Jamaican Spinners Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are Jamaican fried dumplings made of? ›

These dumplings start with all-purpose flour, which creates structure and holds the other ingredients together. Baking powder is a leavening agent, which means it releases gas that makes the dough expand. It's responsible for the dumplings' light and fluffy texture.

Using too much flour: If you use too much flour in your dumpling dough, the dumplings will be dense and tough. Be sure to measure the flour carefully and follow the recipe closely. Using the wrong type of flour: Different types of flour have different protein levels, which can affect the texture of the dumplings.

What are dumplings made of? The dumpling dough is made of three main ingredients: flour, water and salt. But which flour you use depends on which dumpling you want to make.

Steamed dumplings are the best option in terms of fat content, with pan fried the next best. “If they do fry it -- like gyoza which are usually lightly fried -- then it puts the fat content up a little,” Austin said. “You want to avoid ones that have been completely deep fried.”

Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.

For dumplings made with wheat flour, all purpose or plain flour will suffice. If your recipe calls for leavening, you'll need to add baking powder and salt. Alternatively, you can use self-rising flour which has the leavening included. For a lot of dumplings, plain flour is all that is required with no baking powder.

You don't need speciality dumpling flour to make these wrappers – regular plain, all-purpose flour is absolutely fine. You could also use bread flour if you have it. Water. This recipe is a hot water dough, which I find a lot easier to work with.

Bring Water To Boil and Cover

Once your water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low. You want a gentle boil that won't disturb your dumplings as they steam. Make sure you cover them! This allows for as much steam as possible so that your dumplings can definitely get cooked.

The steam-fry or potsticker technique is the classic method for Japanese gyoza or Chinese guo tie. Essentially, you fry the frozen dumplings, then add water to the pan and cover them to steam through, then fry them again once the water evaporates. This double-frying creates an extra-crisp bottom crust.

Are dumplings fully cooked when they float? ›

The dumplings will be completely cooked and ready when they float on the surface of the boiling water.

Homemade dumplings can fall apart for a number of different reasons, or any combination of them. Often they burst during cooking because they have too much filling for the amount of dough. Some doughs are too dry, so the dumplings won't stay sealed. Others can be too wet and sticky and end up tearing.

For dumplings made with wheat flour, all purpose or plain flour will suffice. If your recipe calls for leavening, you'll need to add baking powder and salt. Alternatively, you can use self-rising flour which has the leavening included. For a lot of dumplings, plain flour is all that is required with no baking powder.

Don't Overwork the Dumpling Dough

Stir everything together until the wet and dry ingredients are combined and you don't see any more dry flour. The dough might look a little lumpy, but that's okay! Overworking the dough is one of the easiest ways to end up with tough dumplings.

Often they are filled with pork, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and garlic chives, dumplings can take on any filling by replacing some ingredients for others, or skipping some altogether. There are no specific rules regarding the ingredients, only how you cook them.

Dumplings are most commonly formed from flour or meal bound with egg and then simmered in water or gravy stock until they take on a light cakey texture. Many recipes call for herbs, onions, grated cheese, or chopped meat to be rolled into the dough before cooking.

The primary difference between dumplings and wontons is that wontons are always filled with a meat or vegetable filling, whereas dumplings can be filled or the ingredients can be mixed with the dough and formed into balls.

Fry dumplings is rooted from Jamaica colonization. Workers would take these fulfilling dumplings on long trips, hence the name johnny cakes or Journey Cakes.