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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.
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
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1912 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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
Calories for Squash Dumplings 200
Calories for Chicken Dumplings 308
I made a full batch of the squash-filling version and a 1/4 recipe of the ground pork version, using up some raw pork I had left over after making your Dan Dan noodles and Bahn Mi pizza over the last two days. Both versions came out perfectly and not mushy, although I will make the pork filling spicier next time. I found the process of wrapping of the noodles relaxing and therapeutic, lol.
Hi Djienne,
Perfect! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a hit! xxT
I made the Sesame Ginger Dumplings in Chili Oil with chicken last night and it was a winner! I cooked them in oil cuz we like them crispy and they were so yummy with the chili oil. This dish was easy and fun to make. Thank you!!
Hi Lynn,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Squash version was a little too sweet for me. Would skip or reduce the honey next time. Chili oil was good though.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try Taylor!
Hi! I’m confused – do you cook the chicken before you combine it with the other ingredients or does it actually cook in 3-4 minutes in the water?????
Hey Anne,
The chicken will cook in the dumplings. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Making these tonight – but I couldn’t find any wonton wrappers so I am going to making them like egg rolls. I hope they come out delicious!!! 🙂
I hope you love the recipe Kate!! xTieghan
Amazingly delicious and easy!
Hey Sarma,
I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for testing it out! Have a great week! xTieghan
How many dumplings does this make and is it to use up all the squash and meat mixture or just one or the other?
Hi Kathy,
You should end up with about 30 dumplings with either the meat or squash mixture. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
This recipe came up when I filtered to gluten-free but wonton wrappers are made from wheat and definitely not gluten-free.
Hi Karen,
You can easily use a GF wonton wrapper here or make your own with GF flour, which is why it is listed as GF. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I made these with ground chicken for dinner tonight. They were honestly AMAZING! I was SO confused about cooking the chicken before or after boiling the dumplings. There are so many conflicting directions in the reviews lol. Out of laziness/hunger I decided to not cook the chicken beforehand as that’s how I originally read the instructions. I just took my meat thermometer and checked the temperature of a few dumplings after they came out of the water. The meat was completely cooked to a safe temperature after 3-4 minutes of boiling so hopefully that can give some insight. Also, I debated steaming them per some of the reviews, but out of hunger AGAIN I went with boiling them and I have no regrets. They did not seem mushy at all so idk what these other reviews did that I didn’t. 10/10 🙂
Hey Annie,
Wonderful! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it! Have the best week:) xTieghan
I’m so excited to find a good dumpling recipe for a vegetarian that has a mushroom alternative! Am I able to make the dumplings ahead of time and freeze them? If I do, how would use them after they’ve been frozen?
Hey Kathleen,
You bet, you can totally freeze these once assembled, to cook allow them to thaw and then follow the recipe as is. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I love Chinese dumplings but had never made my own. I’ve been spoiled by amazing dumplings in my former home cities of San Francisco and New York but after several attempts in my current town I’ve realized I will need to fend for myself. Not only is this recipe delicious but it boosted my kitchen confidence. Thank you, Tieghan!
We like it hot here so for us 3 T chili flakes was perfect for the oil – I used a combo of pork and chicken and did not cook the meat before wrapping it in the dumpling skins – Instead of boiling I steamed the squash dumplings and did a little pan sauté with a few tablespoons of water, basically also steaming, for the meat ones. Perfection!
The only thing better than eating these last night is knowing I have more for breakfast today and several other meals when the craving hits again, which will be soon!
Hey Peri,
I am thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try. Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. I hope you have an amazing week! xTieghan
Very yummy. Loved the sesame oil sauce. I tried a few boiling and then I also steamed some in my ‘always’ our place pan. I actually preferred the taste of the ones I steamed in a pan with a steaming option. I made both and the chicken cooked fully through with the steaming in a steam pan/pot just as well as when they were boiled. When I boiled the dumplings, I noticed that the filling came out of a few. That did not happen in a steam pan. Also, I did do 4 minutes in a steam pan.
I wonder if these would also work in a insta-pot on the ‘steam’ function.
Hey! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
This is the first recipe of HBH that I’m not crazy about, but I did have a couple substitutes. I didn’t think the filling had much flavor. I used fresh ginger instead of ground ginger, could that have been why? The chili sauce was a miss for me too. I feel like there should have been a liquid other than just sesame oil in it because I did not like the taste. I used toasted sesame oil, could that have been a factor?
Couldn’t find dumpling wrappers so I used egg roll wrappers. Don’t recommend that substitute. I made the dumplings too big because of it since egg roll wrappers are larger and after boiling and taking them out of the water, they all completely fell a part.
Hey Christina! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out the way you hoped! The substitutes could have had something to do with it, but I’ve never tried this recipe with those ingredients so I’m not too sure! So sorry again xTieghan
Thanks! I will have to try again with the correct ingredients.
Taste wise, these are delicious. I combined the pork and squash recipes together. The chili oil is spicy, but delicious.
Execution is flawed, however. Boiling these even for a few minutes turned the wrappers into mush and everything fell apart. Next time I plan to cook them like I would potstickers. I think steaming in a skillet with water and oil would be the best approach.
Hey Alyssa! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe! I’m so sorry that it didn’t turn out the way you hoped, and thanks for the feedback! xTieghan
I LOVE your recipes but this one was a miss for me, too. The flavors were all there, and delicious, but mine also turned out like mush. I boiled for 4 minutes, maybe it was too long? I was worried the pork wouldn’t be cooked if I boiled any less. Regardless, looking forward to trying my next HBH recipe!
Hey Stephanie, I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped! I would maybe cook the meat first and then boil for less time if you’re feeling like they’re mushy! Thanks for the feedback! xTieghan
I finally got around to making this today. I have made dumplings in the past that have always been great. I made the pork version of these dumplings. I noticed you use ground ginger as I have always used fresh. I think the ground ginger was key as it has a deeper flavor. I got more than 30 dumplings which was great as I know these will freeze well. I did make the sesame chili oil it was not a favorite for dumplings, however I will save it for another use. I have seen you mention homemade egg rolls, do you have a recipe posted? If not, is that something you would be willing to post? I have made egg rolls many times before and I feel like I am missing something. After using the ground ginger in this recipe it makes me wonder if that is what I need to use in my homemade egg rolls. What do you add to your egg rolls? As always your recipes are wonderful and I appreciate all that hard work you put into them.
I forgot to mention in my comment that these were excellent and I would not change a thing to dumpling recipe. I can’t wait to try the squash version,
Thank you!! xTieghan
Hey there! Thanks so much for the feedback! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xTieghan