Crispy Mini Dumpling Cups

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These super easy dumpling cups are everything you love about juicy dumplings, with no folding, pleating, or fiddly wrapping required. Just mix your dumpling filling, press wonton wrappers into a muffin pan, fill, and bake. Top with a zingy cucumber salsa and lots of lovely dumpling dipping sauce to serve.

You'll also need a mini muffin pan for this recipe - I use this one.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Asian-inspired

Keyword: dumpling bites

Servings: cups

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Kate Phillips

Equipment

Mini muffin pan

Ingredients

For the dumpling cups -

1 lb ground pork (or use chicken/turkey) (500g)
3 scallions (spring onions), finely chopped
A handful of cilantro leaves (coriander), chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
1- inch piece of ginger grated (or 2 teaspoons ginger paste)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon black vinegar or rice vinegar
Black pepper
24 square wonton wrappers
Olive oil for greasing

For the pickled cucumber salsa -

½ cucumber finely diced
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

For the dumpling dipping sauce -

4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons chilli oil
4 teaspoons black vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced

Instructions

Make your dumpling filling.
Start by heating your oven to 400°F (200°C fan). Add the ground pork, most of the chopped scallions and cilantro (keep some aside to scatter on top to serve), the crushed garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon black vinegar, and a good grind of black pepper to a mixing bowl. Mix well to combine and ensure all the seasoning is evenly dispersed through the meat.

PRO TIP: At this stage, you can pan-fry a little piece of the filling to check the seasoning if you like.

Prepare your mini muffin pan.
Brush the insides of your mini muffin pan with olive oil. Gently press the wonton wrappers into each hole, folding the edges to create a little cup. The olive oil will help them stay in place.
Fill your dumpling cups.
Spoon a couple of heaped teaspoons of the dumpling mixture into the wonton cups, pressing down so that the filling goes to the bottom of the cups. You should get 24 cups out of this mixture.

PRO TIP: Don't overfill your cups - filling them just before the top of the cup is good. If you fill them too much, they can overflow and/or make your cups soggy.

Bake your dumpling cups.
Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 20 minutes, rotating it halfway through the cooking time (this will ensure the cups cook evenly).
Make the pickled cucumber.
While the cups cook, add the diced cucumber, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds to a small bowl. Mix to combine, then set aside.
Make the dumpling dipping sauce.
Add 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of chilli oil, 4 teaspoons of black vinegar, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, the crushed garlic, and chopped scallions to a jar you have a lid for, or a bowl. Pop the lid on the jar and shake well to combine, or mix in the bowl. Set aside.
Remove the cups from the oven.
Once the wonton wrappers are looking golden brown around the edges and the dumpling mixture is brown on top, remove the pan from the oven. If you're worried, the pork is cooked when it reads 160°F (71°C) if you're using a probe thermometer, and it shouldn't be pink in the middle. You should be able to quite easily remove the cups from the pan if you've greased it with the oil.

I recommend doing this as the cups come out of the oven - if you leave them in the pan, they can sometimes be a little harder to remove and can get soggy. The cups themselves won't be as crispy as the top edges - they'll be a little more like a pan-fried dumpling (the best of both worlds!)

Garnish and serve.
Transfer the cups to a serving platter, then spoon a little pickled cucumber salsa on top of each. Drizzle with dumpling dipping sauce, then scatter over the reserved scallions and cilantro. Serve with more dumpling dipping sauce on the side.

Notes

PREP AHEAD: You can make the dumpling filling up to 48 hours in advance, then just fill and pop the cups into the oven when you're ready. You can fill the cups and pop the pan in the fridge for an hour or two, but I don't recommend leaving it longer than that. The filling can make the wonton wrappers quite soggy.

FREEZING NOTES: You can freeze the baked cups - freeze them until solid on a plate or tray, then transfer them to ziplock bags to store. Reheat them from frozen on a lined baking sheet at 360F (180C) for about 10 minutes, or until hot and crispy again. It's best to freeze them without the cucumber topping or dumpling sauce. You can freeze the unbaked cups in the muffin pan - cover it tightly with plastic wrap first. Bake the cups from frozen and add about five or so minutes onto the cooking time.

INGREDIENT NOTES: Swap the ground pork for chicken, turkey, beef, or a plant-based alternative. If you're worried about spice, skip the chili oil in the dipping sauce, or skip the sauce altogether and dollop each cup with egg-free garlic aioli or instant egg-free Kewpie mayo before adding the cucumber salsa.

Nutrition