Fold Dumplings Faster Than Ever With This Simple Trick
Dumplings are undeniably delicious: little morsels of meat, vegetables, or fruit delivered in a dough envelope, to be fried, steamed, or boiled, and then dipped in a range of delectable sauces. The mass appeal of dumplings has manifested different forms in different cultures: there's the Japanese gyoza (which even has three varieties), Polish pierogies filled with soft potato, Nepalese momo dumplings which traditionally contain buffalo meat (via Thrillist), the sweet, coconut-stuffed Indian karanji, and then of course, Chinese dumplings, like the classic pork and chive filling, or wontons, which usually is made out of a thinner wheat dough (via Yum of China).
Due to the popularity of the dumpling, there are many restaurants in America that offer iconic takes on the dish, but there's something special about making your own dumplings at home. And while there are many tips and tricks out there to make the perfect dumpling, there is one hack you need to try to fold dumplings faster than ever.
Using a chopstick to quickly fold a dumpling
There are so many ways to fold a dumpling that it nearly approaches origami art territory: There's the shoe-shaped gold ingot, triangle shape, quadrangle shape, pinched edge, one line, two-direction crescent moon, twisty rope, and pinched braid, just to name a few (via China Sichuan Food).
The more advanced dumpling folding techniques may be tedious for beginners, but even basic dumpling folding can be time-consuming if you want to create perfectly uniform shapes. However, if you're low on time and need to quickly assemble a batch of dumplings, there is one trick you can use: all you need is a chopstick. As seen in this handy TikTok tutorial, you can use a chopstick to quickly scoop a line of meat filling into your dumpling wrapper, then use it to fold neatly into a long rectangle. Remove the chopstick tip, pinch the two ends together, and then marvel at the perfectly formed wonton dumpling.