Because there’s nothing not to love about a plump little dumpling, you should definitely throw a party about it. Invite your closest friends, dig your hands into some dough, and work up an appetite with this edible party activity. Whether your guests are cooking experts or cooking newbies, dumpling making is a simple and fun way to bring out inner chefs. So get the rolling pins out, and prepare for your kitchen to take a beating because it is about to see a bazillion dumplings.
prep Two or three days in advance: Buy ingredients. This will give you enough time to hunt down all of your ingredients, but it won’t be so much time that the veggies and meat will spoil. One day in advance: Make all of the dough, the potsticker filling, and any other fillings. Keep in mind, though, that if you wait to make the pierogi, samosa, or empanada filling until right before guests arrive, your house will smell amazing.
drinks Pair your dumplings of the world with beers of the world. Have a Tsingtao with a potsticker, a Kingfisher with a samosa, a San
Day of:
Miguel with an empanada, and a Zywiec with a pierogi.
Set up (see below), preheat the oven to 375°, boil water for the
Making the dumplings
pierogi and potstickers (it’s okay to use the same water for both!),
Once guests have washed their hands and cracked open a beer,
make remaining fillings, and pour sauces into serving bowls.
allow them to choose which dumplings they’d like to make. Some
set up
will pick a station and stay there until all of the dumplings are
Create four stations, one for each type of dumpling. Stations can be all at the same table, or you can set up little tables around your house. Cover all surfaces with parchment or wax paper so that guests can work with the dough (this will also allow for a super quick and easy clean up while the dumplings are cooking). Each station should have a bowl of dough, a bowl of filling, spoons for the filling, a little bowl of flour, a rolling pin, and a pan covered with parchment for the formed dumplings. You may also want to set out some veggies or crackers to snack on in case guests get hungry before the dumplings are ready to eat.
decor
made, some will want to rotate through all of the stations, and some will just drink all of your beer and keep good company. As the host, be available to float around and help those who are dumpling-challenged (even if it’s just to provide moral support in the form of, “It’s okay that your dumplings look like a 6-year-old made them, [insert guest’s name here]. They will still be delicious!”). As pans get filled up with finished dumplings, start cooking them. Clear the stations of the empty bowls and parchment paper, and give them a quick wipe down so that guests can have a place to eat. It’s really important to make sure that any guests that work with the potsticker filling, which contains raw meat, know to wash
Keep it simple and functional. Use colorful and fun bowls for
their hands really well before eating anything. Also, pay special
fillings, dough, and sauces. Handwritten signs with directions will
attention to this station to make sure that the table gets cleaned
add charm. Blast a fun playlist to keep the energy high.
thoroughly.