Homemade pork dumplings — Chinese jiaozi — are the comfort food that built Chinese cuisine. Tender wrappers, juicy ginger-scallion pork filling, a crispy bottom from the pan-fry. This recipe makes about 40 dumplings, freezes beautifully, and works boiled, pan-fried, or steamed.
What you'll need
For the dough:
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup hot water (~175°F / 80°C)
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the pork filling:
- 1 lb (450g) ground pork (80/20 — fat means flavor)
- 2 cups Napa cabbage, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt (for the cabbage)
- 2 stalks scallions (green onions), finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Step 1: Make the dough
Combine flour and salt. Slowly pour in hot water while stirring with chopsticks until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out and knead 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp towel and rest 30 minutes.
Step 2: Prep the cabbage
Toss chopped cabbage with 1 tsp salt. Let sit 10 minutes — the salt draws out water. Squeeze the cabbage hard in your hands or a kitchen towel to remove every drop. Wet cabbage = soggy filling. Don't skip this.
Step 3: Mix the filling
In a large bowl, combine pork, drained cabbage, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. Mix in one direction only — a Chinese cooking tradition that keeps the filling tender and helps it bind. Mix until slightly sticky and uniform.
Step 4: Shape the dumplings
Roll out the dough thinly (about 1mm). The fastest, cleanest method uses a wooden dumpling stamp:
- Lay one sheet of dough on a floured surface.
- Place small mounds of filling (1 tsp each) spaced 2 inches apart.
- Cover with a second sheet of dough.
- Dip the stamp in flour, press straight down, twist 90°, lift.
- Perfect sealed dumpling drops out.
For step-by-step technique, see our complete guide to making dumplings at home.
Step 5: Cook
Boiled:
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop in 10–12 dumplings at a time. Once they float (2–3 minutes), add a cup of cold water and bring back to a boil. Repeat once more. They're done.
Pan-fried (potstickers):
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan over medium. Place dumplings flat-side down, cook 2 minutes until golden. Add ¼ cup water, cover, steam 6 minutes. Uncover, cook 1 minute more to crisp the bottoms.
Steamed:
Line a bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves or parchment. Steam over boiling water 8 minutes.
Dipping sauce
Mix 3 tbsp black vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chili oil, and slivers of fresh ginger. Adjust to taste.
Make-ahead and freezing
Uncooked dumplings freeze beautifully — see our complete guide to freezing and storing homemade dumplings.
More filling ideas
Pork-and-cabbage is the classic, but the same wrapper works with dozens of fillings. Check out our list of 15 dumpling filling ideas beyond pork and chives.