This recipe for Rice Paper Dumplings features a delicious seasoned pork and vegetable filling wrapped up in chewy rice paper. Enjoy them fresh or pan-fried, they are great either way!
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Why you'll love this recipe
This recipe is loosely inspired by Vietnamese-style rice rolls (banh cuon), which is a steamed rice flour batter (similar to Chinese chee cheong fun) filled with ground pork and vegetables.
However, this version uses readily-available rice paper wrappers/spring roll wrappers (banh trang), typically used for Vietnamese fresh spring rolls (goi cuon), instead of making the batter from scratch and is:
Easy to make: no need to make dumpling wrappers for this recipe.
Completely cooked: uses a cooked pork filling, and not have to worry about dealing with raw pork, which is traditionally how Chinese pork dumplings are made.
Gluten-free: by using rice paper wrappers, these dumplings are naturally gluten-free.
Versatile: you can enjoy the dumplings freshly wrapped, or take it a step further and pan-fry until crisp and golden in color.
A great way to use up vegetables: if you've got leftover bits and bobs of veggies, it's a fantastic way to use them up.
Delicious: marinating the ground pork really adds so much more flavor to the filling mixture.
Ingredients you'll need
Pork:
- ground pork: you can use regular or lean ground pork; or use ground chicken, or ground beef
- garlic: minced
- shallot: minced; sub with ½ small onion
- soy sauce: for savory flavor
- sea salt
- black pepper
- oyster sauce: adds more savory flavor; you can omit if you don't have it
- granulated sugar: balances out the flavor
Vegetables:
- vegetable oil: for frying the veg; you can use any neutral veg oil
- cabbage: I used Chinese Napa cabbage, but you can use any cabbage you like
- carrot: shredded
- green onions: sliced
- cilantro: chopped; optional
- Chinese mushrooms: soaked and diced
- sesame oil: toasted; for aroma
Rice paper:
- Vietnamese rice paper wrappers: also known as bánh tráng; made of rice and water, typically sold dry in packages and can come various sizes, in square or round shapes; not to be confused with netted rice paper wrappers for spring rolls
You can find these ingredients at Asian supermarkets or large grocery stores.
How to make the dumplings
Marinate the pork:
In a bowl, combine the ground pork, half of the minced garlic and minced shallot, soy sauce, salt, pepper, oyster sauce and sugar.
Mix well to incorporate into the meat.
Place into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Cook the vegetables:
Heat up a large frying pan or pot over medium heat and add in vegetable oil.
Add in the garlic, shallot, cabbage, carrot, green onions, cilantro (if using) and sauté until the cabbage is wilted and dried up considerably, about 7-8 minutes.
Once the vegetable mixture has dried up, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Cook the pork:
Using the same pan over medium-high heat, add in vegetable oil, the remaining minced garlic and shallot and the ground pork.
Cook the pork, breaking it up into smaller pieces, and stirring until cooked through.
Add in the vegetable mixture along with the diced Chinese mushrooms, and sauté for a few more minutes.
Ensure the mixture is sufficiently dry, remove from heat and add in sesame oil.
Stir to combine everything well.
Let the mixture cool slightly.
Prepare the dumplings:
Prepare a dish with warm water.
Dip a piece of rice paper into the warm water for a few seconds.
Remove from the water and lay onto a flat surface or large plate.
Take 1 ½ tablespoon of cooked filling and place it slightly offset below center.
Fold the rice paper bottom up over the filling.
Next, fold in both the left and right side, overlapping in the middle.
Then fold the package up, into a little rectangle.
Place onto a dry plate in a single layer and repeat with the remaining.
You can serve the rice paper dumplings with dipping sauce as is or pan-fry them.
Pan-fry (optional)
Tip: if pan-frying, let the rice paper dumplings dry a little before cooking. This will prevent the wrapper from sticking too much to the pan.
Heat up a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add vegetable oil and the rice paper dumplings in a single layer, making sure they don't touch each other (you may need to do this in batches).
Pan-fry the dumplings until golden in color on both sides.
Remove from pan and repeat with the remainder.
Serve immediately.
How to serve
For these dumplings, there are two options: you can serve freshly wrapped, or you can pan-fry.
For fresh dumplings, you can serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. (Be sure to cover the rice paper dumplings as they will dry out).
Serve with a soy dipping sauce, nuoc cham, or chili oil.
Pair the rice dumplings with other dishes, such as Vietnamese rice noodle bowl, crispy spring rolls (cha gio), netted spring rolls, or fresh spring rolls (goi cuon).
How to store & reheat
Store the rice paper dumplings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
You can enjoy the rice paper dumplings cold from the fridge (although the texture may not be as optimal), or bring it up to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Alternatively, you can spray the dumplings with a little water, cover it and microwave for 20-30 seconds, until warmed through.
If pan-fried: reheat and bake the dumplings at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until warmed through and lightly crisp.
Substitutions
You can swap out the pork for a different protein such as diced tofu, or even Vietnamese pork roll (cha lua).
Add "drier" vegetables, such as Chinese mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, or mung bean vermicelli for more variation.
Expert tips
Working with rice paper:
I prefer to use warm water for dipping the rice paper rather than cold water, however, depending on the brand of rice paper you're working with, you may find that using cold water may work better. (This is dependent on the starch used for the rice paper).
Quickly rotate the rice paper along the edge, until just moistened.
It's OK if the paper is not completely pliable when you remove it from the water -- when you lay it on the plate, it will eventually soften.
If you have a rice paper holder/water bowl, you can use that as well.
Pan-frying:
If you're planning to pan-fry the dumplings, it is best to let the dumplings air-dry a bit before cooking.
When the rice paper is too wet, it may cause sticking in the pan. You can use a little extra vegetable oil to help mitigate.
Be sure to heat up the pan sufficiently before pan-frying to avoid sticking.
Other delicious recipes you may like
Be sure to check out these recipes:
Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Spring Rolls)
Cha Gio (Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls with Taro)
Rice Noodle Rolls 豬腸粉 (Chee Cheong Fun)
Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!
Rice Paper Dumplings (2 Ways)
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Pork:
- 1 lb ground pork
- 3 cloves garlic minced, reserve half for the vegetables
- 1 large shallot minced, reserve half for the vegetables
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Vegetables:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil + extra for pan-frying dumplings
- 4 C chopped cabbage
- 1 carrot shredded
- 2 green onions sliced
- ¼ C chopped cilantro optional
- 2 Chinese mushrooms soaked in warm water, drained and diced
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
Rice paper:
- 25 Vietnamese rice paper wrappers/spring roll wrappers (banh trang) 8" rounds
Dipping sauce:
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon chili oil optional
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
Marinate the pork:
- In a bowl, combine the ground pork, half of the minced garlic and minced shallot, soy sauce, salt, pepper, oyster sauce and sugar.
- Mix well to incorporate into the meat.
- Place into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Cook the vegetables:
- Heat up a large frying pan or pot over medium heat and add in vegetable oil.
- Add in the garlic, shallot, cabbage, carrot, green onions, cilantro (if using) and sauté until the cabbage is wilted and dried up considerably, about 7-8 minutes.
- Once the vegetable mixture has dried up, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Cook the pork:
- Using the same pan over medium-high heat, add in vegetable oil, the remaining minced garlic and shallot and the ground pork.
- Cook the pork, breaking it up into smaller pieces, and stirring until cooked through.
- Add in the vegetable mixture along with the diced Chinese mushrooms, and sauté for a few more minutes.
- Ensure the mixture is sufficiently dry, remove from heat and add in sesame oil.
- Stir to combine everything well.
- Let the mixture cool slightly.
Prepare the dumplings:
- Prepare a dish with warm water.
- Dip a piece of rice paper into the warm water for a few seconds.
- Remove from the water and lay onto a flat surface or large plate.
- Take 1 ½ tablespoon of cooked filling and place it slightly offset below center.
- Fold the rice paper bottom up over the filling.
- Next, fold in both the left and right side, overlapping in the middle.
- Then fold the package up, into a little rectangle.
- Place onto a dry plate in a single layer and repeat with the remaining.
- You can serve the rice paper dumplings with dipping sauce (recipe below) as is or pan-fry them.
Pan-fry: (optional)
- Heat up a frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add vegetable oil and the rice paper dumplings in a single layer, making sure they don't touch each other (you may need to do this in batches).
- Pan-fry the dumplings until golden in color on both sides.
- Remove from the pan and repeat with the remainder.
- Serve immediately.
Make the dipping sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
I don't think I knew that so many dumpling varieties exist until your blog lol And here we go - another wonderful dish! I've never worked with rice paper, and I so love this translucent crisp exterior!
Michelle
Thanks Ben, there are a plethora of dumplings out there! But basically anything that is wrapped can be considered a dumpling or sorts 🙂
Raymund | angsarap.net
Your Rice Paper Dumplings recipe looks absolutely scrumptious! I love the combination of seasoned pork and vegetables and the idea of it being wrapped up in chewy rice paper.
Michelle
Thanks Raymund! The chewy rice paper really adds a nice texture to the dumplings.