How Long Do You Boil Dumplings For?

Dumplings have spread throughout the world as a quick snack, a full meal or a funky party finger food. These small flavor-filled packages feature simple ingredients and herbs that are easy to put together fresh, and hold their quality as a fresh or frozen grocery store item. Boiling the dumplings brings out its flavor as well as enhances the tender texture of the doughy wrapping.

Discover a variety of different dumplings at your local grocery or Chinese market. Ranging from vegetarian versions to a more common minced pork, these can either be bought fresh or frozen. Also, dumplings can easily be made at home due to the availability of wonton wrappers in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. Simply fill the middle of a wrapper with a spoonful of your desired filling, and seal with whisked egg white.

Fill a large pot with water and set it on the stove. Bring to a rolling boil. Add the dumplings one by one in different areas in the pot, and stir immediately. If the dumplings are all added together, they stick together and become a gooey mess. The stirring also helps to prevent this. Continue to boil the water until dumplings begin to float to the top of the pot. Add a 1/2 cup of cold water to slow down the cooking process and ensure that the filling thoroughly cooks. Bring back to a boil and remove the cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon once they begin floating to the top again.

Prepare a pot of hot water the same way you would for fresh dumplings. Remove frozen dumplings and add them directly to the pot, not allowing them to unfreeze. Add them one at a time and stir as soon as they are added to keep them from sticking. Allow the water to come back to a boil, pour in a 1/2 cup of cold water, bring the water a boil again, and then repeat the process of adding cold water. By the time the water has come to a rolling boil a fourth time, the dumplings should be cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve the dumplings hot.

Add a richer flavor and texture by briefly pan-frying dumplings before boiling them. If dumplings do not appear to be done, even though they are floating to the top of the pot, add a 1/2 cup of cold water to slow down the cooking process and continue to cook them until they float to the top again. Once removed with a slotted spoon, do not stack the dumplings on top of each other or have them touch, because the dough will stick.