Anyone Can Fold These Dumplings
Yes, even you.
Happy New Year! No, you didn’t fast-forward eight months—It’s Songkran, Thai new year. It falls on April 13th every year, but is nationally celebrated in Thailand through the 15th, and even for several days leading up. My family likes to eat a wide variety of things to celebrate, but I particularly look forward to the Tung Tong Dumplings.
Songkran is a water-centric holiday that symbolizes renewal and fresh starts. We celebrate with water-pouring rituals, good-spirited water fights—more suited to Thailand’s climate since April in the Northeastern U.S. is, let’s say, inconsistent at best—and we celebrate, of course, with special meals and snacks.
Tung Tong (ถุงทอง pronounced “toong tohng”) dumplings are wonton wrappers filled with a flavorful meat mixture, folded into a little bag shape and deep fried. The name translates to “bag of gold,” referring to it as a symbol of good fortune for the coming year and to the golden color of the dumpling after frying.
Ingredients that pack a punch
We made our recipe for Thai “Bag of Gold” Dumplings (Tung Tong) in the style that my family makes them, which requires little more than a handful of main ingredients, and a few helpers to spoon and wrap. The short ingredient list is only possible because each component carries its weight. The filling is mainly ground pork or chicken, chopped shrimp, and two aromatic heavy-hitters: ginger and garlic. Add in a dose of oyster sauce and salt (or fish sauce) and you’ve got all your bases covered.
Our recipe calls for grating the aromatics with a microplane so the garlic and ginger fully imbue the mixture with their punchy flavors. Chop the raw shrimp into pea- or chickpea-sized hunks, rather than milling it down into a paste. When you bite into the dumpling later, you’ll actually be able to enjoy the textural contrast of the shrimp pieces.
No complex folding needed
Intricate folding techniques aren’t your style? This is the best dumpling for you. I hosted a Songkran festival this weekend and taught a group of kids, seven to 10 year-olds, how to make this dumpling. I’m not saying that you have the skills of a child, but I am saying that if a group of squirmy, semi-attentive kids can make excellent Tung Tong Dumplings, you can too.
Remember, these are “bags of gold,” and they look that way because the edges are gathered into a purse shape and cinched at the top. Instead of pleating or twisting to seal the dumpling, you only have to lift the edges up and pinch them where they meet at the top of the filling. Let the folds fall where they may! However the “bag” ends up looking is exactly how it’s supposed to look. Fry them until golden and serve along with our Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, or Chili-Lime Sauce (Nam Jim Jaew) for a spicier dipping experience.
Freeze for long-term returns
Since eating 50 fried dumplings (the yield of this recipe) might be a smidge overwhelming, use the freezer to ensure not one “bag of gold” goes to waste. I recommend setting aside the dumplings you want to fry that day and placing the remaining raw dumplings on a small sheet tray. Pop that sheet tray into the freezer for an hour or so to firm up the dumping, then consolidate them into a freezer-safe bag for longer storage. In the coming days and weeks, you can grab a handful of dumplings and toss them into soups, or bring them to room temperature and fry them to re-live the New Year celebration.
Celebrate Songkran with more recipes featuring Thai flavors:
- Thai Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Basil
- Thai Pork, Glass Noodle and Herb Salad (Larb Woon Sen)
Tip of the Week: Temp your oil
Deep frying is a tumultuous business. Unless you have a frying machine with a thermostat to keep adjust the temperature for you, there can be a lot of ups and downs. It’s crucial to keep a thermometer handy while you fry.
While I was teaching Tung Tong Dumplings to my Songkran cooking class, I had to constantly use my IR (Infrared) thermometer to make sure my oil was on target: 350°F to 375°F. This is especially important when working with meat like chicken and pork. The oil can’t be too hot or else the wrapper will burn before the ball of meat cooks through on the inside. If the oil is too cool when you add the next batch of dumplings, they’ll take too long to cook (that makes for grumpy students) and the dumpling will absorb too much oil.
You can keep a high-temperature frying thermometer hooked onto the pot’s side, but they can be a little hard to read and easy to forget about in the heat of the moment. I recommend an IR thermometer because it’s quick and contactless. You point and shoot the light beam at the oil and quickly get a precise digital reading. Besides looking especially cool, you stay safe from splatter.
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Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
