Steaming Prawn Dumplings: A Step-By-Step Guide To Perfection

Steamed prawn dumplings are a delicious, fun and easy dish to make. The process involves preparing a filling, assembling the dumplings, and steaming them to perfection. The filling typically includes prawns, garlic, chives, and other flavourful ingredients, while the dumplings are carefully crafted using wrappers and a variety of folding techniques. The final step is steaming, which infuses moisture and cooks the dumplings evenly. The result is a mouth-watering, silky and comforting dish that can be served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Preparing the prawns

Once you have your prawns, you need to peel and devein them. Prawn shells are not edible, and the black vein that runs along the prawn's back is also not pleasant to eat, so it is important to remove it. Deveining the prawns can also improve the texture of the dumplings, as it reduces the risk of the prawn meat becoming mushy when cooked. After peeling and deveining, you should be left with around 150 to 200 grams of prawn meat.

Next, you need to chop the prawns. Finely chop the prawns until you have small, even pieces. Be careful not to chop the prawns too finely, as you want there to be distinct pieces of prawn in the dumpling filling. You can also choose to dice the prawn meat, which will create a slightly different texture in the filling.

Now that your prawns are prepared, you can move on to the next step of making the dumpling filling.

Making the filling

Firstly, prepare your prawns. You will need 600g of green medium king prawns, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped. Once you've removed the veins from your prawns, keep the tails and heads in the freezer to use in stock. You should be left with around 200g of prawn meat. Make sure your prawn meat cubes aren't too small—you don't want them to be mushy.

Next, prepare your other ingredients. You can add a variety of ingredients to your filling, such as garlic cloves, chives, chilli, oyster sauce, sesame oil, water chestnuts, onions, ginger, coriander, and vegetable oil.

Now, combine all your filling ingredients in a bowl. Place your prawns in the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. You can add a variety of sauces to your filling, such as oyster sauce, soy sauce, or sesame oil. Season with salt to taste.

Once your filling is mixed, cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to marinate. This step will help develop the flavours in your filling.

Preparing the wrappers

Next, place a heaped teaspoon of your prawn mixture in the centre of each wrapper. Be careful not to overfill the wrappers, as this will make them difficult to seal. Once the filling is in place, you can begin to fold the edges over. Gently pinch the edges to create pleats, and press them together to seal the dumpling closed. You can create a round pouch shape by brushing the edges of the wrapper with water and then folding up the sides.

Finally, place the finished dumplings on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat this process until you have used up all your filling and wrappers.

Folding the dumplings

Now for the fun part: folding the dumplings! Place your wrappers on a clean, flat surface. You want to start by placing a heaped teaspoon of your prawn mixture in the centre of each wrapper. Be careful not to overfill them.

Next, you'll want to brush the edges of the wrappers with water. This will help seal your dumplings. Now, fold the edges over, gently pinching to create pleats. Press the edges together to seal in all that delicious filling. Repeat these steps until you've used up all your wrappers and filling.

If you're making a large batch, it's a good idea to assemble the dumplings in batches to prevent the wrappers from drying out. Keep the wrappers you're not using covered with a clean, damp tea towel to ensure they stay workable and soft.

Cooking the dumplings

Now that your dumplings are assembled, it's time to cook them! The cooking process will depend on whether you have decided to steam or fry your dumplings.

If you are steaming your dumplings, line the base of a large bamboo steamer with a steamer liner. Make sure you don't overcrowd the steamer—it's best to cook the dumplings in batches. Cover the steamer with a tight-fitting lid and place it over a large saucepan of simmering water. Mist the dumplings with water occasionally to prevent them from drying out, and steam for 15-18 minutes or until they are tender and cooked through.

If you are pan-frying your dumplings, heat some oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the dumplings in the pan, being careful not to crowd them, and fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.

Once cooked, serve your dumplings immediately with a dipping sauce of your choice. Some popular options include soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, hot chilli sauce, plum sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or sweet chilli sauce. Enjoy!

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