Despite how much I like frozen dumplings, Ive never actually put them in my air fryer until today.
Would they cook through properly?
Would the texture suffer?
I almost always have Trader Joes frozen dumplings in my freezer.
Generally, I steam them.
Does this mean my days of crispy-fried dumpling skin are over?
Pan-frying frozen dumplings usually involves some monitoring to see to it the bottoms brown without burning.
The result is a moist, meaty center and a crispy, bubbly exterior.
Its almost like an egg roll shell, with its teeny, tiny, delicate bubbles.
Heres how to do it.
How to air fry frozen dumplings
1.
Preheat the air fryer
Like most air fryer nibbles, this one is quick and simple.
Preheat the air fryer to 320F.
Pour a teaspoon or so of neutral oil into one cupped palm.
Rub your palms together and then start grabbing up the dumplings, rubbing them with oil.
verify you coat them thoroughly and completely.
Uncoated spots will end up drying out in the air fryer and result in a pasty texture.
If you need more oil, just tip more into one hand.
Air fry the dumps
Once the air fryer is ready, add the dumplings to the basket.
Leave them an inch or so of space between each other.
Cook them on the air fry setting for about 15 minutes.
Tip them onto their sides halfway through the cooking time to help crisp the bottom.
The dumplings are a different experience than pan frying, but its different in a good way.
Instead of a crispy bottom, you get a delicately blistered shell with a crunchy seam along the top.
The inside was still juicy, and my worries that the dense frozen center might be cold were unfounded.
Save steaming for the stove top
Sadly, the air fryer is no place for steaming dumplings.
I did a test batch with water in the air fryer basket.
I dipped each dumpling in water to moisten the shell and loaded them in.
Youll get more tender dumplings by just steaming them in a pot on the stove.
