2-Ingredient Dumpling Wrappers (Easy Chinese Dumpling Dough)

Making dumplings at home has never been easier with this easy and reliable dumpling wrapper recipe I learned while living in China. It's chewy, tender, and holds any kind of dumpling fillings, including homemade soup dumplings we can't get enough of.

All you need is flour and water, and you'll be eating dumplings in no time. Stuff them with your favorite dumpling fillings like fatty pork, crab, shrimp, scallops, or even vegetables, and start dipping.

What are Chinese Dumplings?

I'm sure most of you have ordered dumplings from your favorite Chinese restaurant and know they're one of the tastiest things you'll ever eat.  Chinese dumplings are delicious little meat or vegetable parcels surrounded by a tender, chewy dumpling wrapper (made simply of flour and water) and dipped into a dumpling sauce. They can be steamed, boiled, or fried (potstickers) and most often are made using pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, crab, and vegetables.

The combinations of dumpling fillings are endless, but often contain ingredients like ginger, scallions, white pepper, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, etc.

And if you're wondering what the difference is between a Chinese wonton and a dumpling, you'll notice from the photos below that the shape is different, but there's a little more to it than that, like the ingredients, for instance.

Dumplings vs. Wontons - What's the Difference?

How are Dumplings Different from Wontons?

There are several key differences between typical Chinese dumplings and wontons. Below are a few important factors that set dumplings and wontons apart.

1. Ingredients. Standard dumpling dough is typically made using just 2 ingredients: flour and water (sometimes a little salt is added). Wonton dough is often made with the addition of eggs.
2. Thickness and Texture. Dumpling wrappers are usually thicker than wontons and have a little more "chew" to them. Whereas a good wonton (according to my Sichuan family and friends) must be paper-thin. No matter what, a good dumpling or wonton should have a pleasant "bite" to it.
3. Shape. Dumplings typically use round wrappers, and wontons usually use square, rectangular, or triangular wrappers.  Both types of wrappers can be shaped into a multitude of different designs depending on the region, type, or style of the dumpling recipe being used.
4. Uses. Dumplings and wontons can be used interchangeably in some recipes, like potstickers for instance, but for other recipes like Shanghai Soup Dumplings, dumpling dough is the standard and much easier to use in my opinion.

Dumpling Wrapper Ingredients

There is no need to order takeout because everything you need to make your dumplings at home is probably already in your kitchen.   I've eaten dumplings all over the world, and while the filling is very important, it all starts with the humble dumpling wrapper.

If dumpling skins are too thick and bulky, you feel cheated when there's not enough filling-to-wrapper ratio. Too thin, and it may not hold up to the plumpness of all that delicious filling (and make it seem more like you're eating a meatball than an actual dumpling). When you make dumplings at home, you get to choose everything that goes into them.

DUMPLING DOUGH INGREDIENTS

• bread flour or all-purpose flour
• warm water

How to Make Homemade Chinese Dumpling Wrappers

If you're googling "Chinese dumplings near me" and just realized you live in a place where they don't deliver or just don't have good Chinese takeout options, you can still get your dumpling fix using this recipe. Here's an overview, but you'll find the full instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Make the dumpling dough. Mix the flour with water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together and you can form a ball out of it.
2. Knead the dough. Knead the stiff dough for 12 minutes and rest. 
3. Roll out the dumpling wrappers. Roll the dough into a log and it into equal pieces. which will give you just about 20 total wrappers. Roll each dough ball and fill the dumplings with your choice of delicious fillings.

How to Make Dumpling Wrappers Step-By-Step Photos

Can You Let Dumpling Dough Rest Overnight?

Homemade dumpling dough needs to rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 3 hours covered at room temperature before rolling and filling. But you can also wrap dumpling dough in sustainable cling film and place it in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 2 days before rolling and filling.

For standard dumplings and potstickers, I like to make them in bulk over 2 days. I make the dumpling fillings and the dough on Day 1 and refrigerate them overnight. Then I roll the dumpling wrappers and fill them on Day 2. Breaking up the tasks over 2 days makes it feel like less work especially if you don't have a helper.

How to Roll, Fill, and Pleat Dumplings

In case you're a visual learner like I am, you'll see how to roll, fill, and pleat dumplings in the photos below. You can always hop over to this post for more detailed instructions if you need them. Even if your dumpling pleats look bad or are nonexistent, don't worry they'll still taste great. Just make sure to not over-stuff the dumplings and squeeze out any air around the filling before closing them up.

How to Make Square Dumpling Wrappers 

I most often make round dumpling wrappers, but you can easily as well. These wrappers are perfect for making steamed dumplings, potstickers, or boiled dumplings. Below are photos of homemade wonton wrappers, which show you how you'd treat the dumpling dough if you want to make square dumplings.

Can You Put Uncooked Dumplings in the Fridge?

Do not put uncooked dumplings in the refrigerator unless you want to ruin all your hard work. If you refrigerate uncooked dumplings, the filling (which has moisture in it) will start to break down the wrapper, making it soggy and creating tears, thus ruining your precious dumplings.

Can You Freeze Chinese Dumplings & Potstickers?

Yes, you can freeze homemade dumplings, which make for delicious and super quick mid-week meals.  I make bulk dumplings usually once a month or every month and a half and freeze them. You can steam dumplings, boil dumplings, or make potstickers from frozen dumplings.

To boil dumplings or wontons from frozen, add them to a pot of boiling water, bring to a boil, and add 1 cup more water to bring the temperature of the water down (to allow the filling to properly cook). When boiled dumplings or wontons float to the top, continue cooking them for an additional 2 to 3 minutes and remove.

To steam dumplings from frozen, just pop them into a lined bamboo steamer set over a pot of boiling water and steam for about 15 minutes from frozen. Just be sure the dumplings never have contact with the water.

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

If you're specifically looking for a few good dipping sauces, I suggest Sichuan chili oil, a vinegar-based dumpling dipping sauce, or a simple mixture of 1 tablespoon of soy sauce plus 1 tablespoon water, a slice of fresh ginger, and a pinch or two of sugar, with toasted sesame seeds and scallions sprinkled on top

Can Xiao Long Bao (Xiaolongbao) Soup Dumplings Be Frozen?

Yes, you can freeze Chinese soup dumplings. Xiao long bao (unlike regular dumplings, wontons, and potstickers) can be sensitive to tearing open if they're not cooked or frozen very soon after being filled. This is because of the addition of the gelatinous meat stock that gives them their soup-like filling.

Follow these instructions if you plan to freeze soup dumplings (小笼包):

1. Working in batches, line a sheet tray with parchment and dust it with a little flour or cornstarch. Add filled soup dumplings, making sure they are not touching one another, and place them in the freezer overnight, or until frozen.
2. Once the soup dumplings are completely frozen, you may add them to a parchment-lined airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months.
3. To cook frozen soup dumplings, place the dumplings about 2 inches apart into a lined bamboo steamer (use cabbage leaves or parchment paper) brushed with oil, set over boiling water (do not let the dumplings have contact with any water), and steam for 10 to 13 minutes.

Looking for a Few More Delicious Dim Sum or Asian-Inspired Dishes?

If you're looking to round out a takeout-style dinner at home or for a few easy dumpling recipes, here are a few of our family's favorites.

 

Chinese Dumpling Wrappers FAQs

Where were dumplings invented? You may be wondering, "Are dumplings Chinese?" Well, yes, they are in fact from China.

It's said that dumplings in China date as far back as 1800 years ago when Zhang Zhongjing, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, made them to help nourish the poor. As the story goes, Zhang returned to his hometown in the middle of winter to find that many people had frostbitten ears. He decided to nourish them with food and wrapped meat, chili spices, and herbs in leftover scraps of dough and shaped them into little "ears", boiled them, and handed them out to the hungry poor.

In China, the philosophy of diet and eating well to live a long, healthy life(specifically in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), food is medicine and medicine is food -- they are one and the same. People loved the dumplings so much that they continued to make and eat them well after winter was over and the entire world is eating them now. Eating dumplings makes people happy.

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