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When I left New York City in 2015, one of the things I was leaving behind — in addition to 24-hour public transportation, the MoMa, and my favorite bodegas — was a broad variety of food. And as time passed, I came to realize that what I really missed was dim sum in Sunset Park on Sunday mornings. Further distilled down, I craved one particular food type more than others, and it was because that one food type was unavailable to me in my new life as a suburban wife and mom. I’m talking, specifically, about dumplings.
Luckily, dumplings have made their way out here to the sticks (otherwise known as northern Massachusetts). I can get soup dumplings, potstickers, mandu, shumai, and more. The only difference is that I have to order them on DoorDash and make them myself now. For someone like me, who operates in a world full of culinary superlatives, I wanted to find out which dumplings were worth my time. And so, with the help of like-minded eaters (a.k.a. my family), I set out on a mission to taste through 16 different frozen dumplings.
The Tasters
For this 16-dumpling journey, I recruited my husband and two sons, who, at ages 5 and 7, are nascent dumpling enthusiasts. For my vegetarian testing, I also recruited my best friend, Jessika, who is a vegetarian and who helped parse the texture and taste of the three vegetarian dumplings we sampled.
The Methodology
I selected dumplings that I felt represented the breadth and depth of what is currently available on the market. That included different types of fillings (pork, chicken, and vegetarian); different styles of dumplings (potstickers, soup dumplings); and dumplings that required different cooking methods (pan-fry, boil, microwave).
The 7 dumplings that inevitably made the cut stood out because of the texture of their wrappers, the taste of their fillings, and, in some cases, the quality and piquancy of their sauces.
The Results
Best Pork Dumpling: Innovasian Pork Potstickers
These thin-wrapped pork dumplings had easy-to-follow instructions: They crisp up in just a few minutes with a mixture of water and oil in a hot non-stick pan, and of all of the dumplings we tested, these were the easiest to cook. They also yielded the best result, with brown bottoms that did not burn and that still produced a soft and steamed top. The flavorful filling, with pork and cabbage, was amplified by the accompanying ponzu sauce.
Best Chicken Dumpling: PF Chang’s Chicken Dumplings
Both my husband and I were surprised by how enamored we were with this popular restaurant brand’s take-home line of dumplings. (We also sampled the pork version, but the chicken was the winner in our book.) The silky wrapper perfectly complemented the delicate filling, enhanced with scallions and oyster sauce. Heating up the potstickers — in a frying pan — was straightforward. The gingery sauce was a hit with everyone at the table, including our sometimes-finicky kids.
Best Soup Dumpling: Laoban Pork Soup Dumplings
I was admittedly hesitant to try soup dumplings at home, having convinced myself that this was a restaurant-only experience. Imagine my surprise, then, at these bite-sized delights, which came together quickly (you sear them briefly in a pan, then allow them to steam so that they come up to temperature). They’re smaller than typical soup dumplings, meaning you don’t risk burning your mouth when you attempt to eat them. The brothy Berkshire pork and Chinese chive filling had tons of flavor, and my 7-year-old, a true soup dumpling aficionado, declared them “delicious.”
Best Vegetarian Dumpling: Laoban Livin on the Vedge
Among the three vegetarian dumplings we sampled, Laoban’s were our favorite, stuffed with a shiitake-mushroom-heavy blend that exceeded expectations in both texture and umami (our vegetarian friend at the tasting agreed). Despite an extremely tasty filling, we did have two notes in testing. The wrapper is a bit thicker, and although we followed the boiling instructions to the letter, they opened up during cooking. With these two things in mind, it’s best to pan-fry these dumplings and to treat them like potstickers.
Best Dumpling for Boiling: Ling Ling All Natural Chicken & Vegetable Potstickers (Ajinomoto)
The slightly thicker wrapper on these potstickers make them ideal for boiling. Instructions offer two different cooking options, but boiling made the wrappers slippery, soft, and satisfying, like a bowl full of rice noodles. We sampled both the pork and chicken versions of these dumplings, but the chicken was lighter and silkier. The soy-based sauce is on the sweeter side — it’s made with vinegar and a little molasses — but it hits all the right comfort food notes when served alongside the dumplings.
Best Gluten-Free Dumpling: Feel Good Foods Gluten Free Chicken Potstickers
Of the three versions of Feel Good Foods’s gluten free dumplings that we tried, the chicken was our favorite. (We found that the other dumplings — vegetarian and pork — lacked flavor or texture). For some, though, the wrapper texture may be a nonstarter; it’s a little gummier than a traditional dumpling wrapper. But we actually liked these dumplings, which had a hint of scallion and sesame; they were more complex than some of the other chicken dumplings we tried. We also liked the idea of a gluten-free option that still tasted good and that was simple enough to cook.
Most Flavorful Filling: Laoban Pork & Chive Dumplings
We struggled to choose between the Laoban Pork & Chive and the Chicken & Ginger dumplings. In the end, my husband and I decided that the pork and chive just had more flavor. Like the vegetable dumplings, these are made with a thicker wrapper, which won’t appeal to everyone. The beauty in these, though, lies in how juicy and flavor-forward they are: The chive is super prominent, the pork is rich, and a finish of Shaoxing wine makes them impossible to stop eating. They’re so good they require no sauce at all, which may be why Laoban doesn’t include any in its packaging.
PHOTO CREDIT
Photographer: Paul Quitoriano
Food Styling: Lena Abraham
Art Direction: Sarah Ceniceros Gomez
