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Homemade Sesame Ginger Dumplings in Chili Oil. Best for nights when you’re craving spicy, warming, dumplings, but want something healthier and made at home. Easy homemade dumplings with two filling options…sweet-spicy roasted squash and chicken or pork. Toss the dumplings up in a garlicky chili oil just before serving. These dumplings are a fun and healthy dinner to make any night of the week. So delicious, spicy, saucy, and perfectly warming for fall.
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It’s dumpling day! I’ve been wanting to make dumplings in chili oil for the longest time. I waited and waited for no good reason. But today, we have dumplings and they’re just as delicious as you might imagine them to be.
Just like your favorite restaurant, but homemade.
This recipe comes with not one, but two filling options. I just couldn’t decide between a sweet-spicy roasted squash filling and a gingery chicken filling. I decided to test out both recipes to see which I enjoy more, but in the end, I loved them both so much!
So, I thought, why not share two fillings? This was you can mix and match or just make the filling you’ll enjoy the most!
Here are the details – let’s talk fillings
First up, my personal favorite filling, sweet autumn roasted squash. You can use acorn or butternut squash, both are great.
Toss the squash up with ginger and cayenne. Add some honey to help pull out the natural sweetness in the squash. Then roast until the squash is super tender and flavorful.
You’ll give the squash a light mash with a fork, then add in soy sauce for that salty umami flavor. It’s a little different, but so delicious!
Now the chicken. This is my go-to filling for dumplings. It’s a mix of ground chicken (or pork), ginger, garlic, green onions, and soy sauce.
Super simple, but that’s all you need!
Assemble
Start with the dumpling wrappers. Since we don’t have any Asian markets near us, I like to use Wonton wrappers. These work amazingly well and I tend to keep them in my fridge or freezer to have on hand for quick homemade egg rolls or dumplings. Of course, if you have an Asian market near you, I would recommend picking up fresh dumpling wrappers to use for truly authentic dumplings.
Assembling is easier than you’d think. I chose to fold the dough into half-moons, then just pinch them to seal at the top.
Nothing fancy. Don’t stress about making these look perfect. Each little dumpling is unique and cute in its own way!
The chili oil
Yes, you NEED this oil. It’s really the reason I made the recipe. It’s the perfect finishing touch to these dumplings. Think a little spicy, a little garlicky, and made with caramelized shallots, which make these even more delicious.
This chili oil is simple too! Just simmer everything together in sesame oil until the oil is super fragrant with garlic and shallot scents in the air. Then add plenty of chili flakes. Well, that’s what I do, add them to your liking.
To serve, boil off the dumplings. Then simply toss them in that warm chili oil and serve with toasted sesame seeds on top!
I can’t tell you how much I love this recipe, DELICIOUS.
Here’s a tip, make the dumplings in bulk over the weekend or whenever you have time. Then freeze what’s leftover for the quickest, easiest lunch or dinner…any day of the week. To reheat the frozen dumplings, simply boil as directed above and toss them in the chili oil.
Perfect fall dinner. Our nights are so much longer these days. Sometimes it’s actually nice to be able to spend a little extra time in the kitchen preparing dinner. These are especially fun to make with others. So grab a few friends, your husband, kids, whoever. Then make a fun night out of this!
Looking for other dumpling recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Sesame Chicken Dumplings in Spicy Broth with Garlic Crisps
Chinese Mushroom Dumplings with Sweet Chili Ginger Sesame Sauce
Lastly, if you make these Sesame Ginger Dumplings in Chili Oil be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sesame Ginger Dumplings in Chili Oil
Ingredients
Squash Dumplings
- 2 small acorn squash, sliced, or 4 cups cubed butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 24-26 round dumpling or wonton wrappers
- toasted sesame seeds, for serving
Chicken Dumplings
- 1 pound ground chicken or pork
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 4 chopped green onions
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- black pepper
Chili oil
- 3/4 cup sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 shallot, quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-3 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
- 1. To make the Squash Dumplings: Preheat the oven to 425° F. On a baking sheet, toss together the squash, olive oil, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, and honey. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. 2. Peel the squash skin away from the acorn squash and add the squash to a bowl. Add the soy sauce to the squash and mash together. 3. To make the Chicken Dumplings: combine all ingredients in a bowl. 4. To assemble the Dumplings: spoon 2 teaspoons of filling onto each wrapper. Brush water around the edges of the wrapper. Fold the edges of the wrapper up and around the filling and pinch to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling. 5. To make the chili oil. In a medium skillet, combine the sesame oil, garlic, shallot, and bay leaf. Cook over medium heat until the garlic turns golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the chili flakes. Season with salt. 6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the dumplings until they float, 3-4 minutes. Toss the warm dumplings in the chili oil. Serve topped with green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
i did the squash filling and had way too much filling left over after making 30 dumplings, you can definitely cut down the recipe to 1 acorn squash. if you cut your squash into thick chunks i would roast it even longer to ensure the skin will peel off more easily. i ended up boiling them and then pan-frying them in the chili oil. i did not use anywhere near that amount of chilli flakes and still found this sauce to not be satisfying enough- i realized i wanted a more traditional soy dipping sauce. all in all came out pretty well and is definitely worth making, fun experience!
Hi there! I hope you enjoyed this recipe, and thank you for the feedback! 🙂 xTieghan
Okay I have loved some recipes in the past so thought I’d give this a try too. I will say, I am no professional cook but boiling just is not the move. Literal mush. And from the other posts, the oil is likely to burn in all of 0.02 sec on low heat. Like I said.. typically love some HBH but this is not the move for me :/
I made the squash dumplings! Once the (acorn) squash was roasting I was in heaven, everything smelled so good. I could only find wonton wrappers, so I assembled dumplings with those. I made the chili sauce as written, and 1-3 TABLESPOONS of red pepper flakes is way too much. Holy spicy. Also, once I boiled mh dumplings, they became…much. We actually tried pan frying them in the sesame oil concoction and it was …still not happening. Too much oil and spice. And my husband loves spice and he was like, did you read that correctly on the recipe?! I have no idea what I would change…not sure boiling is the best method? Maybe a quick fry when they are raw?
Hi Kendall! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out the way you hoped! Is there anything you did differently? I’m so sorry if it was too spicy! Let me know how I can help, and thank you for the feedback! Have a great day xTieghan
Hi! This is listed as a vegan recipe but there is honey in the ingredients. Is there a good substitute? Thank you! I love your recipes.
Hi there! I would omit the honey and just use a bit of sugar! 🙂 xTieghan
Hi!
Do you think I could prefill the dumplings and keep them covered in the fridge overnight ~ 24 hours? Or would they get too squidgy? I have a very small freezer so its not my best option. My other option would be to just pre-make the filling and then assemble the next day prior to cooking, but I like to to try and streamline my weeknights as much as possible. Thank you ! <3 love your blog
These dumplings are amazing! I was hesitant about the squash filling but I actually think that was my favorite – even my husband who is very much a meat and potatoes guy preferred the squash. I added shredded carrots to my chicken ones. Someone below mentioned burning the sesame oil – I had this same problem! I even had my pan on low heat and was trying to be very conscious of not burning but it happened anyway. I ended up making my own sauce with store-bought garlic chili sauce, soy sauce, and a dash of toasted sesame oil, it was delish! Will definitely make these dumplings again 🙂
Hi Jordan! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe! I am so sorry that the sesame oil didn’t work out! Let me know if you have any more questions. xTieghan
Do you cook the chicke or pork before putting in dumpling?
Yes, before! 🙂 xTieghan
Below in another comment though you said add the raw filling to the dumpling??
Great recipe! Both the chicken & squash were equally delicious but man on man that sauce was delish!
I made BOTH the dumpling fillings – the squash I picked ended up making a ton of filling! They both taste SOOOOOO good. This is the perfect dish for fall. Thank you!
Thanks so much for trying out this recipe! So glad to hear that it was enjoyed xTieghan
Made the ground pork version of this with my husband and it tasted great! Loved all of the flavors!
The flavor of these were great and everyone loved them. A bit time consuming to make the dumplings then boil but worth it. Definitely will make them again.
Hey Christina,
Happy Sunday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I truly appreciate you giving it a try! xTieghan
I prepared the ground pork version, added chopped mushrooms to the filling and they were phenomenal. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Hey Claudia,
Happy Sunday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I truly appreciate you giving it a try! xTieghan
Great recipe, thank you! I made the ground pork version and added some dried coriander and white pepper to the filling. It was yummy and I can’t wait to try it with squash next time 🙂
Hey there,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for making it! xTieghan
Do you freeze the dumplings cooked or uncooked?
Hey Colleen,
You will want to freeze the dumplings uncooked:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
For the chili oil, please denote whether it is raw sesame or toasted sesame oil. Confusion could really mess up an otherwise great recipe.
Hi Paul,
You will want to use raw sesame oil. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I didn’t read this in time and used toasted sesame oil…We it alter the taste considerably.I made the chilli oil ahead if time and I am about to make the squash wontons.
Your advice is needed.
Thank you!
Yolanda R.
Hi Yolanda,
It should be just fine, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Do you add the chicken filling raw to the wonton wrappers or cook it first? Thanks!
Hi Alison,
Please follow the recipe as written and add the raw filling to the wrappers. The meat will cook when steaming the dumplings. I hope you love the recipe!! xTieghan
Hi! I want to make the chicken ones and in one reply you said add raw chicken filling and then the other says cook before. Can you clarify? I felt like cooking before would make more sense since it’s chicken. But how would I do that if I cook them before?
Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, I would cook the chicken before hand in a separate skillet/pan 🙂 xTieghan