Thai Steamed Dumplings With Dipping Sauce Recipe

Thai Steamed Dumplings on plates With Dipping Sauce in a bowl

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 45 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 55 mins
Servings: 8 to 10 servings
Yield: 60 dumplings

In Thailand, the influence of Chinese food and culture can be found at every turn. Chinese dumplings, like these, are enjoyed in Bangkok as well as other locales. But this recipe for steamed dumplings also reveals a strong Thai influence, both in the spice preparation for the chicken as well as the dipping sauce. If serving to company, batches can be made and steamed ahead of time, then covered (or left in the steamer) and placed in the refrigerator. Then simply re-steam for a few minutes and serve. This makes a wonderful dish for dinner with a salad, or for weekend dim sum.

“Delicious dumplings!! The filling comes together very easily since the food processor does all the work. The labor-intensive part of the recipe is filling and forming the dumplings so make sure you recruit a few extra hands to make the work go quickly.” —Carrie Parente

Thai Steamed Dumplings with Dipping Sauce Recipe Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Dumplings

  • Banana leaves, for lining the steamer, optional

  • 1 pound ground chicken, or pork or turkey, or leftover roast chicken or turkey

  • 5 to 6 whole shiitake mushrooms, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 thumb-size piece galangal, or ginger, grated

  • 3 spring onions, sliced

  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 large egg

  • 60 round dumpling wrappers, available at most Asian stores

  • Cornstarch, or flour, for dusting

For the Dipping Sauce

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1 squeeze fresh lime juice, or to taste

  • Fresh sliced chilies, or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Thai Steamed Dumplings With Dipping Sauce ingredients

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. Prepare a steamer. Line your steamer with a banana leaf if you have it. A banana leaf is perfect for this since it won't stick to the dumplings. Alternatively, place the dumplings on a small greased plate inside the steamer or you can try lightly greasing the steamer basket.

    Steamer lined with a banana leaf

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. Place the chicken, mushrooms, garlic, galangal or ginger, spring onions, fish sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, and egg in a food processor and blitz to create the filling, or simply stir those ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well blended.

    Meat and seasoning mixture in a food processor

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. Folding 6 to 8 dumplings at a time, lay out 6 to 8 dumpling wrappers on a clean work surface. You will also need a small dish of water.

    Dumpling wrappers on a wood board, meat mixture in a bowl and water in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  5. Spoon a little of the filling in the middle of each wrapper, then dip your fingers in the water and run them around the outside of the wrapper to moisten it.

    Meat mixture on dumpling wrappers, with the edges brushed with water

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  6. Bring the sides of the wrapper up over the filling and press together to seal. If it doesn't seal, moisten the edges with a little more water. Pinch along the seal to create a decorative edge. Gently push down on the top of the dumpling to make it "sit."

    Dumpling edges sealed together

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  7. Set the finished dumplings on a plate dusted with a little cornstarch or flour. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.

    Dumplings on a plate with flour

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  8. Steam the dumplings or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. When ready to cook, have the water boiling in the steamer. Place the dumplings in the steamer and steam covered over medium heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

    Dumplings in a banana leaf lined steamer

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  9. While dumplings are steaming, stir the dipping sauce ingredients together. Do a taste test, adding more lime juice if too salty for your taste or more sugar if you'd prefer it sweeter.

    Dipping sauce in a bowl with a spoon

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  10. When dumplings are cooked, remove from the steamer and either serve immediately or fry them, as described in the variation below.  Serve with the dipping sauce on the side and enjoy!

    Thai Steamed Dumplings on a plate With Dipping Sauce in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Tip

  • If serving to company, steaming the dumplings ahead of time (up to 1 day) can be very helpful. Then cool, cover, and place in the refrigerator. When your company arrives, re-steam on high heat for 5 minutes and serve. Leftover cooked dumplings can also be frozen.
  • If you don't have banana leaves to line your steamer, you could also use cabbage or lettuce leaves to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the basket.

Recipe Variation

For chewier (gyoza/potsticker-style) dumplings, set a frying pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon oil. Briefly fry the steamed dumplings to brown the bottom and sides. Note that they will brown quickly (and also burn quickly). This step only takes a few extra seconds and makes the dumplings extra delicious.

How to Store and Freeze

  • Place leftover cooked dumplings in an airtight container within 2 hours and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
  • To freeze leftover or uncooked dumplings, lay the dumplings out on a baking sheet so they aren't touching and place in the freezer for an hour or two, or until frozen through. Transfer frozen dumplings to freezer bags or containers and use within three months.
  • To cook frozen uncooked dumplings, there's no need to thaw them first; simply cook according to the recipe, adding on an extra few minutes to the cooking time.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
238 Calories
6g Fat
29g Carbs
16g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 238
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 2g 8%
Cholesterol 67mg 22%
Sodium 1176mg 51%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 11%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 16g
Vitamin C 4mg 20%
Calcium 29mg 2%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 486mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)