Here are my favorite ways to cook frozen dumplings. All of them start with dumplings straight from the freezer.
How to Freeze Fresh Dumplings
First things first: you need frozen dumplings in order to cook them, right? And while you can buy them from a store (stay tuned for our taste test recommendations), you’ll get much better results making them yourself or buying un-cooked fresh or frozen dumplings from a local restaurant (If you have a shop you particularly like, ask, they’ll probably sell you uncooked dumplings!).
The trick is freezing them individually and storing them in a way that prevents freezer burn.
Drain and Dry
Draining water from a bowl of dumplings.
Dumplings on white plate.
Drain the dumplings, set them on the plate, and count to 15. This time will allow a bit of their surface moisture to evaporate so that you don’t add too much water to the hot skillet causing it to splatter.
Fry the Dumplings
Adding microwave-cooked dumplings to pan.
Crisping dumplings in pan.
Dump the dumplings in the skillet, arrange so they’re right-side-up, and cook, shaking and swirling the pan constantly until the dumplings are an even golden brown underneath. This will take less than a minute. If you want them even crispier, feel free to crisp them up on multiple surfaces.
Serve
Dumplings and dipping sauce on serving plate.
Transfer back to the plate and serve with dipping sauce. Freezer to belly in under five minutes!
