Gorgeous jade dough-encased Fish Dumplings are simply boiled and finished with a sizzling ginger and scallion infused soy sauce. These delicate morsels are packed with flavor, making them a great addition to any homemade dim sum menu.
I particularly love going out to dim sum when I visit New York City, but I also love making all different kinds of dumplings at home. These simple boiled Chinese fish dumplings (Yú jiǎo 鱼饺) are finished with a bit of added flair.
This preparation is reminiscent of a Chinese steamed whole fish dish which is topped with julienned ginger and scallions, then drizzled with hot oil to create a nice sizzling effect, and finally a touch of soy sauce.
The fish filling is very delicate and heightened with ginger and sesame oil, among other classic Asian flavors. Because it's so pale in color this is the perfect opportunity to make colorful dumpling dough. Really, any color would help showcase the mostly white filling, but this green spinach-infused dough creates a classic look.
Fish dumplings are equally delicate in flavor and texture, with a bit of a pop from the ginger both within the filling and in the finishing "sauce." I highly recommend adding them to your homemade dumpling repertoire.
Ingredient notes
- Fish: Select a mild-tasting white fish for these dumplings. Cod, haddock, and sole are all good options.
- Spinach: The dough for these fish dumplings is made green by using fresh spinach. Regular and baby spinach will both work for this purpose.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger plays an important role in flavorful both the filling and the sizzling sauce poured over the top.
How to make them
To make the filling add chunks of fish to the bowl of a food processor. Meanwhile, combine salt, pepper, chicken stock, soy sauce, wine, canola oil, and sesame oil. Mix well to create a seasoning liquid, and then pour about 2 tablespoons of the liquid into the food processor.
Run the food processor, pouring the remaining seasoning liquid through the feed tube. Grind to a coarse paste, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Return the paste to the small bowl and mix in ginger and Chinese chives. Chill the filling for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile to make the dough add flour to a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Liquefy spinach and water together in a blender. Transfer to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir to mix and measure out ¾ cup.
Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour while you add the ¾ cup spinach water in a steady stream. Mix together until you have a lot of lumpy bits, then knead the hot dough in the bowl until the dough comes together. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a zip-top bag, seal tightly, and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes up to 2 hours.
Before assembling the dumplings, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the bag, cut it in half, and put half back in the bag.
Roll the dough half into a 1-inch-thick log and cut into 16 pieces. Take each piece of dough and press each cut end in flour, lightly pressing the dough to about ¼ inch thick and set aside.
Next, flatten each dough disk into a thin circle, about ⅛ inch thick. To finish the wrappers, place wrappers one at a time on your work surface, and flour only if sticky. Use a dumpling rolling pin or dowel to apply pressure to the outer ½-to-¾-inch border of the wrapper leaving a slight "belly" in the center.
Roll the rolling pin in short downward strokes with one hand while the other hand turns the wrapper in the opposite direction. Aim for wrappers that are about 3 ¼ inches in diameter. When a batch of wrappers is formed, fill them before making wrappers out of the other portion of dough.
For each fish dumpling, hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand and scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling slightly off-center, pressing and shaping it into a flat mound and keeping about ½ to ¾ inch of wrapper clear on all sides.
Fold, pleat, and press to enclose the filling. This filling is rather soft and can easily squeeze out of the sides if you overfill your dumplings, so be careful.
Place the finished dumpling on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other wrappers, spacing the finished dumplings a good ½ inch apart on the baking sheet. Keep the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel as you form wrappers from the remaining dough and fill them with the remaining filling.
To cook the fish dumplings, half-fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add half the dumplings, gently dropping each one into the water. Nudge the dumplings apart with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking together and/or to the bottom of the pot. Return the water to a simmer and then lower the heat to maintain the simmer and gently cook.
Cook the dumplings for about 8 minutes, or until they float to the surface, look glossy, and are puffed up and a tad translucent. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to scoop up the dumplings from the pot, a few at a time, and transfer to a serving plate. Cover the plate with a large inverted bowl to keep the dumplings warm.
Return the water to a boil and cook the remaining fish dumplings. When done, return the first batch to the hot water to reheat for a minute or two. There is no need to reboil. If your pot is large enough, gently boil all the dumplings in one batch, but please use your judgement.
Meanwhile, heat a small skillet and then add the oil. When it is almost smoking, add slivers of ginger and sliced scallion and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in soy sauce. Drizzle the mixture over the finished fish dumplings and serve hot.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
It's easiest to boil these fish dumplings, although technically you may steam or pan-fry them as well.
To make these dumplings in advance, they can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours. Cook them straight from the refrigerator when you're ready.
For longer storage, freeze the fish dumplings on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer to a zip-top freezer bag, pressing out excess air before sealing, and keep frozen for up to 1 month.
Partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that may have formed during freezing, before cooking. If cooking previously frozen fish dumplings, they may require a few more minutes to cook. Adjust cook time as necessary.
Other recipes you may like
- Har Gow Shrimp Dumplings
- Chinese Chive Dumplings with Shrimp
- Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
- Pork and Chive Dumplings
- Steamed Pearl Balls
- Mushroom Dumplings
- Chicken and Mushroom Siu Mai
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Fish Dumplings
Ingredients
Filling:
- ⅔ pound mild-tasting white fish fillet such as cod or sole
- Scant ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ cup chicken stock or water
- 1 ½ tablespoons light (regular) soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
- ¾ cup chopped Chinese chives or scallions white and green parts
Spinach Dumpling Dough:
- 10 ounces (285 grams / 2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 lightly packed cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves about 3 ounces
- A generous ½ cup water
To Finish:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1- inch piece fresh ginger peeled and cut into fine slivers
- 2 tablespoons scallion green part only, finely sliced on the diagonal
- 2 tablespoons light regular soy sauce
Instructions
- To make the filling: cut the fish into 1-inch chunks, discarding any bones you discover along the way (bevel-tipped tweezers will help, if you have them). Put the fish in a food processor.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, chicken stock, soy sauce, wine, canola oil, and sesame oil. Mix well to create a seasoning liquid, and then pour about 2 tablespoons of the liquid into the food processor. Run the food processor, pouring the remaining seasoning liquid through the feed tube. Grind to a coarse paste, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.
- Return the paste to the small bowl and mix in the ginger and Chinese chives. To develop the flavors, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of filling. (The filling can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Return it to room temperature for dumpling assembly.)
- To make the dough: place a large mixing bowl over a damp paper towel on your work surface, to keep in place while mixing. Add the flour and make a well.
- Liquefy spinach and water together in a blender for about 90 seconds, or until there is an intensely green, smooth mixture. If needed, pause the blender to scrape down the sides.
- Transfer to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. When the spinach comes to a near boil (look for foam all around the rim), turn off the heat. Stir to blend in the foam and measure out ¾ cup. Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour while you add the ¾ cup spinach water in a steady stream. Mix together until you have a lot of lumpy bits, then knead the hot dough in the bowl until the dough comes together. Add spinach water by the teaspoon if the dough does not come together.
- Continue kneading the dough on a lightly floured surface (only flour if necessary, and do so sparingly) for a couple more minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If your mixing bowl is very large you may finished kneading directly in the bowl. The dough should bounce back when pressed with your finger, but leave a light impression of your finger.
- Place dough in a zip-top bag, seal tightly, pressing out excess air, and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the bag and soften. After resting, the dough can be used right away, or refrigerated overnight and returned to room temperature before using.
- To assemble the dumplings: Before assembling the dumplings, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (If you plan to refrigerate the dumplings for several hours, or freeze them, lightly dust the paper with flour to avoid sticking.) Remove the dough from the bag, turning the bag inside out if the dough is sticky. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Put half back in the bag, squeezing out the air and sealing it closed to prevent drying.
- Roll the dough into a 1-inch-thick log and cut into 16 pieces (cut in half, then cut each half in half, and so on to create pieces that are even in size. The tapered end pieces should be cut slightly larger). If your pieces are oval, stand them on one of the cut ends and gently squeeze with your fingers to make them round, like a scallop. Take each piece of dough and press each cut end in flour, lightly pressing the dough to about ¼ inch thick and set aside.
- Next, flatten each dough disk into a thin circle, about ⅛ inch thick, either with a tortilla press (lined with plastic wrap), or with a heavy flat-bottomed object like a frying pan (also lined with plastic). Alternatively, use a dowel (which is a good lightweight rolling pin alternative for fast and flexible dumpling making) to lightly roll out each disc into an ⅛ inch thick circle.
- To finish the wrappers, place wrappers one at a time on your work surface, and flour only if sticky. Use the rolling pin to apply pressure to the outer ½-to-¾-inch border of the wrapper leaving a slight "belly" in the center. Roll the rolling pin in short downward strokes with one hand while the other hand turns the wrapper in the opposite direction. Aim for wrappers that are about 3 ¼ inches in diameter. When a batch of wrappers is formed, fill them before making wrappers out of the other portion of dough.
- For each dumpling, hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand. Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling with a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, or fork and position it slightly off-center toward the upper half of the wrapper, pressing and shaping it into a flat mound and keeping about ½ to ¾ inch of wrapper clear on all sides. Fold, pleat, and press to enclose the filling. This filling is rather soft and can easily squeeze out of the sides if you overfill your dumplings, so be careful.
- Place the finished dumpling on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other wrappers, spacing the finished dumplings a good ½ inch apart on the baking sheet. Keep the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel as you form wrappers from the remaining dough and fill them with the remaining filling.
- To cook the dumplings: half-fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add half the dumplings, gently dropping each one into the water. Nudge the dumplings apart with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking together and/or to the bottom of the pot. Return the water to a simmer and then lower the heat to maintain the simmer and gently cook: a hard boil can make a dumpling burst.
- Cook the dumplings for about 8 minutes, or until they float to the surface, look glossy, and are puffed up and a tad translucent. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to scoop up the dumplings from the pot, a few at a time, pausing the spoon’s motion over the pot to allow excess water to drip back down before putting the dumplings on a serving plate. Cover the plate with a large inverted bowl to keep the dumplings warm. Return the water to a boil and cook the remaining dumplings. When done, return the first batch to the hot water to reheat for a minute or two. There is no need to reboil. If your pot is large enough, gently boil all the dumplings in one batch, but please use your judgement.
- Meanwhile to finish, heat a small skillet and then add the oil. When it is almost smoking, add the ginger and scallion and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the soy sauce. Drizzle the mixture over the finished dumplings. Serve hot.
Notes
- Once assembled, the dumplings can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours.They can be cooked straight from the refrigerator.
- For longer storage, freeze them on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag, seal well, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month. Partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that may have formed during freezing, before cooking. Previously frozen dumplings may require a few extra minutes to cook.
- Adapted from Asian Dumplings
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Comments
No Comments