I’ve started making my own dumpling skins. I started with white flour skins and now I’m making whole wheat skins. Now that I’ve made several batches of skins, the rolling and wrapping have become easier and faster. I prefer the whole wheat skin over the white flour skin because it is healthier and not as heavily processed. The whole wheat flour gives the skin a little bit of grit, similar to whole wheat bread. The instruction below is basically the same as the white flour skin, I’ve just updated the pictures. The recipe is the same as the white flour skin except more water is needed because the whole wheat flour is drier.
Start by mixing the flour and salt in a large bowl and then carve out a well in the middle.
In three phases, pour the just boiled water in a steady stream over the flour making sure to moisten the flour evenly. Use a wooden spoon to mix the water and flour mixture. The flour will turn into lumpy bits.
Knead the dough in the bowl to try and get the lumps into one large mass. I have quite a bit of stragglers that don’t join the mass until I start kneading on my work surface. You can also add water a teaspoon at a time to get the mass more together in the bowl before transferring to the work surface. Be careful not to add too much water and make the dough sticky.
Knead the dough for 2 minutes on your work surface until it is smooth and elastic. I like to use a Silpat to make the kneading process and cleanup easier. Place the dough in a zip-top bag, press all the air out, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes but no more then 2 hours.
After the rest, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.
Roll each section into a 1-inch log, then cut into 8 equal pieces. If you like thin skins like me, 8 pieces makes big dumpling skins. If you like thin skins and not big dumplings, cut into 10 equal pieces. I personally like the big dumplings because I get to eat more filling, my favorite part!
Shape each piece into a disc and then press each disc in a tortilla press or between small plates covered with plastic wrap or zip-top bags. The tortilla press would probably make the disc flatter which would make the rolling process easier, but the plates are a good alternative.
Use a whole wheat floured rolling pin to roll out the discs even more. I like my skins thin so I roll mine out so they have just enough width to hold the filling. Holding the floured disc gently in the center, use the floured rolling pin to roll back and forth pressing out the edges. Please excuse my dry dumpling mama hands, flour brings out the worst in them.
Rotate the disc until all edges are to your desired thickness.
Now just a note about wrapping and cooking the homemade skin. The skin is more elastic then store-bought skin so you can if you want put a little extra filling in your dumpling. Since my fillings have a lot of vegetables in them, I like to stuff my dumplings. Leave a half inch between the filling and the edge of the skin.
When you use homemade skin, you don’t need water or egg to seal your dumplings. To close the dumplings, press the front and back skin together and create a single pleat. Start with a middle pleat, then do two or three on each side and make sure the top is sealed completely.
I line each dumpling up on a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap after I wrap them. I cook the number of dumplings I want to eat and then place the rest in the freezer to be eaten later. To make sure the dumplings do not stick to each other while frozen, freeze the dumplings for at least thirty minutes before placing them in a zip top bag. These dumplings are really big!
This skin is really delicious. It’s the first time I’ve had whole wheat skin and I made it myself! It’s a little gritty, a little spongy, crispy when pan-fried, and whole wheat!
| Whole Wheat Dumpling Skin | Print |
- 2 cups whole wheat flour + more for rolling
- 1¼ cups just boiled water
- ¼ tsp salt
- Put the flour and salt into a bowl, mix together, and make a well in the middle.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir the flour while you add the water in a steady stream. Add the water in three phases to allow the flour to absorb the water. Try to evenly moisten the flour. The flour should turn into lumpy bits.
- Knead the dough in the bowl to bring all of the lumps into one mass. If the dough does not come together, add water by the teaspoon until it does. The dough should not be sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a hard work surface. I like to use a silpat. Knead the dough for 2 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Seal the dough in a zip-top bag making sure to press out all air within the bag and let it rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the bag and become soft and easy to work with.
- After the rest, cut the dough into 4 equal sections.
- Roll each section into a 1-inch thick log, then cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a rounded disc. Lightly flour the top and bottom of the disc.
- Use a tortilla press or two small plates covered in plastic wrap to flatten each dough disc.
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the disc even more. Holding the flattened disc gently, use a floured rolling pin to press out the outer edges of the disc. Roll back and fourth, continuing to rotate the disc until all edges have been pressed out to your desired thickness. The dumpling skin cannot be too thin because it has to hold the filling without it breaking the skin. Add flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking and tearing. 3 to 4 inch long skins will make 40 skins, 5 inch long skins will make 32 skins.
- Note: If you do not use the dough right away, refrigerate it overnight and return it to room temperature before using.
Enjoy! The Dumpling Mama xo
I just finished celebrating my 36th birthday. My birthday is a time of reflection as a check-in to myself, my goals, and all that I want to accomplish in my life. Mama to two little girls, wife to a Grouchy Husband, proud sister/daughter/granddaughter/cousin/niece, trying to be a better friend, doing work that I love. It still hasn’t settled in that I am 36, but I am exactly where I want to be in life.
My brother and sisters have started a tradition to treat me to a birthday dinner at a swanky restaurant in Manhattan. It makes me remember some of life before being married and having babies. This year we went 
We started dinner off with a champagne toast of Billecart Salmon Rose, yum!
Le Philosophe is a French bistro, one of my favorite favorite foods.
We ate most of the menu and everything was delicious. The muscles were the biggest I’ve ever seen and they were in a sauce that was a little spicy, yum! Pate was perfect, I really liked that there was a little sweetness in the sauce. Bone marrow was light and lemony. Duck a l’orange was beautifully cooked. Bass had a great sauce and the morels were amazing. Steak frites, veal, salmon, all delicious. Of course I had to try everything.
My brother brought Chateau Pavie and Brunello di Montalcino. You must drink wine with French food.
The perfect way to end a French birthday meal, a candle in an apple tart tatin.
Thank you to my brother, sisters, and Grouchy Husband for making 36 feel fabulous.
After trying a few recipes I found online, I used Andrea Nguyen from 
In three phases pour the just boiled water in a steady stream over the flour making sure to moisten the flour evenly. Use a wooden spoon to mix the water and flour mixture. The flour will turn into lumpy bits.
Knead the dough in the bowl to try and get the lumps into one large mass. I have quite a bit of stragglers that don’t join the mass until I start kneading on my work surface. You can also add water a teaspoon at a time to get the mass more together in the bowl before transferring to the work surface. Be careful not to add too much water and make the dough sticky.
Knead the dough for 2 minutes on your work surface until it is smooth and elastic. I like to use a Silpat to make the kneading process and cleanup easier. Place the dough in a zip-top bag, press all the air out, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes but no more then 2 hours.
After the rest, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.
Roll each section into a 1-inch log, then cut into 8 equal pieces.
Shape each piece into a disc and then press each disc in a tortilla press or between small plates covered with plastic wrap or zip-top bags.
The tortilla press would probably make the disc flatter which would make the rolling process easier, but the plates are a good alternative (thank you 
Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the discs even more. I like my skins thin so I roll mine out so they have just enough width to hold the filling. Holding the floured disc gently in the center, use the floured rolling pin to roll back and forth pressing out the edges. Please excuse my dry dumpling mama hands, flour brings out the worst in them.
Rotate the disc until all edges are to your desired thickness. The skin should be between 3 – 4 inches long.
Now just a few notes about wrapping and cooking the homemade skin. The skin is more elastic then store-bought skin so you can put a little extra filling in your dumpling. Since my fillings have a lot of vegetables in them, I like to stuff my dumplings. Leave a half inch between the filling and the edge of the skin.
When you use homemade skin, you don’t need water or egg to seal your dumplings. To close the dumplings, press the front and back skin together and create a single pleat. Start with a middle pleat, then do two or three on each side and make sure the top is sealed completely.
I line each dumpling up on a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap after I wrap them. I cook the number of dumplings I want to eat and then place the rest in the freezer to be eaten later. To make sure the dumplings do not stick to each other while frozen, freeze the dumplings for at least thirty minutes before placing them in a zip top bag.
The process of cooking dumplings with homemade skin is the same as store-bought skin. Coat the bottom of a non-stick pan with oil. Fill the bottom of the pan with dumplings. Line them up snug. Cover the dumplings half way with water, put a cover on the pan, and cook on medium heat. After fifteen minutes check the dumplings to make sure most of the water has disappeared. Wait another five to ten minutes. When all of the water is evaporated and the bottoms are brown and crispy, the dumplings are ready to eat!
When I was in 
The dumplings came out hot. They were greasy but that is expected because they were deep fried. It was a nice treat to eat the crispy skin.
The dumplings came with Ja Jang Sauce, a black bean sauce you can also buy here. It has some chopped green onions in it. This is the first time I’ve tasted Ja Jang sauce.
I have always thought that people who dress their children in matching clothing were so tacky. This Easter, I could not help myself, the girls had to wear matching dresses. They looked so cute in their matching polka-dot dresses. I am the newest member of the tacky club and I’m proud of it! I love that they are holding their Easter eggs in this picture.
Our Easter family photo.
The girls and my mom.
The girls and my sister. I love those polka-dot dresses.
This is what it was like in between photos.
The girls had a so much fun finding the eggs at their indoor Easter egg hunt.
They each received Easter buckets for finding all the eggs in the hunt. My Baby loved the wind-up toy dog in the bucket.
My Princess looked so cute in the bunny ears from the bucket.
The girls loved watching Yeah Yeah (paternal grandfather, 爺爺) wear the bunny ears. They almost thought he was the Easter bunny.
The room quickly became an explosion of Easter presents.
My brother brought a bottle of 2008 Chateau Montrose. Bordeaux and pizza bread. Mmmmmm.
My brother took the girls outside to swing. They always sucker him into swinging them both at the same time.
He built a wood fire to cook the steaks in the fire-pit-now-kids-outdoor-kitchen. The girls were wondering why there was a fire in their kitchen.
I was skeptical about cooking the steaks on the wood fire but they turned out perfect.
Our Easter dinner. Wood fire grilled steak, grilled lamb chops, ham, mashed potatoes, baked beans, green bean casserole, sweet potato fries and salad. I ate too much and will be full till Tuesday.
Though I prefer that my family eats the dumplings I make from scratch, sometimes I don’t have time and my homemade stock in the freezer is gone so I like to have some store-bought dumplings as backup. Everytime I’m at a grocery store, I checkout their frozen dumpling selection for something to try. I wanted to share my thoughts with you on this blog. This is my personal criteria and preference for dumplings and I base all my judgement on these traits:
In looking at the ingredients list, I really liked there are no preservatives and artificial flavoring.
The dumplings are good size with flat bottoms and closed tight.
I pan fried the dumpling and followed the instructions to first sear the bottom and then add water to steam cook.
The bottoms seared nicely.
The filling:
Our last day at Steamboat was a mountain day. My Grouchy Husband rented a ski bike for the second half of the day. I was very skeptical about this since we would be with my Princess on a trail with lots of kids and beginner AND he decided against the free lesson.
After almost crashing into seven people on the mountain and crashing himself, he figured out how to ride the bike.
He wasn’t quite as fast as my Princess.
My Dad, my Princess, and my Grouchy Husband on his bike.
He had a lot of fun on the bike. While riding, he ran into two people who had their own bikes that were were customized with after-market parts and it made him want to buy one also. Only my husband…
In the middle of the afternoon, it started to snow and the visibility at the top of the mountain was really bad. I really wanted a picture of the moose teepee on one of the trails at the top so I talked my sister into going with me. When we couldn’t see the chair in front of us on the chair lift, I knew this was a bad idea. We could barely see the trail signs and almost accidentally went down a diamond mogul trail! Luckily, we found our way to the moose teepee.
And now I’m being silly.
The snow was a winter wonderland. And it’s suppose to snow into the morning. First tracks tomorrow will be very nice but we’ll be packing for our trip home.
A fire is always started when we get back from a day on the mountain. I think men and fire have some primal connection. The fire starters are never used, only paper, wood, and a match. My brother and Grouchy Husband started the fire today.
Once it gets started, they show it off to my Baby.
One of the other things that we do after skiing is make dumplings. It’s all hands on deck to wrap.
My brother came this trip and of course shipped cases of wine and champagne. It definitely made apres ski more entertaining.
Today we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Today my Grouchy Husband and I took a break from the mountain to take the girls into the Steamboat base area and see the Ice Castle.
The plan was to spend the morning at the condo and then head out after my Baby got up from her nap.
The girls spent the morning drinking milk.
Then the girls did some morning yoga stretching with my Grouchy Husband. My Baby was showing them how to do downward facing dog.
And exchanged lots of morning kisses and hugs.
The 
There are beautiful icicle formations on the aches that connect the different rooms of the Ice Castle.
The caverns inside the Ice Castle had icicles that covered the ceilings.
My favorite were the icicles that had pom poms on them.
The girls sat on the ice thrown.
My Grouchy Husband sat on the ice thrown with his two princesses.
My Princess and I stood in front of an amazing ice wall.
The girls love their Pau Pau (婆婆 maternal grandmother), I think sometimes more then me! The sun was in my Princess’ eyes so Ka Yee Yee gave her sunglasses. They are almost straight on her face.
My Princess said this was my Grouchy Husband’s and my room in the Ice Castle.
We had a great time walking through the Ice Castle. Now time to find some ice cream!
We walked into the Steamboat base area to find some ice cream. It was super crowded because of the nice day and it was close to the time the mountain closes.
Finding ice cream was not an easy task. We ended up getting some from a bar!
Near the entrance of the gondola is an old gondola cabin.
Steamboat is a beautiful mountain. It’s laid back and has a great ski school. It just needs an ice cream parlor.
When we got back to the condo, Ka Yee Yee made roast pork buns (叉煾包 ,cha siu bao). It was her first time making them and they were delicious.
My Dad and Uncle Billy have on their “Old Guy Rules” shirts. This is their uniform during ski vacations.
At the souvenir store I let my Princess pick out one thing and of course she chose the rubber band gun. My Grouchy was supposedly one of the best shooters in the police academy but could not hit the target. He claimed it wasn’t shooting straight. Haha.
Dinner tonight was rib roast, asparagus, salad, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato fries. I was full just looking at the food.
We woke up in the morning and it was snowing. A perfect day to ski and ride fresh powder. The visibility was not good at the top of the mountain so we stayed on the lower trails. My Princess came out with us after lunch. It was her first day skiing with the group. Crazy Ka Yee Yee (crazy because she’s always off the trails in the woods, Yee Yee means auntie in Chinese) wanted my Princess to do tricks so she taught her to hop on her skis. This is the prelude to hitting jumps…yikes! I caught the air of one of her hops. The hops are so adorable.
My Grouchy husband followed my Princess down the trails. We took her on a intermediate blue square trail because she did so well at ski school yesterday.
Ka Yee Yee riding next to my Princess.
My Princess took a little tumble and Ka Yee Yee dusted the snow off her legs and helped her up.
Then gave her a hug for confidence to go and ski like a rock star.
My Baby is too little to go skiing but she came out to see us ski down the trail. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to put her on skis.
Day two in Colorado was a mountain day. We got up early in the morning, ate breakfast, and then headed to the base lodge to pick up our lift tickets and drop my Princess off at ski school. I never take my goggles off on the mountain except during our lunch break because they will fog up the rest of the day so all of the pictures of me I am hidden behind them and it’s great! Sometimes I’m not even looking at the camera for the picture but you would never know it. The morning was beautiful, blue sky, sunshine, cold but no wind.
It’s been a few years since riding out West. After having two babies, I’m not as fast as I use to be (and I wasn’t that fast to start with), I don’t have the courage to ride in the trees (and I only use to ride in the trees closest to the groomed trails), and wouldn’t even consider going out on the mountain without my knee pads and wrist guards. But today I’m proud to say I did a few diamonds, wasn’t always the last one down the mountain, and followed my crazy cousin Karyn down some powdery, ungroomed terrain that I mostly regretted half way down.
By the middle of the day, it was overcast, but the mountain still looked amazing.
My crazy cousin Karyn and I in the gondola.
My Grouchy Husband and I in the gondola. Love that I’m behind my goggles in each picture. The gondola is a great time to take pictures and I can remember pictures of us before two kids, before two mortgages, before the hot dog shop, before getting married, boy does that feel like forever ago.
Right after lunch my Grouchy Husband, Karyn and I caught up with my Princess (orange jacket, off-white pants) heading to the gondola with her ski school class.
Coming off the gondola with her fellow orange vest schoolmate. We found out that everyone in her class was five and six years old. It was a great feeling to know she could ski with the older kids.
Snapping into her skis. Watching these little ones is so cute.
Taking a break to snap a picture with her Mama.
She might be a skier during the day, but at night she turns into Red Riding Hood.