In 2013, they moved to a much larger location in the same strip mall. Demand was so high that they were taking new orders while still sweeping up the sawdust from the construction and with no change in the cash register. Mei says originally all their customers were Chinese, but now people from everywhere walk through their doors.
To satiate those appetites, they make thousands of dumplings every day, each one hand-rolled, filled and pinched to an almost impossibly identical perfection.
Around 5 p.m. on a Wednesday, as early diners start to roll in, cooks clad in white chef coats and hats work quickly over a table behind a glass partition. One clips long ropes of dough — that very stuff Yuan checked on at 4 a.m. — into small, pillowy soft orbs. When a small mound is formed, it's passed over to another cook, who quickly rolls a shiny metal rod over the ball, flattening it into a thin disk. One at a time, the disks are lightly tossed to Lilly, who has been making dumplings her entire life. Lilly scoops a mound of raw meat into the disk and, with a light and fast touch, spins and pinches shut the "small juicy" dumpling, the house specialty. This operation continues to hum along until 40 pounds of ground meat is sequestered in dough. And that's just for one batch.
Usually six dumpling makers work each day at Jeng Chi. “It’s a craft. It’s in the hand skills,” says Janelle Teng, who is the general manager and a co-owner. “To find people who have that experience already is getting harder and harder, and those who are naturally inclined, there’s just not that many.”
This raises a daunting question: Is making dumplings at this level a moribund trade?
“We’ll have applicants who come in who make dumplings at home as part of a tradition, but the rate at which we produce them here is much faster than what they would do home,” Janelle says.
Brandon is an exception. The 21-year-old cook was a rare find. “In 10 years, he is the only person who came on board who did not have experience who got it. It really clicked for him,” she says.
Fast, perfect dumplings aren’t an easy trade to teach. Some just have that sense and touch.
Every culture the world over seems to have some variation of foodstuff whose delivery system to our waiting maws is in the form of a wrapper with some sort of filling. Ravioli, samosas, empanadas, gyoza and potstickers all share that same basic form, along with a myriad of others spanning the globe from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, from East Asia to Western Asia and all parts in between.
Luckily for us, almost all have found their way to North Texas in one form or another: from fancy restaurants to food trucks, from strip mall locations to random pop-ups, dumpling are waiting to be discovered and eaten in a tasty and satisfying celebration of the ubiquitous and versatile food, in all shapes and sizes.
North Texas has especially embraced the dumplings from Korea, Japan, Nepal and the granddaddy of them all, China. We do this in an effort to produce a dumpling primer that isn't as lengthy as Tolstoy's War and Peace and shouldn't be taken as a commentary about the worth of other cultures' dumplings; they just deserve their own survey.
One of the most common versions of the dumpling, and probably the one that most people think of when they think dumpling, are of the Chinese variety, often referred to as the simple potsticker. In reality, there are several subtypes of Chinese dumplings that can be prepared in several ways, including steamed, pan-fried or boiled, such as har gao (shrimp), wonton (boiled), sheng jian bao (pan-fried), xiao long bao (steamed) and jiaozi, which can be prepared all three ways. The fillings, furthermore, can be shrimp, pork, cabbage, soup or any combination thereof.
Making both the wrapper and filling can be extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming. Jeng Chi has specialized in Taiwanese and Chinese fare for more than three decades and serves perhaps the best pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao) in the area.
Jeng Chi, 400 N. Greenville Ave., No. 11, in Richardson, offers five varieties of xiao long bao: small, beef, pork and crab, chicken curry and fiery, along with several other types of dumplings, many of which can be purchased frozen to be cooked at home. Every day they welcome new diners to experience juicy soup dumplings for the first time, teaching them the secret to enjoying them without burning their tongues.
At the back of the open dining room is the dumpling prep area. Diners can kill time while waiting for a table by watching the dumpling artisans rolling, cutting, shaping and filling.
Jeng Chi and its "small juicy" are just one of the dozens of options in the DFW area for your dumpling fix. Here are just a few possibilities, broken down by region and type of dumpling.
The Dumpling Guide
Korea
Mandu The Korean peninsula gives us mandu, typically filled with ground pork, ginger, garlic, tofu and chives. They can be either steamed, pan- or deep-fried or boiled; they're usually served with vinegar for dipping. Hong Dumpling House (1901 Royal Lane, Farmers Branch) offers up a great example of this dumpling, serving freshly made-to-order mandu in a rainbow of colors filled with a choice of pork, shrimp, squid or kimchi. They're highly recommended and priced to move.
Nepal
Momo The Nepalese version of the dumpling is called a momo, a steamed dumpling native to the Himalayan region including Nepal and Tibet. These can be meat or vegetable-filled and pan-fried as well. Everest has a few varieties of momo on its menu, including the vegetable chili momo, which is pan-fried and covered in a spicy red sauce, and mutton steamed momo, for those into sheep. Find them at either of the restaurant's locations, 3310 W. Rochelle Road, Irving, and 2300 McDermott Road, No. 570, Plano.Japan
Gyoza Gyoza is the Japanese version of the dumpling with wrappers that are usually a bit thinner than other versions. The filling almost exclusively consists of ground pork and is almost always crescent-shaped and a bit smaller than their Chinese counterparts. The dipping sauce most commonly consists of rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger. They aren’t hard to find in the Dallas area. Ramen Izakaya Akira (2540 King Arthur Blvd., No. 126, Lewisville) and Sushi Robata (4727 Frankford Road, No. 313) are two of many that offer up a great version of this dumpling, which is often the gateway dumpling that can jumpstart a lifelong love affair with little wrapped pockets of goodness.
China
Probably the most common version of the humble dumpling in North Texas is the Chinese dumpling and its numerous variations. These include jiaozi, xiao long bao, sheng jian bao, wonton, har gao, sui mai and bao zi. These names are even more confusing when you consider that there’s often a Cantonese name, a Szechuan name and an Anglicized name with different spellings within and between each. It’s no wonder many just call them “potstickers.”Xiao Long Bao
These are steamed soup dumplings, which can be tricky to eat but well worth the effort. The soup filling can be beef-, pork-, fish- or chicken-based. Jeng Chi is justifiably famous locally for its xiao long bao, which arrive eight to an order in a bamboo basket. Here, they're listed as small juicy on the menu. Others such as China Blue (2001 Coit Road, No. 135, Plano), Fortune House (8150 N. MacArthur Blvd, No. 190, Irving, and 2010 Greenville Ave, Suite B, Dallas), Wu Wei Din (2909 W. 15th St., Plano, and 2505 S. Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville), Monkey King Noodle Company (multiple locations) and China Queen (3412 E. Hebron Parkway, No. 100, Carrollton) steam up a fine soup dumpling as well. Just be careful eating these, and maybe bring your own bib. One method is to nibble just a touch of the dumpling and allow the soup inside to cool a bit before devouring.
Sheng Jian Bao
These round pan-fried dumplings originated in Shanghai. One thing that sets them apart is that they are pan-fried raw, without being steamed first. This creates a crisp bottom and a light and fluffy top. Traditionally they are stuffed with pork and gelatin, creating a soupy interior. The wrapper is thicker and more bread-like, and they’re often garnished with sesame seeds and green onion. Taste of Peking (3131 Custer Road, No. 182, Plano), China Queen and China Blue, to name just three, offer fine examples, the latter also in a spicy version. Expect around four to an order and be sure to brush up on your chopstick technique, as the dumplings' larger size makes them a bit unwieldy. You could always admit failure and eat them with a fork, however.
Wonton
Wonton are the kreplach of China (or is kreplach the wonton of Jewish cooking?): small boiled dumplings with a bit of pork or shrimp stuffing, often used in soups but also served by themselves, either deep-fried, boiled or steamed. They are similar to jiaozi but with less filling and a thinner wrapper. Wang’s Cook House (4011 E. Renner Road, No. 128, Richardson) has a spicy wonton on the menu that is pretty … pretty good. Don't let memories of the dried tasteless pieces of fried dough from your Chinese takeout days in college prevent you from trying these.
Jiaozi
These dumplings are folded so they resemble the golden ingots (sycee) that were the currency of imperial China until the 20th century. They're popular to eat during the Lunar New Year for good luck, especially in Northern China, but increasingly throughout the world. When people think of “potstickers,” this is what they are really referring to.
They can be stuffed with ground meat or vegetables and can be prepared by boiling, steaming, pan-frying or deep-frying, and even served in soups. Traditional dipping sauce is soy sauce with vinegar and sesame oil, but often chili and ginger are added as well. Dozens of restaurants in North Texas offer them, but you can never go wrong with Jeng Chi, China Queen, Food Republic (2049 Coit Road, Suite 300-H, Plano), Taste of China (2001 Coit Road, Plano), Fortune House or Wu Wei Din. Many of these places sell frozen versions to go, so you can eat in the comfort of your own home and not worry about people judging your chopstick skills.
Har Gao, Sui Mai, Bao Zi
These last three types of Cantonese dumplings are most popularly served as dim sum items and almost always steamed and shaped in a circular form rather than crescent shaped. Har gao are stuffed with shrimp, but the others can have a variety of meat and veggie fillings. Good dim sum places in our area include Royal China (6025 Royal Lane, No. 201), Bushi Bushi (4930 Belt Line Road, No. 100) and Kirin Court (221 W. Polk St, No. 200, Richardson), but there are many more. Dim sum is great concept for those who love the idea of a restaurant buffet but just can't be bothered to get up and get the food themselves.
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So, there you have it, a guide to North Texas Dumplings, which only begins to scratch the surface. One could probably spend considerable time just sampling all the different types of dumplings from the various regions of China alone, and of course, there are the dozens of varieties of dumplings from other parts of the world, which you could spend a lifetime categorizing as well. Then, there's the United States’ somewhat questionable foray into the dumpling scene, the Uncrustable. The less said about that the better.
