Some people don’t understand the draw of hand making things that can be store bought, until they get their hands dirty. Making your own dumplings is one of those super satisfying and easier-than-you-think operations that is also sneaky meal prep— you can make a ton freeze them for super quick meals down the road.
Dumplings as a food term can mean a lot of things: gnocchi-like pastas, pierogi and filled pasta, and even just chunks of dough cooked in a soup or liquid. The most popular form of dumplings are the various Asian styles, many with minced aromatics, some vegetables, usually a source protein like pork, chicken, or tofu, with a little fat drizzle, wrapped in a very thin pasta.
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These dumplings often come in soups, can be pan fried for a crisp exterior, or simply steamed and eaten in a few quick bites. Some even come deep fried, which is undeniably delicious too with the crunchy blessings that all that oil can provide.
Making your own involves sourcing a pasta shell, a pungent and flavorful filling, and a little bit of activated oil, because what cannabis lover wouldn’t want to also get high off a dumpling?
DIY Dumplings
Danielle Guercio, 2019
Estimated 5mg per dumpling
Ingredients
- Dumpling wrappers
- 1 cup of your choice of protein, parcooked
- ¼ cup minced scallion
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp infused oil*
- 1 tsp soy sauce
Steps
Set up a little dumpling station with plenty of space, so you can really get down to making as many dumplings as possible with the time you spend. Lay out a cookie sheet or a few plates to accept your finished product. You’ll need a small dish or ramekin with water for sealing the edges.
To make your filling, simply mix all of the non-pasta ingredients in a small bowl. You can do this a day ahead of time or right before making, but it’s a good idea to give the filling a few minutes in the fridge to meld the flavors. Feel free to add any other green herbs you have on hand, cilantro is especially yummy with chicken or tofu dumplings.
Drape a pasta sheet over the palm of your cupped hand, making the perfect little indent to place your filling. Use a spoon to scoop roughly one tablespoon of filling into your waiting pasta.
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Gently dampen two of the four sides of the sheet with a finger that you’ve dipped in water. Folding techniques vary, so try various styles until you get the look you want. You can simply fold over one of the ends and seal, or you can crimp and tuck the ends in with decorative flair, it will all still be delicious. Make sure that they’re well sealed especially if you plan to boil the dumplings. This way the filling doesn’t exit into whatever you’re cooking in.
Fry, boil, steam, or deep fry the finished dumplings until they’re heated through. If you’re using any raw proteins take this into account and cook for a bit longer. Serve hot with dipping sauces, soups, salads, or other parts of a meal if you’re not snacking, one needs quite a few to fill up, but they’re concentrated with delicious flavor that you’ll want to experiment more with once you’ve learned.
*Cannabis Infused Oil
Decarboxylate 2 grams of finely ground cannabis or .25 gram of concentrate. Put material in lidded mason jar or vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and 1/4 cup of oil. Heat in water bath just under boiling for at least 1 hour. Strain and cool to use in recipes.
When you’ve nailed the technique, you can fill up a dumpling with pretty much anything you want. Turn out cheeseburger wontons, breakfast dumplings, or try your hand at traditional dim sum pork pockets of joy. Use this basic process as a launchpad to make tortellini and ravioli too if you’re feeling extra fancy. Pierogi is another beautiful option for your new talent, and stuffing almost anything into pasta is such a pure way to experiment with cannabis cooking. All it takes is a drizzle of oil to make your dumpling stratospheric.
