Pork and Shrimp Dumplings. Crispy savoury morsels of pork and shrimp packed in a wrapper. Flavoured with soy sauce, sesame and garlic. These dumplings are very easy to make and work well as a side dish, appetizer or main. You can also freeze these and cook them for later!
Dumplings are probably one of my favourite foods in the world especially when it’s fried and paired with my easy Chinese Chili Oil or 3-ingredient Dumpling Dipping Sauce! I could honestly have dumplings every single week because they’re that delicious. I mean how can anyone not love some savoury filling wrapped in some dough and fried oil?
When I was young, my grandmother actually taught me how to make dumplings. I still remember her teaching me and her raspy voice telling me how much water to pour into the flour, how to roll out the wrappers and make the filling. The process was long but totally worth it because I have to say grandma’s dumplings were the most juiciest dumplings ever. The wrapper was also thick but not too thick. It was perfect.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Dumpling wrappers:
- Cooking oil
Filling:
- Minced pork
- Shrimp
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Green onion
- Regular soy sauce: not dark soy sauce
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Shaoxing wine or dry sherry wine
- Nappa cabbage
How to make Pork Shrimp Dumplings
In a large mixing bowl, add your filling ingredients and mix in one direction until the mixture breaks down and the minced pork and shrimp become a paste. If you have a food processor, add your filling ingredients and grind until it’s pasty and well combined.
Then add 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling onto the center of the wrapper. Brush some water on the wrapper around the filling.
Fold the wrapper into a semi-circle, then pinch the edges. To make it fancier: pleat the edges from the middle outwards and pinch them together. Ensure the edges are completely sealed.
To Cook:
In a non stick frying pan set over medium high heat, add cooking oil. Then lower dumplings in flat side down. Allow this to fry until the bottoms have turned brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Monitor this.
Then pour ½ - ¾ cup water into the pan and cover with a lid. Lower heat to low-medium and let this steam until all the water evaporates and the filling is cooked, about 6-7 minutes. The filling should not be pasty and should be chewy.
Serve and enjoy with your favourite side or dipping sauce.
Expert Tips
- When creating your filling, it is important to mix the ingredients in ONE DIRECTION until it is super pasty. The ground pork should no longer have shape. Using a food processor is VERY helpful and I recommend using one if you have one. If you don’t, not to worry just mix in a mixing bowl with chopsticks or a fork.
- When filling your dumpling, use a measuring spoon and don’t overfill! I would recommend only filling with 1 teaspoon at most because anymore and your dumpling will not seal properly. It also depends on the size of your wrapper so as long as you leave at least ½ - 1 inch around your filling, that would work.
- Brush water around the edges of the wrapper to help seal that little dumpling!
- Pinch and seal the dumpling well! You don’t want your precious filling to leak out as you cook it.
- When frying your dumplings, use the “fry and steam” method by frying the bottoms until they’re brown over medium heat for 5 minutes or so. Then pour a some water on the base of the pan and covering them with a lid to steam for another 6-7 minutes until cooked and until all the water has evaporated.
FAQ
How do you make juicy dumplings?
- Make sure to stir your filling in one direction! This allows for the filling to be pastier giving you a more sticky juicy filling.
- Use ground pork that has some fat to it.
- Don’t overcook them.
- Add water just after frying them to steam them.
What do you serve with pork dumplings?
- You can serve them with:
- Sauces: Chinese Chili Oil or 3-ingredient Dumpling Dipping Sauce.
- Soup noodles
- Soup
- Fry them and chop them up to make a fried rice
Do you put raw pork in dumplings?
Yes! If you cook the pork and then stuff the dumplings and then fry them this will result in overcooked dumplings that may not be juicy.
Other dumpling recipes you may like!
📖 Recipe
Easy Pork and Shrimp Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 lb dumpling wrappers circular kind (approx. 45 wrappers)
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
Pork shrimp dumpling filling:
- ½ lb minced pork marbled with fat (not lean)
- ¾ cups shrimp peeled, deveined, and chopped into a paste
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 3 teaspoon regular soy sauce
- ¼ tablespoon white granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or dry sherry wine
- 1 cup napa cabbage finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add your filling ingredients and mix in one direction until the mixture breaks down and the minced pork and shrimp become a paste. If you have a food processor, add your filling ingredients and grind until it’s pasty and well combined.
- Then add 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling onto the center of the wrapper. Brush some water on the wrapper around the filling.
- Fold the wrapper into a semi-circle, then pinch the edges. To make it fancier: pleat the edges from the middle outwards and pinch them together. Ensure the edges are completely sealed.
To cook
- In a non stick frying pan set over medium high heat, add cooking oil. Then lower dumplings in flat side down. Allow this to fry until the bottoms have turned brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Monitor this.
- Then pour ½ - ¾ cup water into the pan and cover with a lid. Lower heat to low-medium and let this steam until all the water evaporates and the filling is cooked, about 6-7 minutes. The filling should not be pasty and should be chewy.
- Serve and enjoy with your favourite side or dipping sauce.
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Caleb - Never Ending Journeys
These dumplings sounds delicious! I love the combination of pork and shrimp, too - that's so tasty.
Josiah - DIY Thrill
These pork and shrimp dumplings look so savory!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Oooh we love dumplings!! I haven't actually tried homemade ones. I need to give your recipe a try!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Love pork and shrimp dumplings -- gotta have the shrimp!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
That was a great tip for pan frying these dumplings to keep them healthier!
Daniel Cryer
Love the recipe! Pork and shrimp dumplings are one of my favorite filling combinations.Thanks so much for sharing :).
But, can we talk about the fact that you used grams for the pork and cups for the shrimp?
Mary Landry
We made a batch of your delicious 😋 dumplings tonight! My husband loved them! So tasty… absolutely worth the work! Mine weren’t shaped as nicely as yours but still delicious
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Mary! I am so glad that it was worth the time and effort 🙂 Happy you and your husband enjoyed them!
Michael savoie
Awesome recipe easy to follow and end result was a hit.
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my dumplings recipe, Michael! Very happy to hear that it was a hit! ☺️