Viral Dumpling Lasagna with Chicken and Shrimp
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This Viral Dumpling Lasagna features layers of savory chicken and juicy shrimp filling with tender wonton wrappers. It’s steamed to make an easy soup dumpling-like dish but minus the hassle of pleating and folding. Finish with a drizzle of chili crisp and green onions for a cozy and comforting meal!
About This Recipe
I love dumplings and wontons, especially homemade ones so I can tailor them to my taste and create unique flavors, like these Spicy Thai Basil Wontons. However, I don’t exactly love the folding and pleating part. While not difficult, it does take time to make a tray full of dumplings!
Enter this easy Dumpling Lasagna! If you’re on social media, you’ve likely seen this viral TikTok dumpling lasagna food trend! It’s pure genius if you ask me and I couldn’t resist making my own version.
This low-effort and fuss-free dumpling lasagna features a savory, juicy chicken and shrimp filling with tender wonton wrappers. The wonton wrappers and filling are layered in a dish along with some water to make the filling moist as well as to add a soup to give it a soup dumpling (also known as xiao long bao) vibe! It’s steamed until the filling is cooked and glossy.
Once it’s cooked, all there’s left to do is top with your favorite chili crisp, maybe a little soy sauce, and green onions. Then dig into this comforting and flavorful meal!
Why I Love Dumpling Lasagna
- Easy to make. Fuss-free layering method is quicker than folding and pleating dumplings.
- Simple ingredients. Nothing too difficult to find is needed.
- Customizable. Make it with chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, or even ground turkey.
- Scalable. Designed to serve one for a filling meal but can be made into smaller appetizer servings.
- High Protein. 48.6 grams of protein!
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Jumbo Shrimp (or prawns): Thawed if using frozen. Use peeled and deveined shrimp for convenience. Jumbo shrimp are sweeter and more flavorful but smaller sized will work too.
- Lean Ground Chicken: I used homemade minced boneless and skinless chicken breast made in my food processor but store-bought lean ground chicken works too.
- Aromatics: We’ll use green onions (spring onion/scallion), garlic, ginger, and a fresh Bird’s Eye red chili for a kick of heat! Omit the red chili if you prefer a milder flavor.
- Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce: If using regular soy sauce, use a little less than specified and substitute the rest with water.
- Shao Xing Rice Wine: A floral Chinese cooking wine typically used in marinades and stir-fry sauces in Chinese recipes. Substitute with dry sherry.
- Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base: I LOVE adding this to the filling because it adds so much flavor depth. You can substitute with a crumbled chicken stock cube or use chicken powder.
- Sesame Oil: For fragrant toasted sesame aromas in the filling and to grease our heatproof dish.
- Ground White Pepper: Adds a subtle kick of heat. Substitute with black pepper if unavailable.
- White Sugar: For sweetness to balance out the savory and spicy flavors.
- Wonton Wrappers: Thawed overnight or at least 12 hours in the fridge if you’re using frozen wrappers. Find them in the fridge or freezer section of your local Asian supermarket. You can also get them from fresh noodles and dumpling wrappers shops in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.
- Water: We’ll add a few spoonfuls in between of the layers to create a soup to keep the filling tender.
- To Serve: Spicy chili crisp (I’m currently obsessed with Fly By Jing Xtra Spicy Sichuan Chili Crisp!) or chili oil, reserved spring onion dark green parts, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, etc.
Viral Dumpling Lasagna
This Viral Dumpling Lasagna features layers of savory chicken and juicy shrimp filling with tender wonton wrappers. It’s steamed to make an easy soup dumpling-like dish but minus the hassle of pleating and folding. Finish with a drizzle of chili crisp and green onions for a cozy and comforting meal!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 22
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Steaming
- Cuisine: Chinese/Asian-inspired
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3.5 ounces / 100 grams peeled and deveined Jumbo Shrimp (or prawns) – thawed, rinsed thoroughly
- 3.5 ounces / 100 grams Lean Ground Chicken (I used homemade minced boneless and skinless chicken breast made in my food processor)
- 1 medium stalk / 10-12 grams Spring Onion (Scallion/Green Onion) – finely chopped, white and light green parts separated from dark green parts
- 1–2 cloves / 8 grams Garlic – roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon (1-cm chunk) / 4 grams Ginger – roughly chopped
- 1 piece / 3 grams Fresh Red Chili (optional, I used Thai Bird’s Eye but any hot red variety will work – note 1) – roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shao Xing Rice Wine (substitute dry sherry)
- 1 teaspoon / 6 grams Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (substitute with crumbled chicken stock cube or chicken powder)
- ½ teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground White Pepper
- ½ teaspoon granulated White Sugar
Dumpling Lasagna:
- ¼ teaspoon Sesame Oil, for greasing the baking dish
- 16 pieces / 69 grams thin Wonton Wrappers (thawed overnight in the fridge if using frozen)
- Shallow bowl filled with water
- To Serve: Spicy chili crisp or chili oil, reserved spring onion dark green parts, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, etc.
Instructions
- Make the filling: Finely chop the shrimp into a paste (it’s okay if there are some chunky pieces). Transfer to a bowl along with the ground chicken. Finely chop the spring onion, separating the light and white green parts from the dark green parts. Roughly chop the garlic, ginger, and red chili. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and pound into a paste. (Alternatively, grate the garlic and ginger and finely chop the red chili.) Add the aromatics paste to the bowl with the shrimp and ground chicken, followed by the spring onion white and light green parts, most of the spring onion dark green parts (reserve some for garnishing), the low sodium light soy sauce, Shao Xing rice wine, roasted chicken base, sesame oil, white pepper and white sugar. Mix until combined well and the filling has a paste-like texture.
- Assemble the dumpling lasagna: Lightly grease a 4 x 6-inch heatproof dish (14 ounce/400ml capacity) with ¼ teaspoon sesame oil. Working quickly, one at a time, briefly dip 4 wonton wrappers in a shallow bowl of water and place in the baking dish. It’s okay if they are overlapping a little. Spread a thin layer of the filling on top. Add 1 and ½ tablespoons of water on top. Repeat the process until you’ve used up all the wonton wrappers and filling mixture, finishing with a layer of wonton wrappers and 2 tablespoons of water. There will be 4 wonton wrapper layers and 3 filling layers in total.
- Steam: Place the dish in a wok or deep edged skillet with a lid. Carefully pour water into the wok until it reaches halfway up the sides of the dish. Cover with the lid and switch on the stove. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Steam for 22-25 minutes, until the filling is cooked through and the wonton wrappers are tender.
- Serve: Remove the dish from the wok and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Top with a drizzle spicy chili crisp or chili oil, the reserved spring onion dark green parts, or any of your favorite dumpling toppings. Serve immediately.
Equipment
Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
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Fly By Jing Xtra Spicy Sichuan Chili Crisp
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Buy Now → Notes
- Fresh Red Chili: Omit if you prefer a milder flavor.
- Servings. This recipe is designed to be a meal sized serving for 1 person. You can make smaller servings in 3 heatproof ramekins instead of 1 baking dish if desired and use 12 wonton wrappers instead. I recommend using 12 or 14-ounce (12cm) ramekins.
- Nutrition information does not include the Sichuan chili crisp or other toppings and will vary with substitutes.
- Check out the rest of the post for tips, customizing the recipes, storage information, and more!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 460
- Sugar: 28.7g
- Sodium: 1384mg
- Fat: 7.9g
- Saturated Fat: 5.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 46.1g
- Fiber: 0.7g
- Protein: 48.6g
- Cholesterol: 73mg
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Cook’s Tips and Variations
- To thaw wonton wrappers quickly. Submerge the unopened pack in a bowl of lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes. Do not microwave them as they will become fragile and break easily. Leaving them out on the counter to thaw may cause them to dry out.
- Use a different meat for the filling. Instead of ground chicken, ground pork, beef, turkey would all taste great. You can also use double the amount of meat and leave out the shrimp if you have a shellfish allergy or don’t like shrimp.
- Want more soup? Add more water or low sodium chicken broth in between of the layers – 2 to 2.5 tablespoons instead of 1.5 tablespoons.
- Add veggies. Finely diced shitake mushrooms, shredded carrots and Chinese cabbage will add nutrients and also moisture, make the filling more tender.
- Make individual servings in ramekins. Make smaller servings in 3 round heatproof ramekins instead of 1 baking dish and use 12 wonton wrappers instead. They’re a great party appetizer! I recommend using 12 or 14-ounce (12cm) ramekins.
Dietary Modifications
- Vegetarian/Vegan: Use shiitake mushrooms, crumbled firm tofu, and veggies like shredded cabbage, carrots, green onions, etc. for the filling. You could also use a plant-based meat substitute for ground chicken or pork, such as OmniPork. Use a vegetarian concentrated stock base or crumbled veggie stock cube and make sure your wonton wrappers (or dumpling wrappers) are egg-free if making them vegan.
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free wonton or dumpling wrappers, tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and dry sherry instead of Shao Xing rice wine.
How to Make Dumpling Lasagna – Step-by-Step
Finely chop the shrimp into a paste (it’s okay if there are some chunky pieces – image 1). Transfer to a medium bowl and add the ground chicken. Smash the garlic, ginger, and red chili into a paste using a mortar and pestle (image 2). (Or you can grate the garlic and ginger and finely chop the red chili.) Add the aromatics paste to the bowl, followed by the spring onion white and light green parts, most of the spring onion dark green parts, the soy sauce, Shao Xing rice wine, roasted chicken base, sesame oil, white pepper and sugar (image 3). Mix until combined well and paste-like in texture (image 4). This texture helps the filling stay juicy when steaming.
To assemble the dumpling lasagna, first lightly grease a 4 x 6-inch heatproof dish (14 ounce/400ml capacity) with sesame oil. One at a time, briefly dip 4 wonton wrappers in a shallow bowl of water and place in the dish (image 5). Spread a thin layer of the filling on top (image 6). Add 1 and ½ tablespoons of water on top. Repeat the process until you’ve used up all the wonton wrappers and filling mixture, finishing with a layer of wonton wrappers and 2 tablespoons of water (image 7).
Place the dish in a wok or deep edged skillet. Carefully pour water into the wok until it reaches halfway up the sides of the dish. Cover and steam for 22-25 minutes (image 8), until the filling is cooked through and the wonton wrappers are tender and glossy (image 9).
Carefully remove the dish from the wok and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then top with spicy Sichuan chili crisp or chili oil, the reserved spring onion dark green parts, or any of your favorite dumpling toppings and enjoy!
What to Serve with Dumpling Lasagna?
I typically enjoy it with a side of boiled and lightly salted baby bok choy but you can serve with any steamed, stir-fried, or boiled and salted veggies on the side to make it a complete meal. Chinese broccoli (‘gai lan’), choi sum, broccoli or broccolini, green beans, sugar snap peas, or snow beans are some great options.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Storing: This recipe is not suitable for making ahead and storing in the fridge. The dumpling lasagna tastes best when enjoyed right after steaming.
- Make ahead: You can assemble the dumpling lasagnas and cover and freeze them for up to 1 week. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Add a little more water on top before steaming. You may need to steam for a few minutes longer than indicated to ensure the filling cooks through.
FAQs
Yes, they work too but the texture is firmer and more chewy as dumpling wrappers are thicker than wonton wrappers. You’ll need to steam for a little longer – about 25 minutes or so – for them to become tender.
I haven’t tried baking it myself but it can be done. You’ll need to add more water or chicken stock on top after assembling – about 1 cup. Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F/175°C for 25-30 minutes. Carefully uncover and check to make sure the filling has cooked through before serving.
Sure! To make 2 servings, double the amount of ingredients and assemble the lasagna in two 4 x 6-inch heatproof dishes. Use a large enough wok or pan that can fit both dishes for steaming.
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