Easy Shrimp Dumplings

by Posted on

Ready-to-use, frozen dumpling skins were a huge revelation to me. As soon as I realised how quickly they thawed and how easy they were to handle, I started to treat dumplings as one of those quick staples I make when I am in a hurry and lack ideas.ย I used to stuff dumplings with ground meat or ground meat and tofu, but one day I decided to have shrimps instead. After a complete failure with ground raw thawed shrimp filling I opted for roughly chopped, cooked shrimps. The result was perfect and reminded me of the Chinese transparent shrimp dumplings I sometimes have in restaurants. These dumplings are light, slightly crunchy and really simple. Ginger, garlic and chives make them less plain or boring (the only thing I regretted about the restaurant ones). In my opinion they do not need to be fried and taste even better when simply cooked in stock or in salted water (the stock, even instant, gives however much better results). I suppose they can also be steamed.ย I love them sprinkled with chili oil (or Taberu rayu).

TIPS: I have no access to fresh raw shrimp, but if you do, you might experiment with raw shrimps instead of cooked ones. ย My experience with thawed raw shrimp wasn’t successful.

If I want to accelerate the thawing process, I put the dumpling skins (still in their package) in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot!) water.

Special equipment : brush (to moist the dumplings’ edges)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Ingredients (serves 3 as a main dish or 5 as a starter):ย 

about 25 cooked shrimp, shelled and deveined (26/30 per pound size, mine are usually about 4 cm long without heads)

a package of 24 thawed dumpling skins (I use gyoza skins, but any round Asian thin dumpling skins will be perfect)

2 litres vegetable or chicken stock

1 egg

chives or green onion

1 cm grated fresh ginger

1 big grated garlic clove

salt, pepper

(chili oil)

Heat the stock in a big pan.

In the meantime chop the shrimp with a knife into 4-5 pieces each. (Do not mix them in a food processor).

In a bowl combine a slightly beaten egg, the shrimps, the chopped chives, the ginger, the garlic, the salt and the pepper.

Prepare a small bowl or glass with cold water.

Put several dumpling skins on a chopping board (or any other clean surface).

Brush their edges with water (about 1 cm from the border).

Place a heaped teaspoon of the shrimp filling, discarding the excess egg. Close dumplings, pinching the edges.

Repeat with the remaining dumpling skins.

Cook them in the boiling stock no more than 6 at a time (they shouldn’t be too crowded) for about 5 minutes.

(I usually make the first batch of 5-6 and then, while they cook, I make a second one, and so on.)

Take them out with a slotted spoon, drain them and serve immediately sprinkled with chili oil.

Dumplings can be refrigerated for two days in a container separated with plastic film (otherwise they will stick).

I reheat them in a microwave.

 

 

Published by Sissi

46 Replies to “Easy Shrimp Dumplings”

    1. Here it’s really a tiny investment. Even Japanese gyoza are surprisingly cheap. Dumpling desserts make me think of Central-European dumplings with strawberries ๐Ÿ˜‰ Good idea!

  3. I really need to get some of these dumpling “wrappers” – I think they’ll be opening up a whole new world of fun to me in the kitchen ๐Ÿ˜€ Why were your experiments with thawed raw shrimp unsuccessful? I’d have thought it would have worked well, no? I’ve always found it an adequate replacement when you can’t get fresh, as long as it’s properly thawed.

    They look great in any case – I feel very inspired to start making my own little dumplings too ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thank you so much, Charles. For me it opened a whole new world indeed! I take out a package from the freezer in the morning and it thaws slowly so that I need only about 30-40 minutes before the dinner. They are very cheap in Swiss Japanese shops, so I imagine in France they must cost even less. Maybe my English is once more playing tricks, but I meant that when I made a filling of raw shrimps, the dumplings were simply mushy inside… It didn’t happen with cooked ones, so I prefer cooking them beforehand. Otherwise I cook thawed raw shrimp very often (in tempura for example) and they work perfectly well. Maybe the chopping and mixing them with egg provoked it?
      I always prefer to buy them raw and frozen and cook them on my own.

    1. Hi, Karen. They are more or less the same, but here wonton skins are square, not round (like my gyoza ones for example). I fin it easier to work with round skins.

      1. I was at the store yesterday and looked in both the frozen food section and refrigerated section but no luck. I guess I could use wonton wrappers and trim them. It is not like I would need to make lots since it is just for two people.

        1. Karen, it sounds like an excellent idea! (Or you can make rectangular dumplings too ๐Ÿ˜‰ ) You would be surprised to learn how many we (also just two) can eat in one meal… They just disappear very quickly.

  5. Sissi, your shrimp dumplings are absolutely gorgeous! I love that you cut 1 open for us to see the inside! I grew up making dumplings with my family, and you are right, shrimp fillings are trickier. I remember my Mom saying something about the moisture and how it’s harder to close the dumpling skins, which meant that when it was time to boil the dumplings, “accidents” happen more frequently.

    Never thought about cooking dumplings in stock, going to try that next time, thanks for the tip Sissi!

    1. Thank you so much, Jeno. I tried to show what is inside because most dumplings look the same ๐Ÿ˜‰ Exactly as your mum says: raw (thawed) chopped shrimp gave too much moisture, but maybe it doesn’t happen with fresh raw shrimp? I also ground them finely, so maybe this was also a mistake. Anyway, I’m very happy with this easy and yummy method.
      Try one day boiling dumplings in stock. They really taste better.

  6. I gotta get me some ready-to-use, frozen dumpling skins!! :). Hard to go wrong with shrimp… so tasty, fleshy and satisfying. Love that you added ginger too.

    These dumplings look beautiful Sissi – is that chili oil sprinkled here and there over top? What a pretty presentation.

    1. Thank you so much, Kelly. I love adding both ginger and garlic to shrimps. I sprinkled some chili oil because they taste great with it and accidentally it brings a bit of colour.

  7. Beautiful presentation of shrimp dumplings! I love how you put Taberu Rayu on top so it gives nice red color – nice contrast to the green, white, blue! Very pretty!

    So you cook shrimp first. How come it was mushy? Was the shrimp a lot in the wrap and didn’t get cooked, or it’s cooked but mushy? I’m very scared to overcook shrimp because it gets hard (do you know that I’m saying completely opposite from your situation? Isn’t that funny?).

    And you said you can’t get raw shrimp there? Really? Time for you to move here Sissi!!! And you can get refrigerated wrapper too. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Okay, I’m being mean… I just want you to move closer to me (so that we can walk together and you can make lots of desserts for me!).

    1. Nami, thank you for the kind compliment. If only I could take this bowl in photo as well as you do…
      I think it was the problem of thawed shrimp or the fact I have ground them or both. When I made dumplings with cooked shrimp and not finely ground, but chopped, we both thought we preferred the crunchy texture from finely ground filling, so I left it this way.
      I usually put shrimps into cold water, bring to boil. Put aside for a couple of minutes and then drain. Since they are always frozen, I don’t think the texture is as good as with fresh ones…
      You are totally right! I must move closer to you (not because of the shrimp! the walks and making desserts for you sound very tempting; I would make desserts and you would talk to me in Japanese ๐Ÿ˜‰ ).

  8. I have been seeing those dumpling skins online and I was hunting for some but without that I found any. I always love the taste of prawns, its satisfying and as stuffing of a dumpling absolutly my kind of food.

  9. I’ll have to check for the dumpling skins as I have only seen wonton wrappers and I find them a little messy to work with. Love this shrimp filling, the market in our town has fresh shrimps, so I’ll see how it will work! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thank you so much, Gourmantine. I don’t like wonton skins either. I buy my round skins in a Japanese shop, i don’t know if you have one in your city.

    1. Thank you so much, Sportsglutton. (I suppose many people would say nothing compares to fresh shrimps, but unfortunately I have never had the pleasure to cook it…).

    1. Thank you, A_Boleyn. Shrimp dumplings are for me a perfect summer dish too. They are very light.

  12. Shrimp dumplings are my favourite — and the girls love them too. Your recipe makes dumplings look much easier than I imagined them to be. I have some wonton wrappers, but I’ve never seen the dumpling wrappers. I will have to see if I can find them.

    1. Thank you so much, Barb. I really rarely post difficult recipes. Some require patience, some require planning ahead, some a lot of exotic ingredients but I’m too lazy to make complicated things regularly ๐Ÿ˜‰
      I make (very rarely) my own dumpling dough (a European type, thicker) but it’s more time consuming and for me the only difficult part about dumplings has always been the wrappers, so when they are already made, dumplings are just a piece of cake ๐Ÿ™‚
      (I buy my wrappers in a Japanese shop.)

  13. Yum! You’ve got my hunger pangs going, Sissi. This is a great favorite here, and cooked in a broth, just how you like it. The ones made here have a mixture of chopped shrimp with ground pork in it … very good combination. I’ve had ones like this too … also seriously good! And yes, these are great with taberu rayu!
    Oh, I’ve discovered that wonton wrappers can be cut into strips and baked to make ‘chips’ to go with dips for snacks and starters. Super versatile things, aren’t they?

    1. Thank you so much, Ping! I knew this shrimp dumpling is not original (ginger and garlic are frequently added to shrimp), but I thought I was the only one who cooked dumplings in stock ๐Ÿ™ Just joking! But I really had this idea when I made chicken dumplings with meat scraped from the carcass (I have posted them recently). When I made them for the first time I decided to use the stock instead of water and it was a revelation.
      Thanks for the wonton wrappers tip. I must try it one day. It sounds excellent.

    1. Charlie, there is nothing really to learn ๐Ÿ˜‰ The only difficult part (wrappers) is already made and ready to use! The rest is really easy.

  15. These frozen-ready-to-use dumpling skins come very handy and very easy to use. I love how you beautifully presented this dish with those little drops of oil. Very stylish, Sissi! ๐Ÿ™‚

  17. I’ve just bought some dumpling skins, never bought them before. Great coincidence. I thought I’d make dumplings this weekend, I’ll have to try these, I love prawns. GG

  19. We also like shrimp dumplings here, usually we wrap it with fresh shrimps and cook in the stock, and top it on the wanton noodles soup, simply yummy .,you should try to use fresh shrimps next time๏ผŒit taste really good!

    1. Hi, Sonia. Unfortunately I cannot get fresh shrimps in Switzerland, only frozen. When I used them uncooked they rendered some water and didn’t work as well as cooked ones. Maybe I didn’t thaw them completely? Whenever I go to places where I can get fresh shrimp, I am in heaven because there is such a huge difference in taste!

  21. Dear Sissi,

    Your prawn dumplings look really elegant although you did not work with fresh prawns. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am with fresh seafood here in Sydney. Because of the abundance of fresh seafood, I almost never buy cooked prawns unless it’s during Christmas when everyone gets into peeling big juicy plump prawns.

    I find the best way to prevent prawns from getting soft is to dunk them in icy cold water immediately after steaming or boiling to stop the cooking. This way they become really crunchy. The other way that most Asian restaurants do is to use a small amount of bicarbonate soda and water to marinate it. Although the prawns become firm and crunchy, this method makes it taste a little artificial.

    1. Thank you very much. I consider myself lucky to get frozen raw and not precooked prawns ๐Ÿ˜‰ I had problems when I used raw thawed shrimps. This is why I cook them before stuffing the dumplings.
      Thank you for the tip. Actually, without even knowing why I always do exactly what you say: I cook them briefly and then put quickly into very cold water.

Comments are closed.