Innovative jiaozi (potsticker, dumpling) fillings

May 29, 2012 3:12 PM

Jiaozi, dumplings, potstickers, Chinese ravioli, gyoza: as many possible fillings as there are names for these delicious, delicious mouthfuls. In a couple weeks I will host a dumpling party. What are your recommended filling recipes? Of course there will be the standard pork, which I learned from a Taiwanese mom; there will be an attempt to replicate the long-discontinued Trader Joe's Chicken Fajita dumplings; and what else...? Recipes for known standards like seafood and vegetable are welcome, but more innovative entries are truly the best answers.
posted by whatzit to food & drink (27 answers total)

I don't have a recipe for this, but if you could perfect your Shanghai Soup Dumpling technique in time for the party, that would be amazing.
posted by Sara C. at 3:18 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have no recipes but must link Deathalicious's awesome Meat Stuffed in Dough FPP.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:22 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

How do you feel about pierogis?
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:25 PM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]

Polish-style: mashed potatoes, cheese, onions (okay, they're pierogies).
Irish-style: corned beef or sausage, cabbage, potato.
SpecialAgentWebb-style: buffalo chicken, celery.
posted by specialagentwebb at 3:25 PM on May 29, 2012

mushrooms! mushrooms&cabbage!
posted by travelwithcats at 3:27 PM on May 29, 2012

Apple dumplings!
posted by macadamiaranch at 3:32 PM on May 29, 2012

My friend made 'em with shrimp one time, and they were so good! Nevertheless, despite my entreaties, every time since she's only made her default: pork-and-chives.
posted by Rash at 3:46 PM on May 29, 2012

I am too late to suggest the pierogi, but not too late to suggest the wonder that is the sweet potato variant. The best Chinese food cart in my region serves this stewed pumpkin (which i do not know how to make) that would work similarly.
posted by cobaltnine at 3:50 PM on May 29, 2012

Don't forget the kreplach.
posted by Wordwoman at 3:51 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Jiaozi stuffed with mock duck in char Sui sauce is a fan favorite at our dim sum parties.
posted by advicepig at 4:19 PM on May 29, 2012

Strongly seconding the soup dumplings, although I suspect they're pretty tricky to make. That Bon Appetit recipe in the first comment looks good, but if you end up looking for more the name "xiao long bao" will help with the googling.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 4:22 PM on May 29, 2012

Sichuan wontons in red oil
Kimchi dumplings
Lamb Dumplings with Cumin and Garam Masala
French Onion Soup Dumplings
Char Siu (BBQ Pork) Dumplings
Tibetan Beef Dumplings
Jamaican Beef Dumplings
Thai Dumplings

Sohui Kim of the Good Fork in Brooklyn makes the best pork and chive dumplings I've ever had. The secret is the tofu and hoisin in the filling. Make sure you use the flat garlic chives.
posted by kathryn at 4:25 PM on May 29, 2012 [4 favorites]

You know xiao long bao, or soup dumplings? I think the Din Tai Fung chains in Taiwan serve a dessert version with red bean paste in them.
posted by peripathetic at 4:40 PM on May 29, 2012

Braised Beef Dumplings
Shrimp, Scallop, and Pork Shumai
Kumi's Gyoza
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings with Homemade Wrappers
Chinese Roast Chicken Buns with Scallion and Spicy Hoisin Sauce Recipe
Idaho Potato Samosas

This book
posted by JABof72 at 5:38 PM on May 29, 2012

nappa cabbage shredded with yellow chives and pork. 10:1:1 ratio. weigh the mix and add %1 salt by weight. let is sit a few hours then mix vigorously, stuff and cook. sauce is 1:1 rice vinegar and soy sauce with a little chili oil on top.

yellow chives are the most amazing thing in dumplings.
posted by Infernarl at 5:42 PM on May 29, 2012

Steamy kitchen has lots of offerings. I like the wonton soup.
posted by francesca too at 5:43 PM on May 29, 2012

My favourite one in my favourite dumpling restaurant is the lamb coriander (with the soup inside). Kimchi dumplings are also great and my favourite vegetarian choice.
posted by TheGoodBlood at 5:44 PM on May 29, 2012

Apple lavender dumplings with a honey glaze.
posted by cooker girl at 5:48 PM on May 29, 2012

My favorite jiaozi fillings are lamb or pork+corn. If you want a quick try, check out the "shandong" brand at any chinese grocery store. Delicious!
posted by tinymegalo at 6:27 PM on May 29, 2012

Not sure if this is cheating, but for a sweet dish/dessert that fits in with the theme, you could do steamed bums filled with red bean paste or sesame paste. It's still a steamed doughy thing filled with other things, though I'm not sure if the word "bun" disqualifies it.

They have these premade and ready to steam in the frozen section of Asian markets, and they are delicious.
posted by shortyJBot at 6:30 PM on May 29, 2012

It may not translate to potstickers well, but a great pierogi filling is finely chopped mushrooms, finely chopped bacon, and vidalia onions. Saute slowly until you can't stand it any more and everything's brown. Smacznego!
posted by LiteOpera at 8:04 PM on May 29, 2012

1. finely mince pork mince (means you chop it to a near-paste after buying it as mince).
2. roughly chop scallion and ginger, whack them with the knife and put them in water.
3. use that water to "thin out" the pork mince by using your hands and quickly moving them around. Do that until it is getting pretty goopy.
4. add finely chopped ginger, garlic and scallion, a touch of soy sauce and a decent amount of (untoasted!) sesame oil.
5. wrap the dumplings.
6. serve with a dipping sauce made from finely chopped (pickled) red chili, garlic, black vinegar and soy sauce. If you're not going with the sauce, add more salt to the dumpling filling.
posted by flippant at 9:21 PM on May 29, 2012

Alas, part of the dumpling party is making the dumplings and since 9/10 participants are novices, I don't think I'll put them through the xiao long bao yet! That will be an adventure for another time...

This time we're definitely going for the faguo de jiaozi, ripping on the mushroom/bacon/onion version with a very little Reblochon to make it a tartiflette filling, as the third savory option.

This morning I woke up remembering a really good dumpling place in Manhattan that had a sweet potato or stewed pumpkin option, with pine nuts and goji berries. Maybe cobaltnine and I are even thinking of the same place. I'll do either that or something with adzuki for a sweet variety (all adzuki or kurogoma would be way too heavy in this kind of wrapper, I think).

Thank you for the beautiful suggestions!
posted by whatzit at 3:50 AM on May 30, 2012

Dumpling Man has the menu I was thinking of with the pumpkin option. Apparently it's good because I had that dumpling in 2003 or so and it's still there: home made pumpkin pie mix with goji berries, honey and condensed milk.
posted by whatzit at 3:56 AM on May 30, 2012

Shrimp and edamame dumplings are one of my faves.

The recipe is here.

You can also sub pork, or all veg.
posted by jen14221 at 10:48 AM on May 30, 2012

If you use any kind of pork, the killer to make it superfresh and delicious by adding hwa vegetable.

Find something about Hwei Hsiang Miao vegetable from china, and your pork dumplings will LOVE you.
posted by lalochezia at 5:40 PM on May 30, 2012

Party update!! Everybody agreed that the unconventional flavors were DELICIOUS but I do come back with a fair warning to the rest of you that you might have to warn your fellow diners about your predelictions for innovation. Especially the ones from Asian countries, who may take it as a bit of an insult to jiaozi, or the French ones that think you wasted a wedge of Reblochon, before even getting a try of the dumpling. The recipes are only approximate, but that's the best way.....

1) TARTIFLETTE DUMPLING
2 big waxy potatoes
200 g lardons
100 g Reblochon (stinky cheese), cubed
2 cloves garlic
mushrooms (optional)
oil, salt, pepper

Get the potatoes boiling to cook them. Meanwhile, in a different frying pan, heat enough oil to brown the garlic in. Then add the lardons. Let the meat cook. When the potato is cooked, remove the skin and add it to the pan with the ham and garlic. Mash and mix. Add cheese and mix through. Salt and pepper as desired.

2) SWEET POTATO DUMPLING
1 big orange-inside sweet potato
handful of raisins or other dried fruit
~2T sweetened condensed milk
~1T honey
salt

Soak raisins in hot water to make them plump and juicy. Boil sweet potato until cooked. Mash cooked sweet potato with raisins, adding milk and honey and salt to adjust the flavor and consistency as you like it. Pine nuts may be a good addition but they were not available to me this time.

3) CHICKEN FAJITA DUMPLING RIP TRADER JOES VERSION
500 g chicken
1 large tomato
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
fresh coriander
frush cumin
salt, pepper
fajita seasoning

Chop and mix. Unlike the potato recipes, DO NOT COOK before
stuffing into the dumplings. It will cook up like the normal pork type recipes, but with chicken.
posted by whatzit at 1:27 PM on June 12, 2012