Have you ever tried to cook dumplings with your kids? Most parents follow dumpling recipes passed down from older generations. Others hope to find something simple to enjoy the process and cooking with their little ones. In truth, they usually just order famous dumplings or gyoza made by family-owned restaurants.
During the weekends or school breaks, have you and your kids craved the yummy taste of dumplings? Why not skip buying a ready-to-eat one and make your own?
There is nothing for you to worry about because we got you! There is a kid-friendly dumpling recipe that you can do while the kids are helping you out in the kitchen.
Cooking dumpling with the kids is one of the good ways to spend time and make beautiful memories with them.
Aside from that, dumplings are both family- and kid-friendly! It is good food that is perfect for sharing, especially with your children, friends, and family.
Follow This Recipe To Cook Dumplings With Your Kids!
Image Source: iStock
Indeed, it would be fun to share dumplings with your loved ones at one table. Not just that! You can advance the fun by not just eating dumplings together but also when you try to cook dumplings recipes with the kids!
For parents who want to stick to their family recipe, we got you too! We suggest you follow the simple dumpling folding tip we found to make things easier for you and your kids. With it, you can simply heat dumplings for breakfast, lunch, and any meal for the day!
Serious Eats came up with an excellent kid-friendly dumplings recipe. Making it with the kids at home would be a good idea.
Some Points to Remember When in the Kitchen With Kids
While making dumplings with the kids is fun and exciting, you must always remember not to be caught off guard. Kids can be very messy inside the kitchen, especially when making dumplings. Here are some points to remember to the parents:
- Never cook with kids over a carpet or your favourite fancy table linen. Instead, you may try placing a newspaper if you have it at home.
- Teach young ones how to be hygienic, especially when food is involved. Ensure the kids can wash their hands before touching meat, seafood, and other ingredients.
- Plan a good clean-up session. When you look at the dumplings recipe below, you notice that some ingredients can be messy. You must ensure a good clean-up session in mind once you finish the work.
Pork and Shrimp Dumpling Filling
Ingredients:
- Minced Napa or green cabbage (225g)
- Diamond kosher salt (6g)
- Ground pork (225g)
- Peeled frozen shrimp (113g)
- 2 tsp sugar
Other optional ingredients:
- Minced garlic – 3 cloves
- Minced ginger (1 tsp)
- 1/4 cup minced scallions
- Toasted sesame oil (1 tsp)
- Minced fresh herbs such as basil, cilantro, mint, or dill (2 tbsp)
- Soy sauce (1 tsp)
- White pepper powder (1/2 tsp)
Procedure:
- Combine by tossing the cabbage and 1 tsp salt in a large mixing bowl. Transfer it to the towel-lined strainer, and let it stand at room temperature until the cabbage starts giving up its moisture.
After 15 minutes, you may let the children massage the cabbage. Now is the time to add optional aromatic ingredients, such as garlic, ginger, scallions, or herbs.
- Hold each tip of the dish towel, then twist them to squeeze the cabbage. One kid-friendly task they can do is to let them wring out the excess moisture as possible.
Once you make sure that you are already able to remove the excess moisture, you can now discard the liquid and then return the cabbage to the bowl.
- Add all the other ingredients to the dumpling filling. It includes the shrimp, pork, sugar, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. You may also add any aromatics that you desire to have in your dumplings recipe.
After adding all the ingredients, knead and mix it with a clean hand until the filling is homogenous and feels tacky or sticky.
- Set up the kitchen table with the following:
– a clean dish towel for wiping fingers
– a small bowl of water
– spoons for putting the filling into wrappers
– dumpling wrappers
– parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet for the finished dumplings
Dumplings
Image Source: iStock
Ingredients:
- Canola or vegetable oil
- 40 to 50 pcs of dumpling wrappers
Procedure:
- In forming the dumplings, you must hold one wrapper on top of a flat hand or lay it on a flat surface. After that, smear a 2 tsp to 1 tbsp-sized amount of filling in the centre of the wrapper using a spoon.
Use the tip of a finger to moisten the wrapper’s edge with water gently, and wipe your fingertips dry on a clean towel.
- Gently seal the filling inside the wrapper by folding it into a crescent shape when you start working from one side. Ensure that you push out as much air as possible. After that, you may transfer the finished dumplings to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze dumplings for about 30 minutes, then transfer them to a zipper-lock freezer bag.
- If you want to cook it right away, here are the things you can do:
– Bring a large pot of water to boil, then add dumplings.
– Boil for 2 minutes if fresh and 3 minutes if frozen.
– Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon or metal spider.
Dumpling Folding Tip
If you want to make dumpling folding easier for your kids, we suggest you try out the tip from the video below. It shows a simple dumpling folding tip that keeps the filling inside no matter what cooking process you choose.
Dumpling Sauce
To properly cook dumplings with kids, you always need to pair them with sauce! This dumpling sauce recipe is very versatile and matches well with your child’s palate.
You can make a spicier batch for your spouse and older kids and follow this one for the little ones. By doing this, the dumplings you cooked with your little ones will taste even better!
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp Chinkiang, balsamic vinegar, or rice
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Aromatics such as ginger, garlic, and sesame oil are optional.
Procedure:
Simply combine all the ingredients, such as sugar, vinegar, hot water, soy sauce, and aromatics. Stir well to combine.
If you made a large serving, we suggest setting a portion aside in the fridge. With this, you can still enjoy the sauce if you cook the extra dumplings you made before.
The Happy Feeling of Cooking Dumplings With Your Children
The thought of making something handmade with your kids always brings a happy feeling. Additionally, your kids also feel a sense of fulfilment after cooking something from scratch.
On the other hand, when you decide to cook dumplings with kids, you encourage them to love homemade food. With this, they’ll learn to appreciate the different kinds of meals you try to cook with them.
If you followed a traditional dumpling recipe from your ancestors, it makes you and your kids feel more connected to your family. Overall, cooking dumplings with your little ones provide happiness to every family member involved.
Additional content added by Kaira De la Rosa.
