These crispy chive egg dumplings made with rice paper are so addicting, and one of my most viral recipes! I had a craving for Chinese chive boxes, the popular northern Chinese street food that looks like an empanada, but didn’t want to make a dough. Rice paper is always in my pantry and is so much easier (might be tastier too!).
Adding cooked shrimp into these dumplings will make them very similar to the dimsum, gow choi gao (shrimp and chive dumplings).
If you don’t like chive & egg, you can really make any fillings for these! It's hard to make these taste bad, I promise 🙂
If you want a recipe that uses rice paper but doesn't require frying them, try my shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce!
Tips for working with rice paper
tip #1: use room temperature, not warm water
Rice paper can be tricky to work with! My best tip for working with rice paper is to just briefly wet it with room temperature (not warm) water. Once I started doing this and the next tip, I never had any trouble with them ripping.
tip #2: once the rice paper is wet, work quickly!
I also recommend working quickly once it’s wet — the longer it sits, the softer it gets. Once you put the filling down in the middle, don't wait too long to start wrapping the dumpling.
For me, it takes about 30 seconds for the rice paper to reach optimal pliability. If you try to fold the rice paper right after wetting it, it'll still be a bit sturdy and won't be as pliable. Anything much longer than 30 seconds and the rice paper will be very delicate. Once you practice a few, you'll become a pro in no time!
How to get the crispiest rice paper dumplings
tip #1: double wrap the rice paper dumpling
If you want rice dumplings that are evenly crispy on both sides, I highly recommend double wrapping with another piece of rice paper! Doing so also helps them stay together better and gets them crispier.
To successfully double wrap, make sure to put the initial wrapped dumpling seam side down onto the second layer of rice paper. Seam side down ensures that once the second layer is folded over, both sides have the same thickness.
tip #2: fry on medium heat in a nonstick pan and use enough oil
Preheat a nonstick pan on medium heat, then add 2-3 tablespoons of neutral oil. The dumplings should sizzle when you add them to the pan. If they don't, then the oil isn't hot enough, and they are at risk of becoming soggy.
I like frying on medium heat here for 2 reasons:
Medium heat allows for a crispy crust to form gradually and evenly. If you use high heat, you might end up with uneven brown or crispy spots, or rice paper that's too chewy because it hasn't been fried through.
Because a nonstick pan is the easiest to use here, we shouldn't use heat higher than medium. To ensure the longevity of nonstick pans, never use them on high heat! It wears off the nonstick coating quicker.
Dipping sauce for these crispy chive egg dumplings
For these crispy chive egg dumplings, I just used my typical dumpling dipping sauce that consists of soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar (or rice vinegar if you don't have it), sesame oil, and chili oil. You can customize it to your preference!
I hope you enjoy these! If you tried them, please let me know what you think 🙂
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Crispy Chive Egg Dumplings
Ingredients
- 16 pieces rice paper
- 4 oz Chinese (garlic) chives
- 4 large eggs
- 2 oz dried mung bean / vermicelli noodles
- neutral oil for cooking
Filling seasoning
- 1.5 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 0.5 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon five spice powder
- ¼ teaspoon mushroom or chicken bouillon powder optional
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- chili oil to your liking
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- Heat up a pan on medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoon neutral oil. Scramble eggs in a bowl, then add to the pan. With a spatula, whisk it quickly to form small clumps. Set aside.neutral oil, 4 large eggs
- Wash and chop the Chinese chives into ½ inch pieces. Rehydrate mung bean noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until softened with a slight bite. Chop or cut into bite-sized pieces.4 oz Chinese (garlic) chives, 2 oz dried mung bean / vermicelli noodles
- In a large bowl, add the Chinese chives and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Mix until incorporated. Add the scrambled eggs, mung bean noodles, and seasonings: soy sauce, oyster sauce, five spice powder, white pepper, mushroom bouillon powder (opt), salt, and another ½ tablespoon sesame oil. Mix well.1.5 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 0.5 tablespoon oyster sauce, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ teaspoon five spice powder, ¼ teaspoon mushroom or chicken bouillon powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Divide the filling into 8 even groups for 8 dumplings. You should have about ~⅓ cup of filling for each dumpling.
Wrap and fry the dumplings
- Lightly wet rice paper in a plate of room temp water and shake off any excess. Add a serving of the filling to the middle of the rice paper, and fold like a burrito (see video for reference). Double wrap with another piece of rice paper, making sure that the side with more visible filling on the first wrap is facing up, and seam side is facing down. This ensures both sides get equally crispy.16 pieces rice paper
- Fry on medium heat on both sides with a few tablespoon of neutral oil until lightly golden brown and crispy (~5 min on each side). Let rest on a wire rack to keep it crispy. Enjoy with dipping sauce!neutral oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar, chili oil, 1 teaspoon sesame oil
I added sliced wood ear mushrooms. Easy to make and yummy…..thanks for the recipe!
A delicious addition, Wendy!! Thanks for making it 🙂
From what i see ( didnt fill yet) 1/2 a cup of filling would only make about 4 dumplings!
Thank you for the feedback, Aida! I'll clarify in the recipe to divide the filling into 8 first before filling. I also used very loosely-packed 1/2 cups, so will update that as well!