dumplings with kids.
Stuck at home on a rainy day with our play date canceled, we decided to occupy ourselves by making some dumplings (or little parcels of love as I like to call them). It seems like a daunting task to take on but these dumplings are low on ingredients, high on child involvement and disappear ridiculously fast. The sweet, salty dipping sauce is a perfect complement except my genius daughter decided to eat hers with ketchup. “Do you have to eat them with ketchup?” “Yes. It’s good for me.” Okay then. I tried half a dumpling with the daughter’s choice condiment and it wasn’t bad!! She may be on to something. As a child, I too was a ketchup fiend. So much so, I used to say that when I grow up, I would marry a guy who owned a ketchup factory. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. I have graduated to Sriracha – maybe one day Ria will too.
Easy-peasy Dumplings
From A Little Yuminess
Make these super easy dumplings with your little ones or for a kitchen play date instead of the usual cookies or cupcakes. Have the kids help with beating the egg, brushing the egg wash to help seal the dumplings and even folding the dumplings into little triangles.
Makes 15-18 – you decide how many that serves
Ingredients
For dumplings:
½ lb ground pork, chicken or turkey
2 scallions finely sliced
1½ tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp sesame oil (optional)
1 egg beaten
store bought square wonton wrappers (usually available next to tofu in most grocery stores)
For dipping sauce:
2 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp sugar
½ tsp rice wine vinegar (optional)
Method
- Mix the minced meat with the scallions, soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil and half of the beaten egg. Reserve the rest of the egg for sealing the dumplings
- Combine the ingredients for the dipping sauce
- Arrange several wonton wrappers with corners facing you and place ½ a tablespoon worth of meat mixture in the center of each wrapper. Use a pastry brush or your fingers to brush the edges with the beaten egg. Fold the wrapper in half and form little triangular parcels. Repeat till meat mixture is used up.
- Steam for 5-6 minutes (do not forget to grease the steamer basket with cooking oil if using a metal steamer). Alternatively, you can cook the dumplings in boiling water which is easier and takes about 3 minutes.
- For pot stickers, if you want more calories and crunch, pan fry the cooked dumplings in a little oil, 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve warm with dipping sauce and watch them disappear
This sounds fantastic. Dumplings are my favorite chinese dish, how fun to make them at home. I think I’ll try this with my 4 year old Friday when she doesn’t have school. Thanks!
I adore dumplings. I simply can’t get enough, and having my oldest help fill and seal is icing on the cake. You’ve inspired me to make some next week.
I do think ketchup is one of those things that appeals more when you’re younger. I’ve all but stopped using it on my food. Incidentally, my dad’s name is Heinz, but he does not own a ketchup factory.
This is such a delicious way to work with the kids in the kitchen. My daughter and I both love dumplings but one of our favorite things to do together are nutella-and-banana filled wontons which we fry to a crisp. So good!
Thanks for sharing.
Lalaine – I hope my daughter doesn’t see your idea, or I’ll be making a midnight run to buy more wonton wrappers
That is an amazing idea! Yum!
Shaina – I can’t wait for you to share a story about your kids in the kitchen. So proud of them
Jackie – I hope you will tell us how it goes with your daughter!
That’s cute. I gotta try dumplings with ketchup next time.