Last Updated on 20th July 2022 by
Frozen dumplings can be added to an at-home Chinese meal, complementing noodles, fried rice, and a meat dish for a beautiful spread.
These are a quick and easy dish to prepare, so long as you know the method.
I’ll share with you my favorite way to cook frozen dumplings, as well as some other methods you can use. Whether you’re looking for steamed dumplings or fried dumplings, I’ll show you the best ways to take them from frozen to piping hot and ready to eat.
How to Steam Frozen Dumplings
Traditional Chinese dumplings are prepared one of two ways- they’re either steamed or fried. Let’s start with steaming them, which you can do on your stovetop pretty easily. You don’t have to defrost them or thaw them out before steaming them.
Start by lining a steamer with paper liners. Then, warm the steamer water on high heat until it reaches a rapid boil.
Put your dumplings into the steamer then, leaving a little space between every dumpling. Cover the steamer and allow the dumplings to cook for about 9 to 10 minutes.
This should be enough time for them to cook all the way through and achieve an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. You can check that with an instant read thermometer.
How Long to Steam Frozen Dumplings?
The steaming process doesn’t take very long when you’re cooking frozen dumplings. They cook faster when they’re not frozen, but within nine or 10 minutes, they should be fully cooked.
It’s not a bad idea to check them with an instant read thermometer, however, you could also cook the dumplings with a fork. If the fork penetrates the dumpling to the center easily, they’re not frozen anymore, but that doesn’t mean they’re warm all the way through.
How Long to Boil Frozen Dumplings
Another method you can use to cook frozen dumplings that’s similar to steaming is boiling them. Steaming is faster, but if you don’t have a steamer, a pot of water on the stove works just as well.
So, how to boil frozen dumplings? Start by filling a large pot 2/3 for water. Cover the pot and while on high heat until the water starts to boil rapidly.
Then, add in as many dumplings as you can without them squishing together. Don’t let them overlap in the water either, and allow them to cook in the boiling water until they start to float.
At that point, they’ll need to cook another two or three minutes to heat all the way through. Then, you can pull them out of the hot water and drain them.
This method for how to make frozen dumplings is probably the simplest for most people because it uses what they already have on hand.
Most people don’t have steamers in their kitchen, and there’s less mess than if you’re pan frying them.
How to Pan Fry Frozen Dumplings
The other conventional preparation method for frozen dumplings is to fry them in a pan on the stovetop. Usually, you will cook them in a steamer or boil them first, and then you need to fry up the dumplings.
They should cool for about four or five minutes first. The reason for that is that it helps the dumplings retain their structure as you fry them in the pan. If you don’t give them time to cool down for a few minutes, they can fall apart in the pan.
Once your dumplings have been boiled, you can follow these directions for how to fry frozen dumplings.
Place a medium skillet on the stove top and pour about 1/4 cup of cooking oil in there. Heat it on medium high, and when the oil is hot, put the dumplings in.
Give a little space for each of your dumplings in the frying pan and don’t move them around once they’re in the pan.
Allow them to cook for about 1 ½-2 minutes. When you start to see the edges turning golden brown, you can flip them over with frying tongs.
Allow the other side to cook for 1 ½-2 minutes, until it achieves a golden brown color too. Then, place the cooked dumplings onto a tray with a paper towel liner to get rid of the extra oil.
How to Air Fry Frozen Dumplings
You can use the air fryer as well, but you don’t need to boil them first. You can cook them straight from frozen, which is really convenient.
The air fryer works really well for this, cooking frozen food quickly, often without the need for thawing. It also uses less oil then pan frying the dumplings, so it makes for a healthier, lower calorie dish.
To cook them, warm up the air fryer to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure it preheats all the way before adding in your dumplings.
Then, place them in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray them with cooking oil spray and ensure they get well coated.
Cook them for 8 minutes in the basket, and then flip them over and let them cook on the other side for anywhere from two to five minutes.
Once they look golden brown and done, you can take them out. How long it takes them to cook will depend on how many you put in there at once and how big the dumplings are.
Make sure your fryer basket is not overcrowded and always cook using a single layer. Keep in mind that different types of dumplings will cook at different rates.
The fillings can affect how quickly they cook, as dumplings with meat filling will take longer to cook all the way through than veggie dumplings.
So, there you have a few different ways to cook up dumplings- steaming, boiling, and frying. Which one you use will probably come down to what you have in your kitchen to cook with as well as how you prefer the texture of your dumplings.
I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!
