Once you start making these restaurant style Thai prawn dumplings drizzled with the addictive Nam Jim sauce at home, you will never think twice to give your Asian takeaways a miss! Don’t skip the garlic oil with crispy garlic chips!
If I have impressed myself off late with any particular recipe, then that has to be this Thai prawn dumplings!
Chinese bao buns with crispy chicken was definitely at top of the list before this, but since the time these crazy prawn dumplings materialized in my kitchen, I could not think of anything else!
These prawn dumplings turned out to be even more addictive with the popular Thai Nam Jim sauce which is a killer combination of spicy green chillies, coriander roots, garlic, lemon juice, fish sauce & sugar.
Trust me these Thai prawn dumplings are incomplete without a generous drizzle of this spicy & tangy Nam Jim sauce. Top it up with garlic oil for the final boost of flavor!
I will not only share the Thai prawn dumplings recipe today, but also will be sharing the recipe of dumpling wrappers! Sounds exciting?
Yes, you can very easily make dumpling wrappers at home and it requires just two ingredients! I will also share my tips & tricks to make perfect dumpling wrapper every time!
This dumpling wrapper recipe is an all-rounder! You can make dumplings of course; you can also make wontons using the same wrappers! How cool is that!
Also these wrappers freeze really well; so you can make a big batch and keep it handy. These will prove to be your savior if you have sudden cravings of Asian dumplings!
Dumplings have been very popular everywhere since ages, only difference being that they are known differently in different countries!
In India we love momos which are nothing but a type of dumpling only! I had shared my chicken pot stickers recipe a while back which is another variety of dumplings originated in China!
These Thai prawn dumplings have definitely become my favorite without an iota of doubt, not only because it is filled with prawns but also because of the entire killer combination of soft & succulent dumplings with spicy & tangy Nam Jim chilli sauce and flavorful garlic oil which also adds a crunch with the crispy garlic chips! Pure indulgence!
While making the Nam Jim sauce, you will need two types of fresh green chillies. You will need couple of hot green chillies, preferably birds’ eye chilies which are known for their spiciness.
If you don’t get your hands on birds’ eye chilies in your city, just replace them with the spiciest green chillies you get locally at your supermarket.
Along with the spicy ones, you will also need some milder green chillies to get that vibrant green color. Don’t use all spicy green chillies as that would make the Nam Jim sauce unbearably spicy!
You need to strike the right balance! Then play around with the optimum amount of fish sauce, lemon juice, sugar and salt to arrive at your best liking!
Another indispensable ingredient for your Nam Jim sauce is coriander roots. In India, we easily get the bunch of corianders with roots intact but that’s not the case in most places.
As an alternative, you may use coriander leaves along with the stalks. It won’t be exactly similar in flavor but works with the overall flavor profile.
The other absolute must-have condiment for your Thai prawn dumplings is the garlic oil! I would recommend to make a generous batch of garlic oil as it has the super-power to enhance the taste & flavor of almost any dish!
While making the garlic oil, make sure to remove it from heat as soon as you start seeing the very first hint of golden brown around the edges of garlic bits.
Now let’s talk about the prawn mixture which goes as the filling for your Thai prawn dumplings. The prawn stuffing is the heart of this dish and once you get it right, you will churn out restaurant quality dumplings every time.
As suggested by Marion from Marion’s kitchen where I got the inspiration of this dish from, you should use your knife to mince the prawns and not a food processor. Also reserve few prawns to be chopped into small pieces instead of mincing.
While making the prawn mixture, add little bit of liquid – water or chicken stock – to keep the mixture moist & juicy inside while being poached in boiling water. To bind everything together, add a spoon of cornflour and mix vigorously to make a sticky mixture.
And you are done! Fill in your dumpling wrappers, seal, poach and serve the Thai prawn dumplings hot with generous drizzling of spicy Nam Jim sauce & garlic oil on top! Enjoy!
- All-purpose flour – 130 gms / 1 cup
- Boiled water – 80 gms / ⅓ cup
- Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in the warm water and start mixing the flour with water using a wooden spoon. Once all the dry flour is moistened, start kneading with your hand until the dough forms a smooth ball.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is firm and bounces back when you poke a finger in it. Let the dough rest sealed in a ziplock bag and let it steam in the bag for 15 minutes.
- After about 15 minutes, take the dough out and start stretching it and then give it a long and thin cylindrical shape having uniform thickness from top to bottom.
- Then cut it into half to form 2 equal-sized logs. Take one log at a time cut into even pieces; each log should make about 10 pieces that are about 10g per piece.
- Take one piece at a time and using a rolling pin, roll the ball into a flat circle of about 1 millimeter thickness.
- Now comes an important step which will make the folding of your dumplings very easy. What you have to do is to press around the edges of the circle using a glass or cup or your rolling pin to make the edges thinner than the center. Don’t skip this step as it will ensure the fold is not a thick blob of flour. The final wrapper should be of the size of your palm.
- Place the prepared wrapper onto a floured surface and continue with the same process with remaining dough pieces. Generously flour between the stacked wrappers and don’t pile too many on top of each other because the weight can cause them to stick together.
- You may use the wrappers straight away or these can be frozen in sealable bags. Before using frozen wrappers, thaw them for about an hour outside the freezer. Carefully separate the wrappers and sprinkle each with extra flour.
- Jumbo prawns – 11 to 12
- Chicken stock or water – 3 tbsp
- Corn flour / cornstarch – 1 tsp
- Sea salt – 1 tsp
- Sugar – ¼ tsp
- White pepper – ¼ tsp
- Dumpling wrappers – 12
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Fresh hot green chillies – 2 (preferably birds’ eye chilli)
- Fresh mild green chillies – 3, large
- Coriander roots – 4
- Sea salt – ½ tsp
- Sugar – 1 tbsp
- Fish sauce – 2 tbsp
- Lime juice – 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil – ¼ cup
- Garlic – 10 cloves, roughly chopped, not minced
- To make the Nam Jim sauce, use a mortar & pestle to pound the garlic, chillies, coriander roots and salt to make a fine paste. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice to mix well. You Nam Jim sauce is ready! Transfer to a small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
- For making crispy garlic oil, place the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped garlic while the oil is still cold so that it warms up along with the oil. Wait for the garlic to sizzle and then keep stirring the garlic to make sure it colors evenly. Cook the garlic until it turns light golden color, then take it off heat immediately and pour the oil & garlic into a heatproof bowl. Garlic will continue cooking and will turn a shade darker soon after you pour it out of the saucepan.
- To make the prawn dumplings filling, take 8-9 prawns and finely mince them with a knife. Place in a large bowl. Take the remaining prawns and dice them into small pieces. Add these to the same bowl with mince prawns. This will give you crispy bites of prawns in your dumplings.
- Then add water or chicken stock, corn flour, salt, sugar and pepper to the bowl. Use chopsticks or a fork to vigorously mix the filling until the texture becomes very sticky.
- To make the dumplings, take one dumpling wrapper on your palm and place a heaped teaspoon of filling into the center of the wrapper. Moisten the edges with water and pleat & press the edges together to seal in the filling.
- Place the dumplings on a lightly-floured tray and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Dumplings can be frozen at this point.
- When you are ready to serve your Thai prawn dumplings, bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Tip in the prepared dumplings into boiling water and cook them for about 5-6 minutes or until the wrapper turns glossy and crinkled; outer wrapper will also not remain as opaque as raw dumplings once cooked. It will take a little longer for frozen dumplings, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Once the prawn dumplings are cooked through, take them out using a slotted spoon and let all the water drip off. Then place the dumplings on a serving plate.
- Drizzle garlic oil on top of the dumplings with crispy bits of golden garlic chips. Add Nam Jim sauce generously on top and serve warm. Enjoy!
Manoj says
Really nice amazing ideas about Thai nam Jim sauce – it’s really delicious and yummy
Just one suggestion- if prawn dim sum could be placed on bamboo dim sum basket for a better traditional look.
Regards
Manoj
Flavor Quotient says
Hi Manoj,
Thank you so much for your comment and suggestion! Really appreciate it! Yeah, bamboo basket would have completed the picture but didn’t find it while clicking the pictures! Next time! 🙂