Spent 45 minutes trying to fold wontons that wouldn't stay closed

I was making pork and ginger dumplings last night and about 10 wrappers in I realized none of them were sealing right. Kept falling apart in the pot. Turned out I was overfilling them by about half a teaspoon. Once I cut back the filling they sealed fine. Whole batch took maybe 3 hours instead of the usual 1.5. Anyone else have a dumpling prep mistake that ate up your whole evening?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_park1mo ago

Oh man, I used to think any wrapper would work and it didn't matter much, but one bad batch of shumai totally changed my mind. Now I'm super picky about what brand I buy.

hannahsingh1mo ago

Oh I feel this one deep in my bones. I had a similar experience about a month ago where I spent forever on shrimp shumai and the tops just wouldn't pleat right no matter what I tried. Turned out the wrappers I bought were way too thin and they kept tearing when I tried to fold them. After the first dozen ended up as sad little lumps I had to send my husband to the store in the middle of dinner prep to get a different brand. By the time we finally ate it was almost 9 o'clock and I was too frustrated to even enjoy the taste. Dumplings are supposed to be relaxing but sometimes they just fight back.

craig.john1mo ago

Man Hannah, that's rough. Dinner at 9pm after all that work is brutal, especially when it's something you wanted to enjoy. Wrappers can really make or break the whole thing, it's like they have a mind of their own.