Shrimp & Chinese Chive Dumplings
Dumpling dinner party: shrimp & chive potstickers, garlicky cucumbers, brownie pudding - the luckiest way to start the new year
Ryan Nordheimer•
January 7, 2026
A little random fact about me is that I took 2 years of intensive Mandarin in college. Like 20+ hours per week of Mandarin education. It wasn’t my major; I just really wanted to learn Mandarin. I had class every day and sometimes even twice or three times a day. And it was all just to satisfy a curriculum requirement LOL. I was probably devoting more time to learning Chinese than the amount of time I was spending on any other class (including inorganic chemistry, biology, computer science, and political science [I was pre-med at the time, then I switched to Political Science. Don’t ask]).
What did I get out of those semesters of Mandarin reflecting back 7 years later? Almost nothing. (Mandarin fades super quickly when you don’t use it.) I did receive a Chinese version of my American name: He Wei Ran. My Chinese friends have confirmed that my Chinese name is completely meaningless, alas. Besides my name, I can read a good amount of a Chinese restaurant’s menu. I can also play Mahjong without needing to refer to a tile guide. But most importantly, I learned a lot about Chinese culture. Enough to recognize that dumpling making is the most social, luck-filled, rewarding activity you can ever do with friends and loved ones.
So if you’re ever curious about making dumplings but are intimidated by the amount of work it takes to form all of them, make it a group activity. After all, that’s how you’re supposed to make dumplings. I don’t think anyone would ever suggest you make any number of dumplings solo.
A couple years back I somehow got invited to a dumpling party on the Upper East Side. I think there were 12 of us there, and we all had to get involved in making dumplings. We didn’t have any counter space, so we all crowded around this very tiny coffee table in a shoebox of a living room and formed as many cabbage and shrimp dumplings as we could. I don’t think I knew more than 4 people there, but that made it all the more fun. You can really get to know someone making dumplings with them for an hour or so, stacking sheet tray upon sheet tray of dumplings on every work surface you can find.
These shrimp & chive dumplings are my favorite to make. The filling comes together in seconds, they are less stress-inducing than chicken (too much salmonella to think about with all those hands), and are so delicious with a simple dipping sauce. The rest of the menu was inspired by Din Tai Fung. Their addicting cucumber tower for like what $15 but you only get like 1 Persian cucumber’s worth of cucumber…right. Anyway, this cucumber salad is a lot more economical and tastes the same. I pile mine with a lot of fried garlic, similar to Thai fried whole fish, but that step is optional.
Din Tai Fung is also known for their steamed chocolate dumplings. I couldn’t bring myself to steam anything, so I thought Ina Garten’s brownie pudding could fill in. I made a couple of changes: swapping white sugar for dark brown, adding espresso powder, and using a correct amount of salt. As a brownie hater, did this convince me of anything? No. Was it objectively crowd-pleasing? 100%. All my friends devoured it.
And the crab fried rice in my video is a version of the crab fried rice in Wishbone Kitchen’s cookbook. I think I added onion, snow peas, MSG, and dark soy sauce. But it’s pretty similar.
Do I feel like this dumpling party started my 2026 off right? Absolutely. I was drained from holiday season and now feel ready to take on the year. You just need some lucky dumplings to get you there.
Xin Nian Kuai Le,
Ryan
Hey! My name is Ryan Nordheimer. Welcome to my cooking and baking site. I’m a 25-year old home cook living in the East Village in New York City. Hopefully you enjoy my food through my own, tried-and-true recipes.
Ingredients (16)
Ingredients (16)
For the dumplings
For the dipping sauce
For the pan-frying
Instructions
For the dumplings
In a food processor, add the chives (2 cups), garlic (4 cloves), and ginger (1 inch piece). Pulse until everything is chopped.
Then add the shrimp (1–1 ¼ lb), soy sauce (2 Tbsp), sesame oil (1 Tbsp), and MSG (½ tsp). Pulse until the shrimp has broken down; some slightly larger pieces are great.
Line a large sheet tray with parchment paper. Fill a small bowl with water. Open one of the dumpling packages. Take a dumpling wrapper and spoon about 1 Tbsp of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Lightly wet the outside of the wrapper using the bowl of water with your finger.
Fold the dumpling in half like you’re folding a taco, but on either side of the half-moon, give the wrapper a crimp (YouTube is great for learning how to do this visually). Try to also press out any air from the dumpling as you fold it. Press the edges together well so they adhere. Place the dumpling on the tray. It should stand up on its own.
Continue this process, getting as many people as you want involved, until you’ve exhausted all the filling. You’ll most likely have to crack into the second dumpling package but won’t use all those wrappers. You can re-freeze for later use.
At this point, cover your dumpling with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 6 hours, or freeze the tray for 1 hour, then transfer dumplings to a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.
For the dipping sauce
Add all ingredients to a sealable container and shake to mix. Taste and adjust to your liking. Set aside.
For the pan-frying
Mix your water (2 cups), flour (1 Tbsp), corn starch (1 Tbsp), and vinegar (2 Tbsp) well in a measuring cup. Set aside.
Get out a large non-stick pan. Pour in about 2 Tbsp of oil. Lay your dumplings in so they fit in nice concentric circles. The more space you leave, the more crunchy skirt you’ll have, but the less dumplings you’ll end up cooking. So the choice is yours. I fit about 24 into my pan at once because I didn’t want to do two batches.
Place the pan over high heat. Once the dumplings start to sizzle, give your slurry mix another stir, then pour evenly into the pan about 1 cup.
Cover with a lid and let cook for 5 minutes.
Uncover, low heat to medium-high, and continue to cook until the skirt underneathe begins to evaporate and then evenly brown all over, another 3 - 4 minutes.
Use a rubber spatula to separate the skirt from the pan in a few places around the circumference to help it detatch. You can give the pan a strong shimmy to also release the dumplings. Put a plate over and flip it all upside down. Wow! Repeat with any remaining dumplings if you wish. Serve with the dipping sauce.
Notes
Notes
Pan-frying note
You can also just boil your dumplings in a large pot of simmering water for 3 - 5 minutes until they float. This is easier and also delicious!
Subscribe to get my new recipes delivered to your inbox
Comments
Sign in to comment
