Chicken Zucchini Dumplings

Coming off our peach pancake post from Wednesday, it’s time to talk about yet another summer crop that’s you’re probably scratching your head over what to do with. Zucchini and summer squash are bursting out of my mom’s garden right now, and it’s all we can do to keep up!

If you’ve had enough of zoodles and zucchini bread, I have a recipe that uses zucchini in a different way than you’re probably used to –– chicken zucchini dumplings. I’ve grown quite fond of the combination, and the filling is actually quite simple to throw together with ingredients that you can probably find from your local grocery store.

I used store bought wrappers for these chicken zucchini dumplings, but if you’d like to make wrappers from scratch, you can make the wrappers from our Vegetable Dumplings recipe. If you need a more detailed refresher on how to fold/pleat a dumpling, you can also check out this recipe from the archives.

I actually ground my own chicken using dark meat chicken thighs for this recipe. Often, the ground chicken you buy at the store is made from the breast meat, which I think is too lean for dumplings. So I simply bought chicken thighs, de-boned them, and then used a cleaver to chop up the meat. You can also use a food processor for a similar effect.

I also ended up with the chicken skin, which––upon my dad’s kooky request––I fried up in a pan, chopped up, and added to the filling. It did add a certain buttery, flavorful quality to the filling!

You can feel free to skip that step all together, and just buy ground chicken from the store, of course. But where’s the fun in that?

You’ll need:
2 medium zucchini, seeds removed and shredded
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus 3 tablespoons
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 pound ground chicken
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry cooking sherry
2 packages dumpling wrappers

Take the shredded zucchini, put it in a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much water as you can. Add it to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In a wok or cast iron skillet over medium low heat, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and the minced ginger. Allow the ginger to fry in the oil until fragrant, 2 minutes.

Add to the bowl of zucchini along with the ground chicken.

To the bowl, add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, ½ teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine. Mix well, stirring vigorously in one direction for about 5 minutes, until it resembles a paste.

(This is when I stirred in that crispy chicken skin.)

Here’s a photo of me cooking the chicken skin––along with the ginger.

Wrap the dumplings…

And place on a parchment lined baking sheet, so that the dumplings are not touching each other too closely.

If you’re not sure how to pleat them, check out our article on how to fold dumplings, with 4 techniques from beginner to advanced.

You can fry them right away, or cover the dumplings with plastic wrap and freeze them on the tray. Once frozen solid, you can transfer them to freezer bags and store for up to 3 months.

To fry the dumplings, simply add a couple tablespoons of oil to a cast iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the dumplings to the pan.

Once the bottoms of the dumplings are golden brown, fill the pan with a little less than a centimeter of water, and cover immediately.

Turn the heat down to medium-low, and allow your chicken zucchini dumplings to steam.

Once the water has evaporated, remove the cover and let the dumplings continue to fry until the bottoms are crisp.

You can also steam or boil these dumplings. Check out our full tutorial on how to cook dumplings (steaming, boiling and pan-frying).

Serve these Chicken Zucchini Dumplings with Chinese black vinegar, chili oil, and/or soy sauce or try out our dumpling sauce recipe.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Chicken Zucchini Dumplings

Chicken zucchini dumplings use a great combination of chicken and zucchini for the filling. Freeze your chicken zucchini dumplings for quick and easy meals

Prep Time1 hr 20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time1 hr 45 mins

Course: Appetizers and Snacks

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: chicken zucchini dumplings

Servings: 12

Calories: 343kcal

Author: Sarah

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini (seeds removed and shredded)
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
• 2 tablespoons ginger (minced)
• 1 pound ground chicken
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry cooking sherry
• 2 packages dumpling wrappers

Instructions

• Take the shredded zucchini, put it in a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much water as you can. Add it to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• In a wok over medium low heat, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and the minced ginger. Allow the ginger to fry in the oil until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add to the bowl of zucchini.
• To the bowl, add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 pound ground chicken, ½ teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine. Mix well, stirring vigorously in one direction for about 5 minutes, until it resembles a paste.
• Wrap the dumplings and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, so that the dumplings are not touching each other. You can fry them right away, or cover the dumplings with plastic wrap and freeze them on the tray. Once frozen solid, you can transfer them to freezer bags and store for up to 3 months.
• To fry the dumplings, simply add a couple tablespoons of oil to a cast iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add the dumplings to the pan. Once the bottoms of the dumplings are golden brown, fill the pan with a little less than a centimeter of water, and cover immediately. Turn the heat down to medium low, and allow the dumplings to steam. Once the water has evaporated, remove the cover and let the dumplings continue to fry until the bottoms are crisp. Serve with black vinegar, chili oil, and/or our dumpling dipping sauce.

Notes

Makes 6 dozen.

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 706mg | Potassium: 358mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 5.9mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 3.1mg