Filled dumplings: momo, wonton, Maultaschen, pierogi

Why

Thin dough is held together by a gluten network (Kneading and gluten card), and two edges only join when they are supple and clean: dried-out dough will no longer stick, and fat or juice from the filling on the edge keeps the seam apart. Air sealed in with the filling expands during cooking and balloons or tears the dumpling, and the same happens to a dumpling holding more filling than the dough can take. A wet filling, such as raw cabbage or spinach, releases water, soaks the dough from inside and makes sealing harder, so vegetables that make up much of the filling are squeezed or softened in the pan beforehand (Watery vegetables: courgette, cucumber, cabbage card). A rolling boil tosses the dumplings so they knock against each other and the bottom and burst, while the filling in the centre heats more slowly than the dough, so floating to the surface does not yet mean a meat filling is cooked through; it should reach at least 71 °C at the core, 74 °C with poultry (Internal temperature of meat card).

How to do it

• Rest the kneaded dough covered so it relaxes and rolls out thinly; keep rolled rounds and finished dumplings under a towel so they do not dry out.
• The filling should be cohesive and moist, not wet: when vegetables dominate, squeeze cabbage or spinach first, let fried onion cool and do not add liquid fat from the pan.
• Put only so much filling on each round that a clean edge remains; brush a dry edge with water, press the air out away from the filling as you close it and pinch the edge firmly.
• Cook in small batches in a wide pot at a gentle boil; when the water boils hard, add a little cold water, as northern Chinese cooks do.
• Boil or steam meat-filled dumplings until the filling reaches at least 71 °C, 74 °C with poultry; cut open the first of each batch or check it with a probe thermometer.
• Line the steamer insert with paper or cabbage leaves, or brush it with water or oil, and space the dumplings apart; lift boiled ones out with a slotted spoon.

If it goes wrong

A burst dumpling is edible: finish cooking it, and if the filling has spilled into the water, serve it all as soup. Brush an edge that will not seal with water and pinch it again; cover dried dough with a damp towel. Drain soggy, stuck-together dumplings, separate them and fry them briefly in a pan with a little oil. Finish a raw centre at a gentle boil or in steam and measure again; next time use less filling or cook the dumplings longer and more gently.