What's in the filling?
Eating a dumpling is a different experience for everyone - some like to bite into the dumpling while others like to do the one-biter. Regardless of their dumpling-eating tactic, there are two main parts of a dumpling that should be experienced separately. The next time you get the opportunity to have dumplings, look out for these things and they can tell you a lot about the dumpling.
The first thing that touches the tongue when eating a dumpling is the outer layer or the “skin” of the dumpling. When we’re tasting for the dumpling skin, we’re looking for consistency. There’s a Chinese word that’s used when describing the consistency that’s best translated as “silky”, which is distinctly different than words like slippery or slimy. The skin isn’t there just to hold everything together, but it acts as the opening act. If the skin is the opening act, that makes the filling of a dumpling the main event and we’re spending some time going through it together here.
What’s in the filling?
There are a couple of things that sets dumplings apart from other dumplings - the way that it’s folded (the shape and the pleats, etc.) and the filling that’s inside. The filling varies based on the type of meat (usually pork or chicken) and the mix of vegetables that it comes with. The ratio between the meat and the vegetables is also important to get right.
The Meat
The most common types of meat in dumplings are usually pork or chicken. When you’re at the butchers, ask for pork or chicken that’s already ground so that you can easily mix it in with the vegetables. You’ll also want to ask for a leaner cut (but not fat-free) cut of meat, but we’ll get into that later. The meat is seasoned with some salt, oil and other seasoning that you can find recipes for. Along with the vegetables, which we’ll get into below, the seasoning for the meat is one area you can experiment when it comes to the taste of dumplings.
Since meat is generally more expensive than vegetables, a good way to taste for quality is to look for the ratio of meat and vegetables. A good quality dumpling with the proper ratio is one that is firm, where dumplings with too much vegetable can be mushy or depressed when cooked.
It is also important to get leaner cuts of meat (especially with pork). Think about fatty cuts of meat. When it’s in the fridge, the meat is hard, but as it gets warmer or cooked, it begins to soften. If we select fattier cuts of meat, they can become mushy once they’re cooked for this same reason. All that said, we also don’t want to get completely fat-free either. Fat in the meat adds to the taste by allowing the dumpling to have juices, so look for a leaner cut, but not entirely free of fat.
The Vegetables
While there are limited choices for types of meat, vegetables vary a lot more and it’s where you can really have some fun experimenting. There are vegetables that have stronger aromas (like chives, cilantro, Shiitake mushrooms) and others that have more of crunch (like carrots, wood ear fungus). The fun is finding your own mixture and balance between vegetables that are tasty, but not conflicting in taste, and the texture.
If you have favourite vegetables, use them and see how you can complement the taste around your favourite vegetables. There’s really no right or wrong here and it’s all about trying different mixtures and seeing what you get once you’ve cooked it, switching some things up and try again. Make sure you write down what you tried and their ratios so that you can make it again!
At Typical Noodles, we have over 25 types of dumplings made with pork or chicken and different vegetables. We also have dumpling wrappers if you’d like to try making dumplings on your own. You can view our products here.