Dim sim are deep-fried dumplings with a glutinous rice flour skin that fries up crispy on the outside and stays chewy underneath. The filling is ground pork mixed with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and spring onions, seasoned with soy sauce, rice wine, and white pepper. They take some prep, but the actual fry time is short — and the payoff is a dumpling you genuinely can’t buy frozen and replicate at home.
Substitutions that actually work
- Glutinous rice flour: Don’t swap this for regular rice flour or all-purpose flour. The chew comes specifically from glutinous (sweet) rice flour — it’s widely available at Asian grocery stores and worth tracking down.
- Tapioca starch: Cornstarch works in a pinch, but the skin won’t blister and crisp quite as well. Potato starch is a closer substitute if tapioca is unavailable.
- Chinese mushrooms (dried shiitake): Fresh shiitake can replace them — use about 1.5x the quantity and skip the soaking step. The flavor is milder but still works.
- Fungus mushrooms (wood ear): These add crunch more than flavor. Finely diced water chestnuts are a practical swap that gives the same textural contrast.
- Bamboo shoots: Canned bamboo shoots are fine here. Rinse them well and pat dry before dicing to avoid excess moisture in the filling.
- Ground pork: Ground chicken works as a filling substitute — cook it to 165°F (74°C) internally. The flavor is lighter, so bump up the soy sauce slightly.
The technique that matters
The dough is soft and sticky, and that’s normal — but it means your hands need to stay lightly oiled the entire time you’re shaping. More important is oil temperature. Fry at 180°C (356°F) and keep it there. If the oil drops too low after you add the dumplings, the skin absorbs oil instead of crisping, and you end up with a greasy, heavy result. Fry in small batches — no more than three or four at a time — so the oil temperature stays stable. Use a thermometer rather than guessing. The dumplings are done when the skin is golden and the filling reaches 160°F (71°C) for pork.
Troubleshooting
- Skin tears during shaping: The dough dried out slightly. Cover the portion you’re not actively working with a damp cloth. If it’s already cracking, knead in a few drops of warm water.
- Dumplings stick together in the oil: They were placed too close together before the exterior set. Lower them in one at a time and give each a gentle nudge with a spider or slotted spoon immediately after adding.
- Filling is watery after cooking: Excess moisture from mushrooms or bamboo shoots. After soaking mushrooms, squeeze them firmly before dicing. Pat bamboo shoots dry. A wet filling also makes the skin soggy from the inside out.
- Skin is pale and soft, not crispy: Oil wasn’t hot enough, or too many dumplings went in at once. Let the oil recover to 180°C between batches — skip the garnish and use that time to monitor the temperature instead.
- Skin is crispy but filling is still cold in the center: Dumplings were too large or oil was too hot, cooking the outside fast while the inside lagged. Keep them uniform in size and stick to the recommended temperature.
Make-ahead notes
The filling can be made up to 24 hours ahead and stored covered in the fridge — this actually helps the flavors settle. The shaped, uncooked dumplings can be frozen on a tray until solid, then transferred to a zip-lock bag and kept for up to 6 weeks; fry them straight from frozen at 170°C (338°F) for a couple of extra minutes. Once fried, these do not reheat well — the skin turns hard rather than crisping back up. Fry only what you plan to eat immediately.
Crispy Deep-Fried Meat Dumpling (Dim Sim)
Ingredients
Pastry Ingredients
- 40 grams tapioca starch
65 ml water - cold- 160 grams glutinous flour
- 100 ml water - cold
60 grams sugar- 40 grams vegetable shortening - at room temperature
Filling Ingredients
150 grams ground pork (minced pork)
4 stalks spring onions - finely diced- 8 pieces Chinese mushroom - finely diced
- 8 pieces fungus mushroom - finely diced
100 grams bamboo shoots - finely diced
2 cloves garlic - finely diced
Marination Ingredients
1 tablespoon soy sauce- 1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon salt- ½ tablespoon sugar
1 dash white pepper
Instructions
- Mix all marination and fillings into a large bowl mix thoroughly until combined. Leave to marinate for at 30 minutes.
- Mix tapioca starch with 65 ml of cold water in a bowl until fully combined. Leave aside.
- In another bowl, mix sugar, glutinous flour, 100ml of cold water and shortening until thoroughly combined.
- Add tapioca flour mixture into the glutinous flour mixture. Use your hands, mix and knead the mixture into a dough.
- Separate the dough into 2, roll each dough into 2 long logs. Separate each log into 8 equal balls.
- Use a roller pin, roll each small dough ball into a flat round pastry, add a teaspoon of filling in the middle, use your fingers, pinch the edges together to keep the filling within the dough.
- Gently roll into an oval-shaped ball.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Add enough oil for deep fry and turn on high heat in a large wok.
- When the oil reaches 180 degrees Celsius, use a stainless steel strainer and slowly drop dumplings into the oil on a strainer, this avoids them dropping to the bottom of the wok and getting burnt.
- Do not move or poke them, as the dough can be sticky. Let the dumpling fry, so the outside becomes harder and crispy for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Move the dumpling from the strainer and let it float nicely in the wok. Repeat step 10 with the remaining dumplings.
- Fry until lightly golden and remove from the heat; place cooked dumplings onto an oil absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
- Serve immediately with chilli and soy sauce.
Nutrition
FAQ
Can I use a regular pot instead of a deep fryer?
Yes — a heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven works well. Fill it with at least 3 inches of oil so the dumplings can float freely, and use a thermometer clipped to the side to monitor the temperature throughout.
How do I know the pork filling is fully cooked inside?
The safest check is an instant-read thermometer inserted through the side of the dumpling into the center — ground pork needs to hit 160°F (71°C). If you don’t have a thermometer, cut one open from your first batch to check there’s no pink filling before continuing.
My dough feels too sticky to shape — is something wrong?
Nothing is wrong. Glutinous rice flour dough is inherently stickier than wheat dough. Oil your hands lightly before each dumpling rather than adding more flour, which would change the texture of the skin.
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- Crispy Pork Dumpling Delight
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- Authentic Szechuan Dan Dan
