Blanket Dumplings

These viral no fold blanket dumplings have arrived on the scene.

If you love siu mai or any chinese dumplings, you owe it to yourself to make these delicious and easy blanket dumplings. It’s a cute new viral way to make dumplings. It’s faster than folding regular dumplings and tastes just as good as the traditional way. Really, who ever says no to dumplings?

Just like any hot new trend, there are several variations. I love dumplings and I love trends. And most of all, I love head-to-head competitions so of course I conducted a blanket dumpling-off.

What are blanket dumplings?

Simply put, blanket dumplings are deconstructed dumplings. The dumpling filling is shaped into meatballs and dumpling wrappers and gently laid on top, just like little blankets, thus the name.

How to make no-fold blanket dumplings (two ways)

Blanket dumplings are super easy to make. Essentially, you’re scooping up the filling and blanketing the dumpling wrapper around it. You can either put the blanket/dumpling wrapper on top or on the bottom (more on that later).

Blankets on Top

1. Make the dumpling filling by mixing together ground pork, finely chopped cabbage, aromatics, and seasonings.
2. Heat up a bit of oil in a pan over medium heat, and when hot, spoon the filling directly into the pan, in 1.5 tbsp mounds.
3. Top the mounds with dumpling wrappers, blanketing them.
4. Add a bit of water to the pan, cover and steam until the dumplings are cooked through.
5. Remove the lid, let the dumpling meat get hot and crispy, then enjoy!

Blankets underneath

1. Make the dumpling filling by mixing together ground pork, finely chopped cabbage, aromatics, and seasonings.
2. Heat up a bit of oil in a pan over medium heat. Grab a spoon and add about 1.5 tbsp to the middle of a dumpling wrapper.
3. Squish the dumpling wrapper up the sides and place in the pan. Repeat until all of the dumpling filling is finished. The dumplings are perfectly okay close and squished together.
4. Add a bit of water to the pan, cover and steam until the dumplings are cooked through.
5. Remove the lid, let the dumpling wrappers get hot and crispy, then enjoy!

No-fold blanket dumpling ingredients

• dumpling wrappers – they sell these at the grocery store, usually in the fridge department, near the tofu, but if they don’t have them you can make your own (recipe here). You’ll want to get dumpling/gyoza wrappers, not wonton wrappers, because they’re thicker.
• ground pork – ground pork is the gold standard when it comes to dumplings, but you can use any ground meat you like.
• cabbage – cabbage is what adds the juice. You can use any cabbage you like, just be sure to chop it finely and salt it before making the filling so it doesn’t make the filling too watery. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip out on salting and squeezing the cabbage, it’ll just mean your filling will be slightly looser.
• ginger and garlic – fresh ginger and garlic add so much flavor to dumplings.
• green onions – thinly sliced green onions add a bright freshness.
• soy sauce, oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil – these are our main flavorings, along with a bit of salt and white pepper. If you don’t have oyster sauce, you can sub in a bit more soy sauce.
• cornstarch – a little bit of cornstarch helps bind the dumpling filling and makes it silky smooth.

Blanket dumplings vs upside-down blanket dumplings

You might notice that I covered two ways to make blanket dumplings above. After blanket dumplings made their debut, some people came along to say, “what the heck, why are you making dumplings upside down?”

And they weren’t wrong. Ironically, the original blanket dumplings are upside down in the sense that Asians would never make a dumpling where all the fillings are spilling out, unconfined. Doing that is just asking for the dumpling meat to be overcooked and the juices to dry up.

So, the upside down blanket dumpling came about: lay the blankets/dumpling wrappers out first, then put the meatballs on top, squishing the blankets around the balls. Upside-down blanket dumplings are kind of like siu mai, those delightful steamed pork and shrimp dumplings you get at dim sum.

Which is better?

All of that to say, there are two ways you can make these dumplings and they produce two different results. You get either crispy browned meatballs with the original version or a crispy dumpling skin with the upside down version. Of course, I made both and Mike and I both decided that the original was actually better than the upside down version, so that’s the version I’ve put in the recipe.

The original version has a crunch both from the seared meatball and the crisped bottom parts of the dumpling wrapper, while the top stays juicy.

Blanket dumpling sauce

Everyone has their own favorite kind of dumpling sauce. For me, I like a dipping sauce that is tangy, salty, sweet, and a bit spicy. This is my go to mix of ingredients. I usually eyeball it or adjust depending on mood, so feel free to play around with the proportions.

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sweet soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar or Chinese black vinegar
• 1-2 tsp chili oil or chili crisp
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• thinly sliced green onions, to taste

What to serve with blanket dumplings

Blanket dumplings are a complete meal on their own, but if you’re feeling like you want a Chinese feast:

Happy dumpling-ing!
xoxo steph

Blanket Dumplings

It’s a cute new viral way to make dumplings.

Serves 2

No ratings yet

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Dumplings

• 1 1/2 cups cabbage finely chopped
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tbsp ginger minced
• 1 green onions thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• dumpling wrappers

Optional crispy bottoms

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch

• Add the cabbage to a bowl with a pinch of salt and mix well. Let rest while you’re prepping the other ingredients, then squeeze out and drain as much of the extra water as possible.

• In a bowl, mix 1 tbsp water with 1 tsp of cornstarch then add the pork. Mix until the pork becomes pasty.

• Add the garlic, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and squeezed and drained cabbage. Mix until well combined.

• Scoop out about 1.5 tbsp of dumpling filling either directly into the pan and then cover with a dumpling wrapper.

• If desired, whisk together 1/4 cup water with 1 tsp flour and 1 tsp cornstarch. Add directly to the pan, cover and steam for 4-5 mins. After the time is up, remove the lid and let the bottoms crisp up, 1-3 minutes.

• When the bottoms are crispy (you can lift one up to see, serve, in the pan, topped with thinly slice green onions, dumpling sauce, and chili oil/crisp if desired. Enjoy!