The Dumpling Debate: Fried vs Steamed | The Dumpling School (2024)

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What's the difference between a fried dumpling and a steamed dumpling? ›

Fried Vs Steamed Dumplings

Some restaurants also deep fry them. Examples of fried dumplings include gyoza and potstickers. Steamed dumplings are placed in a covered bamboo basket that is placed over boiling water. These are soft and have a delicate mouthfeel.

Steamed dumplings are the best option in terms of fat content, with pan fried the next best. “If they do fry it -- like gyoza which are usually lightly fried -- then it puts the fat content up a little,” Austin said. “You want to avoid ones that have been completely deep fried.”

Steamed or boiled dumplings are healthy options, but do not forget about your fillings and serving sizes as well. One of the more popular options when it comes to dumplings are meat filled ones. Now there are many options of dumplings especially when it comes to fillings and how they are cooked.

The steam-fry or potsticker technique is the classic method for Japanese gyoza or Chinese guo tie. Essentially, you fry the frozen dumplings, then add water to the pan and cover them to steam through, then fry them again once the water evaporates. This double-frying creates an extra-crisp bottom crust.

Steaming is the process of cooking food with the help of water, whereas frying is the process of cooking food using oil. Steaming is a more environment-friendly way of cooking food since all that goes into the atmosphere are water vapours.

Dumplings are either boiled, steamed, or fried, but there's a couple of different ways to further differentiate these techniques: Boiled dumplings can be cooked in water or directly in the soup or stew in which they will be served.

Dumplings with meat and fish contain more protein than pure vegetable fillings. The dumplings we found contained between 4.7g and 11g protein per 100g. We recommend choosing meat or fish dumplings that contain 6g or more protein per 100g.

Its Japanese cousin is the gyoza. What's the difference between a jiaozi and gyoza? Turns out the two have a few key differences despite being quite similar. Originating in China, the dumpling, more commonly called the pot sticker, is made of wheat flour dough wrapper filled with meat and/or vegetables.

Steamed dumplings

Dumplings offered at a Chinese restaurant are pockets of dough filled with seasoned meat and vegetables, usually pork and cabbage. They are often fried, but you can choose to have them steamed instead to cut down on calories and fat. One medium steamed dumpling is only 40 calories ( 1 ).

Technically, the most standard way to prepare potstickers is with both pan-frying AND steaming.

Are Chinese dumplings boiled or steamed? ›

Dumplings can be steamed (zhēngjiǎo, 蒸饺), pan-fried (jiānjiǎo, 煎饺), or boiled (shuǐjiǎo, 水饺, literal translation: water dumpling). They are then served with a dipping sauce, like Chinese black vinegar or our favorite dumpling sauce recipe. They can also be eaten with hot pot meals or served in soup!

There are three basic ways: steaming, boiling, and steam-frying. There is also deep-frying or serving with a crispy lacy “skirt.” While the cooking method depends heavily upon your mood and what you are craving, it also depends on the shape of your dumpling.

Chinese Dumplings! Also known as Potstickers, these irresistible plump babies have a traditional pork and cabbage filling, pan fried then steamed in a skillet so they're golden crispy on the underside and steamy and soft on the surface.

Steam-frying, or the potsticker method, is employed for dumplings like gyoza and gow gee (also known as jiaozi or guo tie). The dumplings are seared on their base to create a golden, crispy bottom, and then water is added, and they are covered to steam through.

Dumplings can be steamed (zhēngjiǎo, 蒸饺), pan-fried (jiānjiǎo, 煎饺), or boiled (shuǐjiǎo, 水饺, literal translation: water dumpling). They are then served with a dipping sauce, like Chinese black vinegar or our favorite dumpling sauce recipe. They can also be eaten with hot pot meals or served in soup!

Sure, steaming saves calories, but whether it's enough to matter depends on what's inside. A steamed pork dumpling is around 80 calories – just ten fewer than the pan-fried version. Those stuffed with vegetables, on the other hand, are about 35 calories a piece.