FILLINGS AND DIPPING SAUCE

No matter how they are cooked, dumplings, with their rather bland dough wrappers, benefit from tangy and savory dipping sauces. A well-seasoned filling is also essential.

After testing dozens of filling recipes, we looked through our notes and realized that tasters consistently preferred the same seasonings, even when the main ingredients in the filling changed. We eventually developed a basic flavoring recipe that could be used with meat, vegetables, or seafood.

The seasonings are fairly traditional—ginger, garlic, rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt, and scallions. Two ingredients merit discussion: egg white and cornstarch.

Dumpling fillings must be smooth, creamy, and firm. The smooth part is fairly simple to achieve—just make sure to chop ingredients fairly small. We found that adding the egg white helps the filling set up properly in a firm but creamy mass.

The cornstarch is added to control moisture. If there's too much liquid in the filling, dumplings will become soggy and may break apart even before they are cooked. (That's why we ended up salting vegetables such as cabbage before adding them to fillings.) The cornstarch absorbs any excess moisture and prevents wrappers from becoming mushy.