boiled dumplings with juicy snow pea leaves and shrimp 豆苗蝦水餃

Juicy and super flavorful Chinese boiled dumplings filled with snow pea leaves and shrimp (豆苗蝦水餃). This is the recipe to try especially if you’ve never made dumplings before. Using pre-made wrappers, it's easy and quick to make.

jump to:

• 🥟 main ingredients
• 🎥 cooking video
• 🔪 step by step instructions
• 💭 faq and expert tips
• 🍲 related recipes
• snow pea leaves and shrimp boiled dumplings 豆苗蝦水餃
• free dumpling recipe PDF

Boiled dumplings (also known as jiaozi or shui jiao in Mandarin, Chinese) are a staple in Taiwan and a common school lunch if you don’t have parents that pack you homemade biàndang 便當 (lunchboxes).   

Why snow pea leaves? They're tender and have a wonderfully light and nutty flavor. Not to mention, they also taste so good with shrimp, especially in dumplings. A staple vegetable in Taiwanese and Chinese cuisine, these delicate shoots are in season during Spring.

This recipe is inspired by my favorite dish from a vegetarian dim sum restaurant in NYC.

They're great for an everyday meal and for Lunar New Year celebrations. Folding dumplings always take me back to wonderful childhood memories of Taiwan.

Note: Chinese New Year is actually an inaccurate name for Lunar New Year. It's celebrated by many different Asian cultures. I sometimes use "Chinese New Year" when I talk about the traditions specific to Taiwanese and Chinese cultures that I grew up with.

🥟 main ingredients

• snow pea leaves - You can find them at farmers markets and Asian grocery stores in the Spring, or as early as late December. They’re also called pea tendrils, pea shoots, or snow pea tips. Both the leaves and stalks are edible. pro tip: You can tell how tender the stalks are by bending them. Tender stalks should make a light crunch sound and yield easily when pinched. Pea shoots that look like large microgreens or leaves from fava greens make great substitutions.
• spring garlic (green garlic) - A young garlic with a mild flavor that won’t overpower the delicious snow pea leaves. These are in season around the same time, so I always jump at the opportunity to cook with the two together. Fresh minced garlic also works if you can’t find green garlic.
• shrimp - You can use already peeled and deveined shrimp if you're short on time. I try to buy wild shrimp that I peel and clean myself when possible, but know that it's not always possible. For sustainable options, you can refer to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list.
• dumpling wrappers - Though not the same as handmade wrappers, these are a huge time saver. I’ve tested many packaged dumpling wrappers for years. So far, the Fung’s Village brand feels very close to homemade ones. You should be able to find it at a 99 Ranch Market in CA, NV, OR, WA, TX, MA, NJ, MD, and VA.

This recipe uses wrappers made with wheat flour (sometimes the packaging will call them “gyoza wrappers” or 水餃皮). Gyoza wrappers from Japanese markets would work as well. Try to pick a brand with wrappers that look thinner than others and make sure they don’t look dry or cracked.

🎥 cooking video

Watch the video below for a virtual cooking class at your own pace. I show every step of this recipe in The Sound of Cooking® video series. See the full collection of cooking videos on YouTube or browse any other recipe right here on my website.

Turn on your volume to hear the sounds of cooking. Cooking can be meditative and is a great opportunity to slow down, relax, and engage in your senses. Read more on our about page.

this cooking video shows you:

• how to make an easy filling
• how to blanch and shock snow pea leaves
• how to fold and boil Chinese dumplings
• a quick way to cut shrimp (something I learned from Chef Cheng in culinary school)

🔪 step by step instructions

I’m going to go through each step in detail below, including step-by-step photos on how to fold dumplings. If you’re in a hurry, click here to jump straight to the recipe.

make the dumpling filling

Wash and roughly chop the snow pea leaves (photo 1 above). Prepare an ice bath by combining 1 quart of water and 2 cups of ice in a medium mixing bowl.

Fill a medium saucepan with water, bring to a boil, and add 2 tablespoons of salt. 

Blanch the snow pea leaves by cooking them in boiling water just until they turn bright green (about 30 seconds) and strain (photos 2-3 above). It helps to cook them in the strainer if you have one that fits. 

Immediately shock the cooked pea leaves in the ice bath until they’re thoroughly cooled, then remove from the ice bath and allow excess water to drain (photo 4 above).

pro tip: Try not to leave the cooked greens in the ice bath for too long to preserve their flavor and nutrients.

Pinch off the shrimp tail shells if needed (photo 1 above). 

On a non-porous cutting board meant for raw seafood, line up the shrimp from left to right and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place shrimp into a large mixing bowl (photos 2-4 above). 

prepare the aromatics

Cut the ends off of the green garlic and mince the whole stalk, similar to the way you would slice scallions but taking the extra step to mince the white part (bulb). Don't have green garlic? You can substitute with 1 large clove of garlic, minced.

Peel and mince 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger. Did you know that ginger is typically used with seafood in Chinese cuisine? It’s said to balance out the seafood scent or flavor (腥味).

Add the minced ginger, rice cooking wine, ground white pepper, salt, and sesame oil to the bowl of shrimp (photos 1-2 above). 

Give it a stir with chopsticks and then add the minced green garlic (photo 3). Add the snow pea leaves at the end before a final mix (photo 4). 

fill and fold dumplings

Prepare your “folding station” with the following: 

• A clean and flat work surface
• A small bowl of water for dipping your fingers in
• A slightly damp clean kitchen towel or paper towel
• One small (half) baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Another sheet of parchment paper of the same size for your second layer of dumplings
• Dumpling filling
• Small offset spatula. A butter knife or a small spoon would work too.
• Dumpling wrappers

Place a small amount of filling (slightly less than 1 tablespoon) in the center of each wrapper, leaving about ½ inch of wrapper clear all around (photos 1-2 above). 

Wet the top half of the edge with water and fold it into a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly to seal the dumpling, making sure to press out air pockets from the center out. Then, wet the top edge of your half-moon and pleat by folding and pinching, starting from the center (photos 3-4 above). 

Make 2 more pleats on each side, making a total of five pleats (photos 5-6). 

Place the completed dumplings on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to space them apart so they don’t stick together. Cover the dumplings with a clean kitchen towel while you’re folding the others so that the edges don’t dry up. Repeat until all the filling is used.

For a Chinese New Year tradition, add a slice of red chili pepper to the filling of one of the dumplings (photo 8). The person who ends up finding this dumpling will have good fortune for the year.

pro tip: You can make large batches of dumplings quicker by using an assembly line method. Line up 4-6 dumplings wrappers and then add the filling to all of them before folding. Repeat in batches. I make up to 6 at a time when using pre-made wrappers since they tend to dry up quicker.

boil dumplings

Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Gently drop the dumplings in and give them a stir to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the dumplings float to the top and the wrappers turn slightly translucent (about 2 to 3 minutes).

You can also tell they’re done when you see the shrimp turn pink through the wrappers as shown in the photo above.

Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon and serve hot with or without a dipping sauce.

To make an optional dipping sauce, stir together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ⅛ teaspoon fresh red chili, and ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil in each sauce bowl. You can substitute a small squeeze of sriracha for the fresh chili if you like.

💭 faq and expert tips

Let me know if you have any questions at all in the comments below.

Happy cooking! ~ Cin

🍲 related recipes

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free dumpling recipe PDF

Want a free PDF with this dumpling recipe plus two other filling options? Grab it here.