Discover the Best Dumpling Making Classes Near Me
Virtually every culture has developed its own take on the humble dumpling. Chinese baozi; Japanese gyoza potstickers; Indian samosas; Polish pierogies; Mexican empanadas. It seems that just about everyone agrees that a delicious pocket of stuffed dough is a great idea.
Dumplings are as simple as they are delicious. No matter the type of dumpling, the basic process is always the same. Everything starts with a dough which can either be made by hand or bought in bulk from a grocery store. The dough is partitioned into smaller sheets and then filled with a delicious mixture of meats, vegetables, and or/cheeses. The filled dough pockets are shaped and folded, crimped, or twisted so that the dumpling is sealed and none of the filling escapes. The dumplings are then cooked, being either boiled, steamed, fried, or some combination of the three.
There’s plenty of room to experiment despite these simple steps. Each culture has a slightly different take on the dumpling; just a minor tweak at any stage from the dough to the cooking method can result in a completely different dumpling.
Why You Should Learn Dumpling Making
Food is more than just a necessity of life. For many, cooking is a labor of love, a way to express appreciation. In China, for example, a common greeting (你吃了吗) roughly translates to “have you eaten,” and is used in the same way we might ask someone “how are you?” This expression makes it clear that food is a way to express concern and love. When cooking is linked to care, it’s no wonder that dumpling making and other forms of cooking together becomes a way to come together as a family.
Dumpling making is, like any form of cooking, a way of keeping your hands busy and of taking care of the physical needs of yourself and your family.
5 Ways to Learn Dumpling Making
The most difficult part of dumpling making is typically shaping and sealing the dumpling so that none of the spilling escapes. Whether folding, twisting, pleating, or crimping, there are many techniques to seal the dumpling, and the best way to get familiar with those techniques is with plenty of practice. There are plenty of resources that can help you get the practice you need:
- An in-person class is a great option for a hands-on skill like dumpling making. Getting a “feel” for the techniques typically requires seeing a demonstration and then copying the technique yourself; an expert can both provide the demonstration and guide you through the process yourself with tips and some gentle nudging. An in-person class closely models the way dumpling making would be taught in a family setting.
- A strong alternative to an in-person class, a live-online class can provide quality access to a dumpling-making expert who can demonstrate techniques and offer tips and guidance in real-time.
- Self-directed learners may choose to opt to learn through a self-paced, on-demand class, following along with video tutorials on websites like YouTube. These videos provide great demonstrations of the techniques for folding and sealing a dumpling, but you’re stuck with the recorded content as-is, and may have to look elsewhere if you have any specific questions.
- Many professional chefs collect their knowledge of recipes and techniques into cookbooks, which can be a great way to learn how to make dumplings. From general cookbooks that include some dumpling recipes to cookbooks entirely devoted to dumplings, these books are great resources and learning tools. With a published cookbook, you can be sure that the author knows what they’re talking about; you might even check to see if your favorite celebrity chef has a book with a dumpling recipe. While there are no videos to follow along with, most quality cookbooks provide detailed illustrations and diagrams of the different stages of folding, helping to visualize the techniques.
- Food blogs from major organizations (like the Food Network) and from independent foodies are an incredibly accessible way to learn how to make dumplings. These online pages typically include still images like a cookbook, which can help to visualize the techniques for folding and sealing, but some learners may find they need a real-time demonstration.
In-Person Dumpling Making Classes
For many individuals in the US, the word “dumpling” is typically associated with Asian-style dumplings. Though dumplings from cuisines around the world can be found in the US, Asian dumplings are perhaps the most ubiquitous, which makes it easiest to find classes that focus on techniques for making Asian-style dumplings.
California and New York are the states with the largest Asian populations; California alone accounts for nearly one third of Asians in the US. With these robust populations, it is easy to find in-person classes to learn how to make dumplings in these states.
CocuSocial is one of the largest marketplaces for culinary experiences in the US. Though headquartered in NYC, CocuSocial partners with local chefs, restaurants, and hotels in 13 major cities to organize a range of social cooking classes at local businesses. These classes are designed to connect individuals with their local food scenes, and to provide fun, accessible cooking classes suitable for novices.
On the West Coast, CocuSocial pairs with organizations in California to provide dumpling making classes. In Los Angeles, a restaurant in the Eagle Rock neighborhood hosts a Handmade Dumpling Party for those looking to discover the flavorful world of Asian dumplings. This hands-on class provides plenty of opportunities to practice dumpling making methods, covering multiple wrapping techniques for making dumplings in various different shapes, as well as two recipes for fillings, namely a traditional pork filling and a vegetable option.
In San Francisco’s Japantown, one of the largest and oldest cultural districts in the US, CocuSocial organizes a crash course on Authentic Asian Dumplings, in which participants learn to make simple Chinese dumplings from scratch. This course includes a strong focus on making dumpling wrappers by hand, providing first-hand experience in the difference in texture between a handmade wrapper and a store-bought one. With the wrappers made, it is then time to prepare a filling of either traditional pork, chive, and shrimp or a vegetarian tofu filling.
Back East In their home city of NYC, CocuSocial hosts multiple dumpling making classes in Midtown Manhattan. Learn to Make Your Own Dumplings completely from scratch in a crash course on Chinese dumplings. Chef Diego invites you into his own apartment to master every stage of the art of dumpling making. Learn how to make your own dumpling dough and fillings from scratch, including a traditional pork dumpling and a veggie dumpling. With the dough made and the fillings prepared, you’ll learn the technique for three traditional folds, namely mandu, gyoza, and shumai, to perfectly seal and shape dumpling in a variety of ways. These assembled dumplings are then cooked multiple ways, using both steaming and pan frying methods.
Another CocuSocial class on Chinese Dumplings offers some insight into the history of Chinese dumplings alongside its practical, hands-on component. Put your fingers to work as you learn the crimping and folding techniques to make three traditional styles of dumpling, which can be made with either a lemon chicken filling or a vegetable medley filling.
While Chinese dumplings are perhaps the most prevalent, classes focused on other styles of Asian dumplings are also available in NYC. Home Cooking New York, for example, offers a number of dumpling making classes among their selections of intimate, hands-on cooking classes at their cooking school in downtown SoHo. Each class is designed to help beginners develop cooking skills and to help novice home cooks take their cooking to the next level by combining demonstration-style teaching with plenty of hands-on practice. Class sizes are capped at ten students, so learners of all stages are sure to get the attention and help that they need.
Those with an affinity for Japanese food might consider DIY Sushi + Dumplings, which teaches how to make gyoza potstickers alongside Nori sushi rolls, another Japanese favorite. A spicier take on Asian food can be found in the Introduction to Korean Cooking. Learn to makehow to make Goon Mandoo, which is a type of friend pork dumpling, as part of a larger menu of Korean staplesincluding bulgogi (Korean-style BBQ), kimchi jjigae (a kimchi, pork belly, and tofu hot pot).
There’s no need to limit yourself to just Asian-style dumplings. If you’re looking for a European take on the dumpling, head over to Little Italy where you’ll find Miette, a culinary studio founded by Belgian professional chef Paul Vandewoude, an expert with more than 35 years of experience. While the executive chef of the chic restaurant Tartine in the West Village, Chef Paul began to teach cooking classes on Monday nights, eventually leading him to open Miette as a dedicated cooking school in 2001.
Miette offers a class on Speedy Gnocchi, an Italian interpretation of the dumpling. This hands-on class teaches the techniques for mixing, rolling, slicing, and boiling restaurant-quality gnocchi completely from scratch.Since gnocchi is a dumpling that’s well-suited for sauces, you’ll also learn how to make an incredible tomato vodka sauce with basil, red pepper, and garlic that makes for a perfect accompaniment to the handmade gnocchi.
Virtual Dumpling Making Classes
Not every city is lucky enough to have thriving ethnic communities or professional chefs willing to share their dumpling making skills through in-person classes. Fortunately, it’s possible to learn how to make dumplings even if there aren’t classes available in your area. CourseHorse makes it easy to find online dumpling making classes that can help you get the hands-on practice you need. These online classes are a great resource for anyone with an internet connection to get ready access to a quality dumpling making experience.
This added ease-of-access does come with some minor downsides. Crucially, these classes don’t provide the same workspace and ingredients that are available when attending an in-person class. Online classes typically provide a list of ingredients, but you will need to head to a grocery store ahead of time to secure those ingredients of your own accord. You will also need to set up your own workspace; make sure your kitchen area is set up both for cooking and for the video call.
The League of Kitchens is an NYC-based organization that offers culinary experiences taught by immigrants working out of their own homes. Though you might not be able to physically enter the home of your host, you are welcomed into their space virtually, as you share in a meaningful culinary and cultural exchange.
Even if you can’t make it to New York, you’re invited into the home of an Uzbek immigrant to learn how to prepare traditional dishes in Uzbek Cooking Online with Damira. In this experience focused on cultural exchange, you’ll learn how to make a pairing of traditional Uzbek dishes. The main dish here is barak, a beef-and-onion dumpling, which you’ll learn to prepare either boiled or fried, and which is accompanied by a side of achik chuchuk, a tomato-and-onion salad. As you prepare these traditional dishes, you’ll have plenty of time to get technical advice from Damira, and there will also be plenty of time to trade conversation and stories as everyone sits down to enjoy the meal.
Private Group Dumpling Making Classes
While sharing a meal can be a great scene for a social event, the preparation of the meal itself is also a great way to bond over a shared activity. Many cultures turn dumpling making into a special occasion, gathering groups of family and friends where everyone has a hand in filling and folding a large number of dumplings before sitting down to enjoy them as a shared meal. If this sort of hands-on meal preparation sounds like a great bonding opportunity, CourseHorse offers private group dumpling making classes.
Learn how to make Chinese dumplings from scratch in the Virtual Dumpling Making class. Go through every stage of making dumplings by hand, including making and kneading your own dough, preparing your own fillings, shaping and sealing the dumplings, and finally cooking them by either steaming, frying, or boiling.
Coursehorse makes it simple to book a private course. Even if you don’t know your group size, or if your group size changes after you book, that’s not a problem. CourseHorse allows you to secure a booking date with a minimum deposit, but won’t finalize payment until you’ve finalized your headcount, meaning you can change your group size after you’ve reserved your date.
What Will I Need to Learn Dumpling Making?
To make dumplings, you will need some dough, a delicious filling, and some basic cooking equipment.
Dough (or Wrappers)
You can simply buy premade dough or dumpling wrappers in the grocery store. If you’re ambitious enough to make everything from scratch, you’ll need only a few ingredients to make your own dough. The most basic doughs are made with nothing other than flour and water. Other ingredients can be added to modify the texture and flavor of the dough, though the specific additions will depend on the type of dumpling. Leavening agents like yeast or baking powder can be added to a dough, which can help to make a stretchier dough or a fluffier bun. Salt is the most common flavoring ingredient, but other ingredients can produce a flavored dough that complements the fillings. Sugar can be added to produce a sweeter dough that browns more easily, and some enriched doughs even add eggs and milk.
Fillings
The filling is typically what truly defines the dumpling. A dumpling will be filled with some variety of flavorfully spiced meat, cheese, and/or vegetables, but the contents and spices will vary depending on the cultural origins.
Many traditional recipes call for a spiced meat mixture. For example, a common recipe for Chinese jiaozi calls for a pork mixture, typically paired with cabbage. Whether you’re following an established recipe or making it up as you go, common meats used for dumplings include pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, and fish. These meats are combined with vegetables like cabbage, scallions, chives, leeks, mushrooms, carrots, and spinach. The combinations are virtually endless!
There is no shortage of options for vegetarian fillings. If you’re not opting for a meat filling, consider a vegetable-based filling or a cheese-based filling. A filling of potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas can make the base of a killer samosa. Mashed potato can be wrapped up to create a Polish pierogi. Cheese lovers might opt for a ricotta-filled ravioli or a cream cheese-filled cheese wonton.
Equipment
As with any type of cooking, making dumplings requires some miscellaneous kitchen supplies. The specific tools will vary somewhat depending on a number of factors, including whether the dough is being made from scratch and whether the dumplings are steamed, fried, or boiled. Expect to need some combination of the following:
- bowl for mixing dough, or a stand mixer (optional)
- Measuring cups and spoons for measuring out ingredients
- Spoon or spatula for combining and stirring ingredients
- Bowls for combining ingredients to make the filling
- Pot for boiling and/or steaming
- Pan with a lid for frying and/or steaming
- Specialized steamer, like a bamboo steamer (optional)
Is it Difficult to Learn Dumpling Making?
If you’ve seen a pro at work, you know that they can rapidly crank out dumpling after dumpling, making the whole thing look like a breeze. Dumplings are just filled pouches of dough; how hard could they be to make? While it certainly looks easy, it takes a great deal of practice to get a feel for the technique. Learning the proper ratio of filling to dough is something that only comes with experience, and novice fingers may not be deft enough to get a perfect seal. That’s to be expected, though; crimping, folding, and sealing is typically the most difficult thing about working with dough, be it a bread, a pie, or a dumpling. Don’t get discouraged if your first dumplings don’t have enough filling or split open while cooking; with a bit of effort and patience, anybody can master the techniques for forming the perfect dumpling.
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