Prawn Dumplings are delicate, savory bites filled with juicy prawns, perfect for dipping in a flavorful sauce. They make an excellent appetizer or snack. For more light and tasty starters, check out my selection of appetizer recipes.
The Asian cuisine favours fresh ingredients but in order to prepare these beautiful dumplings you will need a bamboo steamer. This can be obtained quite cheaply from Asian supermarkets and they last forever, so consider it a good investment in your future cooking adventures. You can use the bamboo steamer for other fish meals, like steamed salmon or cod.
The quality of the ingredients are very important for the success of this dish, and at Alexander’s they value high quality fresh ingredients. I was presented with the most beautiful king prawns you can imagine and immediately I wanted to cook with them. You do need quite a few things to make these prawn dumplings, however, once you have prepared the prawn mixture, it is fairly easy the rest of the way. This was actually the first time I saw Japanese-style dumplings (gyoza) being made, and I was lucky to have chef Struan offering professional guidance.
The soy, ginger and mirin dipping sauce that goes with the prawn dumplings is a sensation on its own. The flavour of this dipping sauce is exotic, with a perfect balance of flavours thanks to the respective ingredients.
What you need for making prawn dumplings
Admittedly, the list of ingredients for this recipe is a bit long. If you really want these exceptional flavours when making your own prawns, you will need to procure everything on the list. Fortunately, most Asian supermarkets carry what you will need so do make the effort of finding one of these places.
Dim sum wrappers are readily available and should be relatively easy to find, but what about mirin? If you are not quite sure what mirin is, let me explain. Mirin is a type of sweet rice wine from Japan. It is somewhat similar to the more famous sake, only mirin contains more sugar and less alcohol. The sugar content stems from natural fermentation and is not added in separately.
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Kecap manis is another item that might pop out as an unknown ingredient on the shopping list. In essence, kecap manis is a type of sweet soy sauce originating from Indonesia. It is dark, almost black, and with a thick syrupy consistency. The reason for this is the generous addition of palm sugar. Kecap manis forms an essential part of Indonesian cooking.
If you cannot get hold of mirin and kecap manis you can double up on the vinegar and soy sauce instead. However, in order to get the full benefit of this dipping sauce for your prawn dumplings, you should try to obtain them. All of the elements have their place in the balance and flavour of the sauce.
Serving
After steaming the prawn dumplings for about four to five minutes, serve immediately with the dipping sauce. The prawn dumplings can be an excellent starter or even a main course depending on how many you make.
What is your favourite dumpling filing?
Print📖 Recipe
Prawn Dumplings with Soy and Mirin Dipping Sauce
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These prawn dumplings make for a fab Asian starter. The miring dipping sauce is ideal for dim sum and gyoza. Ready under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
Prawn Dim Sum
- 250g (8oz) raw prawns, peeled and deveined
- 15ml (1 tbsp) fish sauce
- 1 lime, zested
- 1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 5cm (2 inch) lemongrass, finely chopped
- 30g (1 oz) coriander, washed and chopped
- 5ml (1 tsp) mirin
- 16 ready-made dim sum wrappers
Soy & Mirin Dipping Sauce
- 50ml (3 ½fl oz) rice wine vinegar
- 50ml (3 ½fl oz) mirin
- 50ml (3 ½fl oz) kecap manis
- 50ml (3 ½fl oz) light soy sauce
- 25g (1oz) caster sugar
- 10ml (2 tsp) sesame oil
- 2.5cm (1 inch) ginger, peeled and grated
Instructions
Prawn Dim Sum
- For the prawn dim sum, place the prawns into a small food processor and blend to a purée. Transfer to a bowl, add all the other ingredients, except the dim sum wrappers, and mix thoroughly.
- Place the wrappers onto a clean work surface and place a small spoonful of prawn mixture in the centre of each wrapper. Fold the wrappers over the prawn mixture to create a semi-circle. Press the edges of the wrapper together with damp fingers to seal the wrapper parcels and crimp the edges.
- Place the parcels into a bamboo steamer over a pan of simmering water and cover. Steam for 4-5 minutes, or until the prawn mixture is completely cooked through. Remove from the steamer and serve immediately.
- To serve, place the dim sum onto a serving plate with both bowls of the soy and mirin dip alongside.
Soy & Mirin Dipping Sauce
- Whisk all ingredients together.
Notes
- Dim sum wrappers are readily available at Asian supermarkets.
- If you can’t get hold of mirin and kecap manis, omit them and double up on the vinegar and soy sauce. All elements have their place in the balance and flavour of the sauce, so do make the effort of obtaining these ingredients if you want to enjoy exceptional flavours.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Starter
- Method: Steam
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 323
- Sugar: 21.9 g
- Sodium: 1654 mg
- Fat: 8.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.3 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 20.4 g
- Cholesterol: 159 mg
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natalie crossan
I like to make mine with garlic butter 🙂 xxxx
michelle
yummy
sharon martin
i've never tried prawn dumplings, they look very tasty and will deff. try them
michelle
yey!
Solange
I love dumplings and came up with a recipe using all of my favourite ingredients. The dumplings consist of pork, prawns, watercress, water chestnuts, and are absolutely delicious and great for a party.
michelle
Wow Solange! Many thanks for sharing. I would try your dumplings any day!!!! <3
Tracy Nixon
I enjoy them served with poached salmon and fresh veg!
michelle
poached salmon- wow - I've never poached salmon before!
Leila Benhamida
I enjoy dumplings with meat and herbs.
michelle
same here!